Page 7 of Fire

He walks in alone, going straight to the counter, pulling up a barstool. I look at him the entire time, and his gaze stays locked with mine. My entire body flushes with heat. I force my legs to work and walk behind the counter. “Hello, Mr. Ford. Do you need a menu, or do you know what you want?”

“Honey, it’s not Mr. anything. Call me Carter or Ford. Your choice.

“Carter?”

“My first name. I told you before,” he answers, and I can tell he’s unhappy thinking I’d forgotten. I hadn’t, I just repeated it because when I look at him, it doesn’t really fit. Maybe that’s why everyone calls him Ford.

“I remember. You just don’t look like a Carter.”

He laughs. “I’m almost afraid to ask what you think I look like.”

“Ford. It suits you.”

He gives me a smile that somehow warms up his eyes. It makes him all too appealing. There’s something inside me that keeps telling me to run. If I was smart, that’s exactly what I’d do. Sadly, when it comes to men, I’ve never been smart. First, I got all into a guy who thought it was cool to make me think we were getting serious and then ghost me completely. If I’m honest, that truly hurt. It bothers me more than Benny, my ex-husband. I married that idiot knowing he was an asshole—I just didn’t know the extent of hisassholiness. That’s not a word, but—in Benny’s case—itreallyshould be. Still, Andrew and Benny together show my complete lack of brains when it comes to men. I don’t know Ford’s damage yet, but I’m sure there’s something.

“Penny for your thoughts, Grace.”

“They’re not worth a penny,” I mumble, placing a menu in front of him. “I’ll be back to take your order.”

I walk over to a couple that just sat down. I take their drink orders and tell them the special. Before I can give them a menu, they both order—which just makes my job easier. I get their drinks, letting them know their food will be up shortly, all before returning to Ford. “Are you ready?”

“You stay busy.”

“They call it work for a reason. Are you going to order, or did you just come here to irritate me?”

He blinks, just staring at me. It’s understandable. I’m being an asshole after being somewhat nice to him—maybe even low-key flirting. I can’t seem to help it. Carter Ford brings out a wide range of emotions from me. If he thinks he’s confused, he should try being me.He doesn’t say anything, but I let out a sigh and shake my head. “Listen, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a bitch. Thetruth is, you’re cute, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find you appealing?—”

“Now, that’s good to hear,” he practically purrs.

“But—” I add before he says something to weaken my resolve, “I’m not in the market for a man in my life.”

“Grace—”

“I told you, Ford. I have a man in my life—the only one I want.”

“Detective Garcia is not the man for you, darlin’.”

For a second, my heart stops. A sick feeling invades the pit of my stomach. “What did you say?” I snap, my voice strained. I can barely hear over the ringing in my ears. I hold on to the counter. If I didn’t, I think I'd fall to my knees.

“Cruz Garcia. That’s the man in your life, right? He’s not for you.”

“How do you know about Detective Garcia?”

Ford tilts his head, studying me. I ignore it. I’m panicking. There’s only one way that Ford would know about Detective Garcia. I swallow, trying to keep from being sick. The last thing I need to do is hurl in front of Ford. No, I can’t let him know how terrified I am. If I do that, Benny wins all over again.

“Did my ex send you? Is that why you’re here?”

“Grace—”

“We had a deal. You go back and tell that piece of shit?—”

“Grace, I’m not here because of your ex,” he says, something flickering in his expression. I’m too busy trying to remain standing to care what it is.

“Then, go back and tell the Korslovas they’re the ones that asked for the deal with me and Detective Garcia. I expect them to hold up to their end. Tell them to stay out of my life and keep Benny away from me. That’s all I want. If they don’t, then all the information that we have automatically goes to Ivan Levkin and I’ll get my protection there!”

“Grace—”

“I don’t know why they sent you, and I don’t want to know. I just want you gone. I have a child to protect, and you better believe I will do that even if it means using everything that I know to destroy every fucking one of you,” I threaten. I do keep my voice down. This isn’t the kind of thing I want getting out. I can clearly see that my message is getting through. Ford looks as if he’s in shock. Maybe he didn’t think I’d call him on this shit, but he was absolutely wrong. Once upon a time, I was the girl who let others run over her. That’s not who I am now.I’ll never be that girl again.

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