Page 139 of A Little Tempting

Snap out of it, Dylan!

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be your waitress for the evening,” I finish.

“I’ll take a Corona,” one of the officers announces. There are three of them, and they all look at me like I’m a crazy person. Then again, I probably look like I just shit a brick, so…

“Corona,” I repeat. “Of course.” I scribble the order on the paper and turn to the second officer. “And you?”

“Dr. Pepper.”

“Got it.” Sucking my bottom lip into my mouth, I turn to Reeves’ dad as the pounding in my head grows stronger and stronger. “You?”

His attention shifts from one of my eyes to the next, and he tilts his head. “Do I know you?”

“I, uh?—”

“Yeah, I do. You’re…” He snaps like he can’t quite put a finger on my name when a grin spreads across his face. “You’re the Thorne girl. My, uh, my boy’s girlfriend, right?”

Oh, sonowhe claims him.

Forcing a smile, I mutter, “The one and only.”

With a booming laugh, he counters, “Not from what I heard.”

“Aw, come on, Reeves,” his partner interrupts. He introduced himself to me the night of the fight, but I’m too distracted by my throbbing headache and his current company to remember his name. “Give the girl a break so we can get our drinks, man.”

Grateful for the reprieve, I smile at the partner. “I’ll be right back.” As I start to step away, Reeves’ dad grabs my wrist, holding me in place.

“Nah, nah, nah,” he tsks. “I haven’t ordered yet.”

His warm, clammy hand leaves me nauseated, and I carefully pull out of his hold, hoping he can’t see how disgusted I feel in his presence. “What can I get you?”

“I’m not sure.” His weathered face tightens as he scans the menu. “What’s my son’s favorite drink?”

“You’d have to ask him.”

“What, you don’t know?”

“It depends on the day,” I answer vaguely.

“Like his taste in women.” He laughs.

“Reeves,” the partner interjects.Again.“Give the girl a break, yeah? You already had your fun with your kid at the station.”

“Hey, I’m only tryin’ to help her out. Right, McDonnell?”

So that’s his partner’s name.

McDonnell. Got it.

“Yeah, man, I know,” McDonnell says. “But I’m also parched after tonight’s shift, so…”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Reeves’ dad returns. “I’ll have a…Bud Light.”

“Coming right up.” I step away from the table and can finally breathe once I’m at the back of the restaurant. I don’t know what it is. How someone can look so similar to someone else, yet their presence elicits the exact opposite response from my body. One leaves me feeling like a warm drink of hot chocolate. The other? Like I’m being pricked with needles over every inch of my skin. Then again, maybe it’s the headache.

Attempting to shake it off, I place their beverage order at the bar and return to the table. “Your drinks will be right out.” I glance at the clock on the wall beneath Bruce, the mechanical bull. Forty-seven more minutes. “Any food for you guys?”

“What do you suggest?” McDonnell asks.

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