Perfectly Imperfect Mine

by Amelia Shea

  Perfectly Imperfect Mine

  Garrison Brothers, Book 1

  Amelia Shea

  Published 2015

  ISBN: 978-1-62210-273-0

  Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © Published 2015, Amelia Shea. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Liquid Silver Books

  http://LSbooks.com

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Blurb

  Being at the wrong place, at the wrong time, could be the best thing that’s ever happened to her…

  Small town girl, Sadie Wallace, has lived a life of “nothing special.” She’s watched everyone around her live their lives while merely just surviving her own…until she meets Stone.

  Bounty hunter, Trey Stone is in the small town of Cedar Bluff on a special assignment. The plan is to complete the job and head back home…until he meets Sadie.

  From the moment Stone comes into the diner where she works, she is obsessed. Their first encounter leaves her fearing for her life. A dead body, her abduction, and threats made, have Sadie steering clear of Stone.

  They both try to resist their need and desire for one another which proves too strong to deny. When Stone stakes his claim, the night is filled with intense passion and fulfilled fantasies.

  What began as primal lust has culminated into a deeper connection. As Sadie and Stone begin to fall in love, secrets still stand between them. Stone’s refusal to discuss his work has Sadie wondering what he’s hiding. Her curiosity leads her to search into Stone business and the discovery of a side to Stone’s life Sadie may not be able to accept. When the truth comes out she will have to decide.

  Dedication

  For my dad, who shared my dream.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to the following people, who all played a special part, whether they realized it or not, in making this book happen. To my husband, Dan, who always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I love you!

  To my girls, Scarlet and Maddison, for many nights of leftovers and takeout so I could finish one more chapter, and for sharing in the excitement of a book that you’re not even allowed to read. To Ann-Marie, the real Emory, for your support, your encouragement, and for being right. A better friend than you just doesn’t exist. To Tonya, for your honesty, for ripping it apart, and for our round tables at your square table. I will forever be grateful, my writer friend. To Steph and Cathy, who unknowingly inspired me with your creativity and talent. To Ronni, who reminded me. To my mom, for being my first reader and reading my book that made her blush! Thank you to the Art Department at Liquid Silver Books for all their hard work on my cover. A very special thank you to Liquid Silver Books for making this writer’s dream come true. A million thanks to my editor, Ansley Blackstock, whose sense of humor kept me sane during edits. Your advice and guidance, from beginning to end, has been amazing. Thank you for helping me make this book better than I could have imagined. We’re a great team…let’s do this again!

  Chapter 1

  Sadie Wallace had always been a people watcher.

  The current subject of her voyeurism was texting on his phone. He had come into Bernie’s Diner every night for the past two weeks. He was a bit of an obsession of hers. She would get giddy schoolgirl butterflies in her stomach every time he walked in. The first time she saw him she nearly dropped the tray of food she was carrying—to say he was gorgeous was an understatement.

  He wasn’t sitting in her section. Sadly, he never did. He was alone. Sometimes he came in with one or two guys, but tonight it was just him. She liked it when he came in alone—less of a chance of getting caught staring at him. Sitting in the booth closest to the bathrooms, his arms were resting on the table as his fingers typed away on his phone. His head was bent slightly so she couldn’t see his eyes. She’d watched him enough to know they were green, an amazing cat-like green. Those eyes had starred in her nightly fantasies for the last two weeks.

  Sadie grabbed a rag and began wiping down the counter so she could give the illusion of working when really she was watching him. Her eyes darted from the counter to his table as she moved further down passing a few customers seated at the counter. She smiled at an older couple finishing up their dessert and came to a stop near the bakery rack. From that end of the counter, she had a perfect view.

  His body language indicated he was deep in thought. All his concentration was on his phone. He was probably texting his girlfriend. Guys that looked like him always had girlfriends—beautiful girlfriends with perfect hair, perfect bodies, and perfect faces. Sadie’s heart beat faster as she checked him out for the thousandth time. He had really thick dark brown hair, the kind she wanted to run her fingers through. It was short but shaggy at the ends by his ears and neck. To anyone else, he might need a haircut but to Sadie, he was perfect.

  His features were completely masculine. He seemed rough and rugged. Sadie smiled to herself. This guy was dangerously powerful and so sexy. His nose was long and narrow and his lips were full. His high cheekbones and a strong brow line made his face hard. He was hard and strong and all man. She smirked at the thought of his amazing green eyes. She willed him to look up. Come on, just look up. But he didn’t.

  Releasing a heavy breath, she continued wiping down the counter, and watching. His face, while gorgeous, wasn’t perfect. His one imperfection lay in the form of a scar from the corner of his left eye down to his jaw. It blended into his dark scruff. It wasn’t a blatant scar, it was faded. Even with that scar, he was gorgeous and completely out of her league. Men like him didn’t go for girls like her. It didn’t stop Sadie from watching though. He became a fascination of hers. She found herself looking forward to him coming in. She always hoped he’d sit at one of her tables. She wanted to hear his voice. Sometimes she’d imagine what it would sound like, deep and very masculine.

  “Order up.” Ding! Ding! Ding!

  Sadie glanced at the pickup window to see Willie, the cook, place a plate down and walk back to the kitchen. She shook her head. If he was going to yell “order up” then why did he have the bell? God, she hated that bell. Now she knew how Pavlov’s dog felt. She walked back to the other end of the counter and tossed the rag into the sink.

  She knew it wasn’t her order. All her customers had been served. Her people watching skills came in handy with her waitressing job. Her customers never had to wait, she was always a step ahead in knowing when they were ready to order and ready for the check.

