Page 23 of Dark Secrets

Now was as good a time as any to replenish the stock she used sparingly. She had more than enough money to feel comfortable spending this much on shampoo and conditioner and curl creams. She snagged a new silk pillowcase on her way to the register and politely smiled and nodded through a conversation with the cashier about the upcoming winter storm the news was calling for.

They’d been wrong about the last one, but he was hopeful they’d gotten it right this time, and maybe his grandkids would get a day or two off school. Before he could launch into a mind-numbing retelling of the blizzard of ’96, she grabbed her bag from the carousel and told him to have a great day.

The salad she ordered for lunch felt decadent, not because it was fancy, but because it was expensive. She so rarely allowed herself to eat well, and since she could only stomach so much fast food, she skipped more meals than she consumed. The result had been a sharp loss of weight on her already thin frame.

She’d finally started to put some back on in recent weeks thanks to James’s policy that staff eats for free, but even then, she felt guilty showing up before her shift just to eat. Especially when Addy and her line cooks were busy serving customers.

They rarely let her miss dinner, though. If James wasn’t making her take a break to eat, Addy was. It felt foreign to have someone concerned for her welfare after so long as a ghost, slipping in and out of people’s lives before anyone really had the opportunity to get attached. She preferred it that way.

Their kindness and attention and insistence she get enough food rattled her. Most of the time, she didn’t know whether she should feel grateful or suspicious. The battle inside her own mind over it was exhausting.

The kitchen was a flurry of activity when one of the cooks let her in. She slipped into the bathroom to change out of her sweater and into her Orchid shirt, tucking the long tail into the waistband of her jeans. She really was too skinny. She missed the ample curve of her hips and the way her ass used to fill out a good pair of pants.

Giving her curls a quick fluff and running chapstick over her lips, she darted into the hallway to clock in and ran headlong into James’s broad chest.

“Whoa.”

He reached up with strong hands to steady her shoulders, and she leaned into them before realizing what she was doing and stepping away.

“Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t want to be late. I just need to run this out to my car really quick.” She held up her sweater.

His eyes dropped to it and then back to her face. “Of course.”

She could feel his eyes on her all the way down the hall, which sent a little zing up her spine. She really needed to get ahold of herself. She was already too attached to this place and its people.

She’d been over to Addy’s twice now to watch movies she enjoyed with women who made her laugh. They’d gossiped and chatted without the usual air of barely veiled secrecy they so often had when talking at work. It was nice to have something that resembled friends, even if she didn’t know how long it would last.

It was steady for a weeknight, and customers were friendly. Whatever marketing magic James was wielding, he should bottle and sell it. He could easily make a fortune teaching people the secrets of The Black Orchid’s success.

She dropped a plate of fries off at one of her tables and moved to the next one, a youngish couple who’d been staring at their menus for longer than was usual. Something about the guy put Delaney slightly on edge, but he hadn’t been outwardly rude or dismissive.

“Did you two decide on what you’d like to drink?”

The man’s smile was easy and quick and had the hair raising on Delaney’s arms. She turned to the woman, whose smile was forced, her eyes a little wary.

“We’ll both have the winter lager and burgers cooked medium well. I’ll have fries, and she’ll have a side salad with fat-free dressing.”

Delaney made eye contact with the woman, imploring the blonde to trust her. “Did you want anything else?”

She hesitated, gaze flickering to her date’s face before she said quietly, “Could I also get an angel shot? On the rocks, please.”

Delaney had no idea what she was talking about. She felt like it was some kind of code she was supposed to understand but didn’t. James would know, and if not him, then Clara. She smiled and nodded.

“Absolutely. Let me go put that right in.”

She didn’t rush from the table like she wanted to but kept her pace easy while she skirted the bar where Mike was mixing drinks and went to the kitchen.

“Addy,” she called over the noise. “Where’s James?”

Addy gestured toward James’s office, but he was already making his way down the hall at the sound of his name. When he saw her, his face pinched into a frown.

“I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“There’s a couple in my section, table six. There’s something about the guy he…he gives me a bad feeling.” James didn’t look like he was prepared to tell her she was overreacting or being ridiculous, so she kept going. “She ordered an angel shot on the rocks. I have no idea what that means, but I think she needs help.”

James squeezed her arm before moving quickly to the kitchen door and peering out into the restaurant. “Is that them? The woman with the long blonde hair and the guy with the military style cut?”

Delaney stepped up beside him, pushing onto her toes to see through the circular window. “Yeah. That’s them. Do you know what her drink order means?”

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