Page 10 of Firestorm
I paused, glancing at him over my shoulder. His hazel eyes were bright in the warm café lightning, his expression open and…hopeful.
“I mean…sure, I guess.” My voice devolved into a whisper.
“What time?” he asked.
“Two.” I replied, just as Zephyr called for me again, this time more sharply. “Thanks for the…yeah.” I gestured at my now empty drink before I nearly skipped back to the counter.
Wyatt hung around for another half hour or so, watching Zephyr and I, as if trying to work out the pieces to some puzzle. Eventually, he stood and left, but not before coming back to the counter and dropping a crisp $100 bill into the tip jar. Zephyr swiped it before Lyla noticed.
“You gotta hookup with that guy,” he said. “We could use more cash.”
“Ew,” I said on instinct, and Zeph laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Of course not. You start fucking for money and I’ll become a murderer.”
I shivered at the threat, which was definitely a promise. Zephyr was menacing when he had to be, even though he had a playful attitude most of the time.
I watched Wyatt’s sexy back as he stretched right outside the door, smiling softly to myself. Maybe getting to know a guy wouldn’t be so bad.
Chapter 2
Skye
Wyatt didn’t come back.
I’d seen him traipsing around the little beach shops near the café sometime around one. But two rolled around, and there was no sign of him.
There was no sign of him at three when I mopped the floors.
There was no sign of him at four when Zephyr closed all the blinds and replaced the washed plates and cups.
There was no sign of him at five as the two of us made our way back into the apartment.
I sat in silence in the utility room during dinner feeding, then emerged to eat some pizza Zephyr had ordered.
I even checked the front cameras to see if there had been any sign of Wyatt while I was busy.
There wasn’t.
“Don’t bother, Skyes,” Zephyr said around a mouth full of pizza. “Guy’s a fucking idiot if he couldn’t see you were interested.”
I laid in bed in silence, staring up at the ceiling. Just this morning I’d said I didn’t want two men, let alone one, and now here I was…sad over a man. I cringed.
How pathetic.
I didn’tneeda man.
The only man I needed was my brother, and I could even do without him sometimes.
I eventually drifted off to sleep, fighting back tears as I considered the other man I needed in my life. The one who hadn’t responded to me in weeks.
The next day,I was back to being a badass.
I only cried for a few minutes during my morning shower, and then I was down in the café working after breakfast and feeding.
I glanced out the front window, eyeing the steady rainfall and shivered. I hadn’t been out on the water in nearly a week. The rain just kept coming down, some weird winter storm system having settled right over our little atoll.
An hour later, I huffed as my hair fell into my face again. I pulled it back into a bun, then paused as I focused on the TV we kept in the corner. It was only loud enough for me to hear as I worked, making mostly frozen drinks even though it was still cold and rainy.
