Page 25 of Claiming Becca

“Water for me. Do you want a beer?” he asks me.

I shake my head. “No, still on pain medicine, so I don’t need that right now. I’ll take water too,” I say. The bartender grabs two bottled waters and sets it in front of us. I open one and take a few swallows while I study Victor. This is awkward.

“I appreciate you meeting me here. We had a shipment come in, and I wanted to be here to sign for it,” he explains. The way he says that, it’s like there’s a story behind him wanting to be here.

I shrug. “Do you always oversee shipments that come in?” I question.

He rubs the back of his neck. “Yep. I had an incident at a restaurant I used to own, and I don’t want a repeat of that.” That’s all the information he offers, so I let it go for now.

We sit silently for a few seconds until I finally swallow my pride. “Thanks for helping while I was out of it.” The words are hard to push past my lips.

Victor smirks like he knows. “I’m not a bad guy, Connor,” he says. I twist the bottle cap between my fingers, staring down at the bar top.

“That’s what I hear,” I reply. I meet Victor’s gaze, and he raises an eyebrow at me. “Anyway, I still can’t do certain things, but as soon as I can drive again, I’ll be coming to the sites to at least oversee things.” I change the subject.

Victor nods. “I get that. I have a hard time sitting around doing nothing, too.” He scratches at his beard, my eyes falling on his tattoo sleeve.

I point to it. “How long did it take you to get that completed?” I ask him.

He glances down at it and chuckles. “About twenty hours. I could only do it a couple of hours each Saturday, so it took about two months,” he replies. “You want one?”

“Yeah. I have one on my shoulder that wraps around my chest, but I’ve always wanted to get a sleeve.” I don’t know why I’m telling him this. It bugs me that it seems he and I have more in common than I expected. It also bugs me that Julian has been right this entire time. I take another swig from my water bottle, unsure what to say next.

“I’ll help you out until you’re fully recovered. I want to discuss us going into business together one day.”

My attention snaps back to him. I suck in a breath. “You want to go into business with me?” I ask.

“Don’t look so surprised. You’re good at what you do. Everyone in this town loves you. And you did everything within your power to clean up the streets. I admire that,” he says. All I can do is stare at him. I don’t know what to say.

He shrugs and looks down at the bar. “Just so you know, I always had an uneasy feeling about Donovan, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. I had my reasons for remaining friends with him. I made a promise to his wife, and I didn’t intend to break it.” A flash of something, maybe guilt, crosses his face, but it’s so quick I’m unsure. He takes a swig from his water bottle. “But I’m glad you saw him for who he was and did something about it.”

I nod slightly. “I appreciate you saying that. Maybe one day you’ll be willing to tell me why you remained friends with him.”

He stands from his stool, clapping me softly on the back. “For what it’s worth, Donovan and I only saw each other once a month. The only reason I did that was to have an excuse to check in on his stepdaughter.” That information surprises me, but before I can comment, he’s backing away.

“Call me if you have any questions when you start visiting sites. And if you decide you’d like to go into business with me, let me know.”

He slightly waves his fingers and walks back to the hallway he came out of. I stare after him for several minutes, trying to figure out that interaction. I’m still struggling with how I feel about him, but it’s obvious he’s nothing like Donovan. Pushing away from the bar, I go to find Becca so we can eat. I’m starving.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

BECCA

CONNOR WALKSover to the booth I’m sitting at and scoots next to me. I frown and scoot closer to the wall. Why can’t he see what he does to me? He constantly touches me and has to be close, but that’s as far as it goes. Sometimes I think he might feel something for me, but he never does anything about it.

He would have already done something about it if he did, right? Bailey swears he adores me. Her words, not mine. But if he does, why doesn’t he act on it? I can’t take it anymore—the constant waiting and wondering. I bite my lip and swallow down my feelings. I have to move on.

“How did it go with Victor?” I ask Connor. He puts his arm on the back of my seat and turns toward me. My heart beats hard in my chest. I want to scoot closer and further away at the same time. He thrums his fingers on the table and shakes his head.

“Not how I expected. I don’t know what to think about him,” he replies. I give him an encouraging smile. The server walks over and gives Connor an appreciative look.

Everyone in this town loves Connor. Why wouldn’t they? After everything he’s done? Hiring those who could have easily gone down a different road. Donating money to charities that helped struggling single moms and orphan children. I wish I could claim him. But he’s the most eligible bachelor in this town. Everyone wants him, even me. He’s wearing an Atlanta Braves t-shirt and a baseball cap with jeans. It’s such a simple look, but his broad shoulders and biceps fill the t-shirt out, making him look mouth-watering. Connor looks at me and grins.

“You still hungry?” The server turns her eyes toward me, looking surprised to see me. It takes all I have not to roll my eyes. She’s brought me two drinks already. I know she knew I was here, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Yes, I am,” I answer him. He chuckles and shakes his head. He knows I don’t like to eat by myself at restaurants. I doubt that’s something that will ever change. He turns back toward the server, who is still ogling him.

“She’ll have a cheeseburger, no pickles, with fries. I’ll have a cheeseburger with everything and fries,” he orders for us. The server nods and walks away.

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