Page 18 of Scorched

Chapter Eight

Myles

Cassie sat down at the bar beside me. She looked stunning, with her dress matching her eyes beautifully.

I leaned to kiss her cheek in greeting. “Wow. You clean up nice.”

“So do you.” She smiled, reaching for the drink menu. “This place looks amazing. I’ve never been here. My stepdad liked to grill, so we rarely ate out.”

I laughed and nodded. “This is a great area to grill out, for sure.”

She smiled. We started into some easy chatting. She told me about her job as a fashion blogger and writer for magazines; she’d just moved here from the city after the death of her stepfather. Her mom had been dead a few years.

“I lost my wife around the same time.” I took a sip of my beer. We were still at the bar, enjoying drinks and a seafood appetizer plate while we waited for our table to open up. I reached for a coconut shrimp. “It was awful. I miss her.”

Cassie frowned. “I’m so sorry. Losing my mom was awful. And then my stepdad. That one came out of nowhere.”

“What happened?”

She shook her head. “I don’t—I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I understand. I don’t like talking about my wife at all. It was rough. I almost lost my mind.”

Cassie blinked in surprise. “Really? You seem so…together, you know?”

I laughed softly and tilted my head. “I wasn’t. When I lost Sylvia, I kinda just wanted to die, myself.”

She looked shocked that I was telling her this.

But I needed her to know before we went any further.

I stood up from the bar stool. The bartender looked at me, then smiled and nodded.

“Cassie,” I said. “Come with me?”

“Um, okay.” She nodded and slid off her stool.

I led her around the bar and to the back door of the restaurant. She frowned as I turned and started up a metal staircase. “Myles? Where are we—”

“You’ll understand in a minute.” I sighed. “I started my pool business after Sylvia died, but it was pretty slow to take off. I was just in shambles. My money was gone, I’d lost my house. I had, well, nothing. I got this apartment here.”

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my keys. One fit into the lock. I turned it and pushed it open.

Inside was a one-bedroom apartment, crammed with everything I hadn’t sold to help pay for Sylvia’s medical bills.

“You live here?” Cassie asked, her voice gentle. “Myles, I had no idea.”

“It’s okay.” I shook my head. “It’s not so bad. And I spend a lot of time working. But, I think my luck’s about to change.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?” She leaned against the wall, smiling at me.

I moved into the apartment. “Well, I just became the owner of the whole restaurant.”

“What?” She sounded surprised. “Really? That’s incredible! I didn’t know you were in the restaurant business.”

I chuckled. “I’m not. But a good friend of mine was. He owned this place. Sylvia and I used to come here all the time, back before…before she got too sick. I was away for a while, but the night I found out I was losing the house, I came in just to get fucked up.”

She came closer, touching my shoulder. “Myles…”

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