Page 3 of Hard To Leave

“I think you would be pretty surprised by a few things you may have missed. Let me know when you’re free, and I’ll make myself available.”

“This seems a little backward to me. Shouldn’t I be the one offering to show you around considering I’m the local and you’re the tourist?”

He laughed. “My family has owned a vacation home here for as far back as I can remember. I may spend the majority of my time in Manhattan, but I consider this my second home. Maybe you can come over sometime and see my place. You know, and make sure that my drapes match the couch.”

His level of confidence matched an entire frat house full of football players and then some. His cheesy lines shouldn’t have turned me on as much as they did. Which was why I needed to get back to work before I said or did something stupid.

It was obvious that we were from two different worlds and this man seemed to have nothing more to offer than just a moment of fun. And fun was something I couldn’t afford at this point in my life. At least, not with a random stranger.

My head tilted toward the kitchen. “As tempting as that offer is, I’ve got another table I need to go take care of.” He was a customer after all, and I didn’t want to offend him. I needed this job. The pay was good and the hours were flexible. I couldn’t afford to screw it up.

Once I was back in the safety of the kitchen, my body sagged with relief. It was clear that he knew how irresistible he was to the female population and that was a problem. If he was this forward and this confident in a pair of sweats, I could only imagine how dangerous he was when he was all cleaned up.

I heard Kristen chuckling behind me. “I tried to warn you.”

“I’m not interested. He’s got an ego the size of Texas,” I told her, reaching for Kevin’s dessert. He was a huge fan of Ree’s key lime pie and always brought a slice back to the office with him.

“I think you need a pair of glasses then.” She laughed in a way that said she knew I was full of shit. It was clear she wasn’t putting much stock into my denial. I’ve only worked here for six months, and the last thing I needed was to be the center of the town gossip. As excited as I was at the prospect of him flirting with me, it wasn’t worth the risk. Because I was sure with a man like Jack, it would bring plenty of attention.

I ignored her comment and whisked off to the dining room to bring Kevin his dessert to go.

“I put some extra whipped cream on that pie for you. I hope you enjoy it.” I handed him his receipt, and he caught my hand.

“What’s it going to take to get you to go out with me sometime?”

Jack was seated in the booth behind me. I could feel his eyes searing into me. “Kevin,” I said gently, “I don’t think your wife would appreciate that very much.”

“Oh, come one, we’ve been through this before. I got access to a nice little condo in Hilton Head that belongs to my in-laws that we could use. My wife would never know.”

I wanted to laugh, but it really wasn’t funny. I felt sorry for his wife. “Maybe you should use that condo and spend some quality time with your wife. I’m sure she would like that.”

“Please, the only thing my wife likes is the jewelry I give her and the vacations I take her on.”

“Now that’s just sad because there is so much more to life than just material things. And although I’m flattered that you find me attractive, I don’t date married men, and you’ve been coming in here long enough to know there is nothing you can say or do to change my mind. Now it sounds like you and your wife have some issues to work through. Maybe you should spend more time thinking about that and coming up with ways to fix your marriage. If it doesn’t work out, at least you tried.”

He stared down at his pie, looking like someone just spit in it. I took his credit card and patted his hand gently. “Don’t give up just yet, and stop wasting your time trying to pick up other women. You’re better than that.”

“You’re a hidden gem in this ugly world, you know that? Somewhere out there is a lucky bastard just waiting to find you.”

“Well, I’m not ready to be found yet, so he’s going to be waiting a while.” I turned on my heels. “Let me run this through the machine, and I’ll be right back.” On my way to the register, I could see Jack out of the corner of my eye. His lips were turned down, and he studied me so hard I had difficulty walking straight.

After making sure Kevin was all set, I took a couple more orders and headed over to the soda fountain to refill a couple Cokes that I noticed were running low at one of my other tables.

I heard a yelp behind me and turned to see a young toddler had spilled her chocolate milk all over the table. The poor thing looked like she was on the verge of tears. I quickly walked over and helped the mom clean up.

“I’m so sorry,” the mom said, seeming embarrassed.

“It’s fine.” I shrugged and noticed the little girl’s bottom lip was trembling. There was a stain starting to settle on her dress, and her stuffed dog looked like he was going to need a bath later. “You know what,” I said in a soothing voice. “I have some wipes in my purse. Let me go grab them from the back so we can get that pretty dress all cleaned up, okay?”

Her big blue eyes brightened up at that.

“Thank you.” The young mom sighed with relief. I quickly walked through the double doors to get my purse. I always kept a few Shout wipes on hand in my bag in case of emergencies.

On my way back out, I grabbed an extra set of crayons and a coloring book that I thought the little girl would like.

The mom looked grateful when she saw what I had in my hand. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“I’m glad I could help out.” I winked and walked back into the kitchen for a two-minute break and a cup of water.

---