Page 28 of Savage Cravings

I returned to my section and paused when I found the three men there.

They were all looking at me—one with expressionless, indifferent eyes, one with light amusement, and the third with a glare, his lips thinned into a vicious scowl.

What. The. Hell.

I set the drink next to Annette, who, at this point, was no longer paying me any attention. Her focus was intently on thethree dangerous men, and I almost rolled my eyes when I caught sight of the sparkling engagement ring on her finger.

I walked away without stopping at the table of the men and strolled up to the counter I had been hiding behind for most of my shift.

A platinum-blonde waitress whose name I didn’t know was standing there.

I shot her a small smile. “Hey, do you mind doing me a favor?”

“What?” she asked warily.

I pointed to the table. “Can you take them?”

Her eyes instantly perked up. “You mean those three brothers who just came in? You know, Riley hadn’t stopped talking about them since she showed them to the table.”

“Right. Yes. Do you want them?”

She pulled back a little and looked at me. “Why don’t you want them?”

“I make it a point not to interact with men like that,” I said quietly.

They reminded me too much of the men at the club, no matter how “pretty” they might be.

She looked me up and down, and I could see the curiosity in her light-blue eyes, as if trying to guess what sort of trauma I might have been through in my life to make me react this way.

I wouldn’t tell her anything.

I wasn’t planning on making any friends here. I was leaving as soon as I came up with a plan for my life.

Settling down in New Orleans wasn’t it.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and shot me a coy smile. “Sure,” she said, heading toward the table.

I watched their interaction behind the safety of the counter, and watched as the man who smiled at me darkened his expression.

He said something to the waitress before the biggest of the men chimed in.

The waitress went from perky to deflated in three seconds flat, and she headed back my way with a glare and red cheeks.

“They only want you as their waitress,” she said nastily. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but next time, just take care of your tables, okay?”

She didn’t give me a chance to reply. She was already barging into the kitchen.

I stared after her for a second or two before turning back to the men.

Their attention was already on me, and despite a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I forced myself to walk up to them with a smile.

“Hi. My name is Mila, and I will be your waitress for this evening. What can I get you gentlemen?”

“A bit of your time would be great,” one of them said. It was the man who’d smiled at me.

The man whodidn’tlook like he wanted to kill me shook his head. “Don’t mind Silas. He’s just eager.”

Eager for what?

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