“Well, hopefully, not getting fired, for a start.”
I choke on my food. “What? Why?”
"I overslept, and when I woke up, it was eight-thirty. The diner has long been open by now.”
“Ouch. I’d be scared to call Marina.” I wince as if in pain, imagining the wrath of that woman.
Her laughter is light. “Trust me, I was. Turns out, she called the new girl in this morning, so everything worked out.”
“You know she would never fire you, right?” I ask between the bites.
“I know.” She sighs. “It’s just that I hate to let her down. It's hard work to cook for so many people, especially in the morning, and if you also have to wait on them, you’re a toast by nine.”
“Yeah, she has a lot of customers.” To think of it, the diner always has people in it, unlike any other place here.
“That’s because her food is good.” She looks at me pointedly, daring me to contradict her.
"I had the pleasure of trying it myself yesterday." I pat my belly.
“Talk about yesterday.” She drinks her coffee and swats my hand away from her thigh where it took a permanent residency. “What was that?”
“What?” I blink at her, hoping like hell she doesn’t mean thefeelingspart.
“You were clearly jealous of Archie. Why?” She crosses her hands over her chest.
“Because I don’t like the fuckface.”
“What did he ever do to you for you to hate him so much?” Then she laughs. “Wait, nothing, right? That’s the pattern with you.”
"Kayla," I growl as I put the fork down.
“What? You were acting like a possessive gorilla the whole time. And then when I asked you why you didn't have an answer. Then, mind you, you proceed to chat with your girlfriend, who you’re clearly still hung up on, and then you have the audacity to blame me for spending time with Archie." There is a bitter note in her voice that I don’t like.
"She is not my girlfriend," I say through clenched teeth. "And I'm not hung up on her.”
“Could have fooled me.” She snorts.
“What did you expect me to do? To rip her hands off for touching me?”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.” She shrugs.
“What did you do when the fuckface was all over you?” I counter her.
Her spine straightens. “If you must know, we were talking about business.”
I snort. “What sort of business can you have with him?”
“He wants to hire me to work for him, you asswipe! Do you think I’m too stupid to do any sort of business with anyone?” She jumps from the chair and goes to the bedroom.
I follow her. “Kayla, wait. That’s not what I meant.”
"Yep, sure." She takes my t-shirt off but stays in her bra and panties, and my dick takes notice.Not now, fucker. Down, boy. She then proceeds to pull her dress over her head, and I have to take action before this amazing morning is completely destroyed.
“Kayla.” I try to sound gentle and not needy, but she keeps going without acknowledging me, so I bark an order. “Kayla, stop.” It seems to work because she stops and focuses her attention on me. A win. I slowly move toward her, careful not to scare her away. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that he's too dangerous to do any business with. Especially for you.”
“Why is it especially for me?”
I swallow the dryness in my throat, contemplating if, for once, I should just go with the truth. "Because of how fucking beautiful and sexy you are."
