Page 58 of Blood Money

He scowled at me, and I chuckled as I put the car in gear.

I drove to the diner and pulled around back into an employees-only lot.

“So you just park wherever you feel like?” Liam rolled his eyes. “Or does your family own this place?”

“I do what I want, but this place is owned by a guy I knew in high school. I don’t want to go anywhere that my family owns right now.”

He frowned. “How much trouble are you in for what you did to save me?”

“I’m sure my father wants me sweating it, but it’ll all blow over. We’re here because I don’t want anyone else in the family watching me. If they see me with you, they’re going to know how I feel.”

Liam eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

“If you think hard enough, you’ll figure it out.” I opened my door and stood. I wasn’t ready to say any more. I was hardly ready to admit to myself that I was falling for him, that he really was mine and I wasn’t letting him go no matter the consequences.

Like I’d told him, I’d figure something out, but right now I would make sure he was at least fed and safe. What I really wanted to do was take him home, but I needed to think more carefully before I did that.

I watched him as he read over the menu, trying to decide what he wanted.

“I haven’t had this many choices in a long time.”

I was going to make sure he always had choices in the future. “Just order everything that sounds good.”

His grin made my heart flutter like a lovesick kid. “I don’t think that much food would fit on the table.”

“Then we’ll pull up another table.”

“That’s ridiculous. I can’t eat that much.”

I laid my hand over his. “Get whatever you want. I want to make you happy.”

“I guess I’ll get pancakes.”

That was nowhere near enough. “You need some protein to go with that. Get some bacon.”

“Okay.”

“And eggs. Do you like eggs?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes. I pretty much like all breakfast food.”

“Then get the Jumbo Breakfast it has pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns.”

He frowned. “That’s way more food than I can eat.”

“If you don’t finish it, you can take the rest of it home and have it tomorrow.”

“I can’t keep it at the storage unit.”

Dammit. He shouldn’t be living like that. “I’ll get you a cooler.”

Liam sighed. “All right. What are you getting?”

I wasn’t particularly hungry, and I really only wanted a coffee. I had too much on my mind to think about eating, but I knew I needed to get something or he would feel too bad about ordering so much food. “I’ll have a western omelet.”

He smiled. “Good choice.”

“I always make good choices.”

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