Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
That have brought me to my knees.
His lips are full but pressed together until they’re white, and I know he’s stressed. I know he has been looking for me, and I know he’s trying to figure out how to go about this. Unable to handle the thought of hearing his deep, baritone voice, I move quickly through the diner that has been my home for the last three years as my mind reels. When I first left, I jumped from city to city, from the Carolinas to Virginia. It wasn’t until I stopped here that I decided to stay.
The Red Ruby is owned by Mac and Ruby McAllen. I was a mess when I sat down to wait twenty-five minutes for my Dutch baby in the hopes it’d bring some joy to my mind-blowing day. Ruby took one look at me, her silver curls falling around her sharp blue eyes, before she demanded I let her help me. Next thing I knew, I was unloading everything, and Ruby took it upon herself to take care of me. I started living upstairs in the small loft apartment and working full time for them. Mac and Ruby are the grandparents I never had, and I couldn’t have survived the way I did without them.
Which brings me endless amounts of grief. I left to find myself, not to lean on anyone, yet I leaned on Mac and Ruby. Though, they’ll tell you that’s not the case. That I don’t miss a payment for the apartment, that I work forty hours a week and pay all my bills without one single handout. They say they were helping a young woman who was running from something.
Rather, someone.
Thatcher Orlov.
I almost rush upstairs to tell Ruby that he’s here, but I don’t want to alarm her. I can only hope he doesn’t recognize me. My hair is almost black, I’ve covered all my freckles, and my glasses hide my eyes. I’ve gained a lot of weight, and I don’t look like myself. Or, at least, I don’t feel like the Audrina Hawkins I was. I’ve grown so much, but I can’t tell him that. Not now, not after all that has happened.
I can’t go home.
If I pissed everyone off before by leaving, if I went back, they’d never forgive me.
I can’t help but keep side-eyeing him as I move quickly around the diner. I’ve become a fixture in the Red Ruby, the only waitress who has stayed on for so long. With this being a roadside diner, people come and go, but I haven’t. This has been my safe haven, my home, but I can’t deny how much I’ve missed my real home.
How I yearn to hear my mom’s and dad’s voices. To feel their embrace.
To sign with Ingrid.
For Maeve to cook for me and get all excited when I eat everything.
To play chess with Don.
To exist with Thatcher.
Because that’s what we did. We existed together, and it was bliss.
But one night fucked all that up.
However, the more I think about it, maybe it wasn’t the night of passion but the misunderstanding after and the words that were said. My heart aches as I dart my eyes back to him, though I know it looks like I’m talking to a patron. I can’t help but bask in the beauty of how his thermal fits as tightly on his body as a second skin. He has gained some muscle, and it looks really good. Meanwhile, I’m squishy all over, and he is a Greek god who demands to be worshiped.
Any other reality, I would sign up to do just that. But not now.
I want to run to him, tell him how much I’ve missed him.
But I can’t.
And now, I have to figure out how to get out of here and out of the state before he approaches me.
Because Thatcher Orlov has fucking found me when I didn’t want to be found.
Damn it.
I knew that dude from this past weekend was suspect. He was watching me too closely to not hit on me. He never spoke to me, but Ruby said he asked about me. She waggled her brows, saying he might be interested and that it was time for me to jump into dating once again, but I have no desire.
Not when I know Thatcher Orlov is out there.
No matter how much I asked not to be found, I knew from the jump he’d never stop looking for me. And here he is.
I swallow past the lump in my throat as I continue to move, unable to stand still. If I do, I’ll just stare at him, and I need to act as if he is not there. That’s harder than I ever imagined, and when I can’t handle it much longer, I move to the back and into the employee bathroom. I shut the door, locking it before I slide down onto my bottom. The cool tile has me hissing when my thighs touch it, but I’m burning everywhere so I can’t even make myself stand back up to escape the chill. I can’t feel my legs. My heart is slamming against my ribs, begging me to run to him, and all I can think is, how the hell can I get out of here without him chasing me.