Page 181 of Marked

“All right, my man. Be careful. See you later.”

I put my phone on my lap and drove in silence for several minutes, trying to process that conversation. It was more than I could have hoped for. The life I’d always secretly pined for was now dangling before me like a ripe apple. It looked like all I had to do was reach out and grab it.

I frowned as I glanced around the highway. A weird sense of déjà vu overcame me, but I couldn’t put a finger on exactly what had caused it. Unease wormed its way through my stomach. Maybe it was the stress of everything that had happened the last several days. That could be it. I was already tired from driving, and despite eating breakfast a couple of hours before, I was getting hungry again. Exhaustion and hunger were not a good mix when driving. Not as bad as being shit-faced, but still not good.

Hitting the turn signal, I took the first exit that showed a few gas stations and restaurants nearby. Cameron woke as I slowed the car at the first stop sign after exiting the highway.

“Where are we?” she asked through a yawn.

“I’m hungry. Do you want anything?” I asked. “If not, I’ll top off the gas and grab a snack or something.”

“No. Lunch sounds good.” Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she straightened.

I pulled up in front of a small diner beside the gas station. Both looked like mom-and-pop places, which I preferred to the cookie-cutter chains you usually saw along highways and interstates.

I got out of the car and walked around the hood to Cameron’s door, surreptitiously sniffing the air for danger and scanning the area for anyone who looked suspicious.

“I see you doing that,” she said as she climbed out of the car.

“Doing what?” I asked, snapping my head around to look at her.

“Being paranoid,” she said with a grin.

I sighed and closed her door. “Well, from what I’ve seen in the last few days, we can’t be too careful.”

She pursed her lips and seemed to think about my words for a moment before shrugging. “I guess you’re right.”

A sign inside told us to seat ourselves. The place was fairly busy, and Cameron and I found a small two-seater table in the back corner beside a family.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Cameron said, and she headed toward the ladies’ room.

In the meantime, I settled myself into the chair, perusing the laminated menu on the table. I caught a snippet of conversation from the table beside us.

“So, are you guys ready for vacation?” the middle-aged man asked the two children.

The kids, both boys, nodded vigorously. The older one said, “Yeah! Are we going to go fishing?”

“We sure can,” the father said with a smile.

“Ugh.” The mother groaned and rolled her eyes. “That’s fine, but I am not gutting anything. That’s on you, mister.” She poked the man’s side playfully. “I’ll be enjoying the cabin and lake and reading my book.”

I frowned. That same feeling of déjà vu crept back into my mind. Something about their conversation stirred a long-dormant memory in me, but I couldn’t put a finger on it.

“You good, hun?”

Flinching in surprise, I turned my attention from the family to the waitress standing before me. She flashed me a flirtatious grin I’d seen many times before. She was young, maybe nineteen or twenty, with a pixie cut.

“You want a coffee or anything?” She glanced around quickly, then leaned closer. “Or my number?”

How many times in the past would I have taken her up on that? Hell, a few weeks ago, I’d have said yes in a heartbeat. I’d have had her back at my hotel room, naked and gasping beneath me the minute her shift was over. Now, the mere thought of that made me uncomfortable and embarrassed for myself. The wild, bad-boy life had appealed to me for years, but ever since meeting Cameron, my desire to continue that path had been evaporating, and I hadn’t even known it until that very moment. This attractive woman had revealed a new path that had opened inside my mind.

Smiling back politely, I said, “You flatter me, but I’m taken.”

She took it well, grinning and shrugging good-naturedly. “You never know if you don’t try.”

Cameron returned then, sliding into the seat across from me. The server smiled at Cameron and took her drink order, but I could see a flush creeping into the woman’s cheeks as she hurried away. The family continued to talk, but I tried my best not to listen in. It was rude, of course, but also, I didn’t know if Iwanted to figure out what was going on in my head. Something about it filled me with a strange sense of dread.

I stared at Cameron as she read the menu. She had her lower lip clasped gently between her teeth. It was something she did when she was thinking, and it was just about the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I doubted she even realized she did it. Unable to help myself, I smiled and continued watching her.

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