Page 55 of Ramsey & Emerson

Even though I still felt random heart pangs throughout the day whenever I gave into my thoughts about him, for the most part, the customers, Muriel, and the daytime crew occupied my mind with jokes and good times. Everyone was also being respectful enough not to mention my mother or my father.

I was turning another order in for the cooking staff when Rebecca’s voice reached me. “Hey, Em.”

“Hey, Rebecca.”

“Yeah, so there’s a customer asking for you,” she informed me. “I sat him in your section and thought that I’d let you know that you have someone out there waiting.”

Perfect.

The busier that I was, the better.

“Okay, great. Thanks,” I said, meaning it.

“I’m sort of jealous,” Rebecca went on, surprising me.

“Jealous?”

Rebecca was the perfect girl-next-door. She was all blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect skin. She was also all grace and sweet smiles, so the last thing that she should ever feel was jealousy about anything.

“The guy’s super hot,” she explained. “I tried my best come-hither smile, and he didn’t even bat an eyelash. Instead, he asked if I could seat him in your section.”

It had to be Scott French.

I mean, even before I’d been forced to go to Sands Cove, I hadn’t had many friends. However, Scott French, Henry Ricker, and Sally Allerman had been among my closest friends growing up. We’d all grown up together in the same trailer park, and their childhoods had been just as jacked-up as mine had been.

Sally was a very malnourished redhead that lived life annoyingly optimistic. However, she was fierce and loyal, and was the best of us four. Henry was a shy sort with big chocolate-brown eyes and deep brown hair. Though he was shy, he was also smart as a whip and had kept us out of trouble often. Scott had been sort of our leader. He had kind of adopted us as a big brother, and he was very protective. He had silver blonde hair with eyes the color of night. He was also good-looking and kept in shape, and there were more than a few females that had thrown themselves at him regularly.

When Constance had come for me, my trio of besties had hatched a plan for all of us to run away together, but since none of us had been eighteen at the time, it hadn’t been worth the risk to me. No matter what, I would never endanger my friends. So, I’d left, but I had also made sure to keep in touch.

Scott was probably here to cuss me out because I hadn’t told any of them that I was back in town. I’d been putting it off because I’d wanted to feel a little stronger before telling them why I was back. I had a feeling that if I told them everything that had happened, they’d all jump into Henry’s truck, then drive down to Sands Cove and wreak havoc.

At any rate, I guess Scott must have heard that I was back. Small towns and juicy news were a cold combination. So, not being able to hide my return to Hantover any longer, I left my order with Edwin, then went back out to wait on my ‘new’ customer.

I was halfway across the diner when Rebecca’s actual words hit me. Acustomerwas asking for me. Rebecca was only a year older than I was, and she’d gone to school with me, Scott, Henry, and Sally. If my customer were any of those three, she would have said their names, right? Besides, Scott, Henry, and Sally would never eat here. They were about as poor as I was, so they never splurged on eating out or things like that.

So, how would someone know to ask for me when I just started working here again? Was it someone that had come in for lunch, then had come back for dinner? My weekend shift consisted of working from nine am to six pm, so it was possible that someone from the lunch crowd had come back for dinner, but that just seemed odd.

I was walking towards my new customer when something about his shoulders and back gave me a sense of familiarity. Maybe he was someone that I’d gone to school with before Constance had made me go live with her. This town was very small, and it wouldn’t surprise me that word of me working here had spread like wildfire.

Still wondering, I approached the table, and when my eyes took in who my new customer was, I couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped.

Ramsey fucking Reed was in Hantover.

Ramsey. Fucking. Reed.

I stared down at his handsome face, and my first legitimate thought was that I was going to have to kill him. If he followed me all the way from Sands Cove, the only way that I was going to ever find peace was to murder him, then throw his remains in the ocean.

I wasn’t totally opposed to the idea, either.

Pride had always been the source of my strength. When I’d worn rags to school, when my stomach had grumbled in hunger, when we’d been without electricity…I had never let myself feel embarrassed about my circumstances. I’d been born to an abusive father and a weak mother, and none of that had been my fault.

So, I called on that pride now, and as I reined in my shock, I asked, “What can I get you?” I was not going to ask him why he was here. I wasn’t going to ask or talk to him about anything other than his order. I didn’twantto talk to him. I didn’t want anything to do with him.

His whiskey-colored orbs met my eyes head-on. “I’m not here to eat, Emerson.”

My name falling from his lips caused my nose to tingle, and I could feel pressure behind my eyes. Just the sound of his voice was enough to ruin me all over again, and I hated that fact.

Fuck this asshole.

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