  Melinda, a waitress and Sadie’s current partner in crime for the night walked up to the window with a sneaky smile. Melinda gave her a sideways glance. She was up to something. Sadie grinned back at her.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Now, why would you think I was up to something?” Mock surprise was written on her face. “I’m offended.” She placed her hand on her chest and smirked.

  Sadie placed her hands on her hips and burst out laughing. “No, you’re not, takes a lot more than that to offend you.” Melinda was one of the sassiest, wildest girls Sadie knew. There wasn’t much that would or could offend her.

  She laughed. “True.”

  Shaking her head and still laughing, Sadie turned around to grab the rag again and conti
nue wiping down the counters.

  “Hey, Sadie?”

  Sadie turned and Melinda handed her the plate from the window. “Do me a favor and take this to table two, I have to run in the back really quick. Thanks, girl.” She watched Melinda bound through the door and out of sight before Sadie even realized who the order was for.

  She looked over at table two. Him. Her obsession was still on his phone. Somewhere between watching him and her conversation with Melinda, he had taken off his jacket. She was now treated to a spectacular view of muscular arms stretching a short sleeve T-shirt. The black shirt was tight on him and Sadie could make out the outline of his chest. Her face heated. She would love to run her hands over that bare chest. Damn!

  She took a deep breath and walked around the counter to the floor. Trying desperately to even her breathing, she inhaled deeply and let it out. Breathe in and out. This wasn’t really helping; she felt like she might hyperventilate. She was going to talk to him. Her heart was doing a happy dance. She would finally get to hear his voice. Sadie hoped she wasn’t disappointed, she had dreamed of that voice. The butterflies in her stomach had completely taken over and her hands started to tremble a bit. She kept taking deep breaths. As Sadie got closer to his table, her heart beat faster. She prayed he wouldn’t see it beating through her uniform. That would be awkward. She drew in one last deep breath.

  She reached his table but he hadn’t looked up yet. She cleared her throat and smiled as his eyes reached hers. Her smile spread further across her entire face when the most amazing eyes stared back at her. Sadie gazed into his eyes and was dumbstruck. She couldn’t believe she was finally going to get to talk to him.

  Seconds passed before Sadie realized her smile wasn’t being returned. His face contorted to a scowl. Her smile quickly faded when his eyes grew darker. It was not going how she thought it would go. He looked mad. That was strange because everyone who waited on him had said while he didn’t talk much, he was pleasant and polite. Melinda even said he had a sweet smile. Sadie would just have to take her word on that.

  It was just Sadie’s luck. The one time she got to wait on him, she caught him on a bad day. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. This was like getting a raise and then finding out your rent just went up, like buying the perfect dress and then realizing it looked way better on the mannequin. Utter disappointment.

  She placed his food in front of him and looked back at his face. “Uh…cheeseburger and fries. Can I get you anything else? Refill on your coffee?” She tried desperately to hide the shakiness in her voice.

  “Just the check.” His eyes dropped from hers to focus on his food.

  Her smile returned at the sound of his voice. It was better than she imagined, deep and gravelly. Chills ran through her. She imagined him saying her name, moaning her name. Sadie finally had a voice for her fantasy.

  “Okay, I’ll go grab it for you,” she cheerily replied. As she spun around, she heard him speak once more.

  “Have the other girl bring it,” he demanded, his eyes on her, scowling. His voice was still gravelly and hot but his tone obviously dismissed her. He wasn’t even remotely interested. His eyes remained hard. Sadie’s face heated as her heart sank.

  She did her best to conceal her disappointment and gave him a small smile. “Sure.”

  She walked quickly back to the counter. She refused to be hurt by his attitude. That was what she told herself. Truthfully, though, she was hurt. The one time she got to talk to him he blew her off. She wasn’t even good enough to bring him a check? What a jerk! What an asshole! What did she expect? Looking over her shoulder at him, she stared again. He was gorgeous but there was something else she saw, something more. In the past two weeks, she had watched him. She admired his confidence when he walked in and sat alone, like he was completely comfortable in his own skin. When he came in with the other guys, there was an ease about him.

  As if he knew he was being watched he raised his head and looked at her. She’d been caught! Blinking her eyes and gulping, she ducked her head and rushed toward the kitchen.

  Melinda was flipping her hair and laughing as she came out from the kitchen. When she saw Sadie, her smile dwindled and she looked concerned. By the look on Melinda’s face, she knew she was not hiding her disappointment well.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Table two wants his check. And he wants you to bring it.” She hated that her voice cracked.

  Melinda looked over her head to his table and then back to her. Her eyebrows scrunched downward and she looked confused. Her expression changed to regret as she took in Sadie’s solemn stare.

  “Okay,” she quietly muttered.

  “I’m going to take my break now if that’s okay; can you cover me?” Sadie no longer met her eyes. Her hurt and disappointment began to overwhelm her and she just wanted to be alone for a few minutes to get herself in check. Sadie was usually so guarded, not easily shaken. But this guy…This guy had gotten her scatterbrained. Jerk!

  Melinda rubbed her shoulder as she passed by her. “Sure thing, Sadie.”

  Within seconds, she was through the swinging kitchen doors and out the back. Breathing in the cool air, she tried to clear her mind of a dark-haired, green-eyed stranger.

  * * * *

  Stone watched her as she talked to his waitress. She was probably bitching about him. The way her face dropped and lost its smile when he told her to have the other waitress bring his check he knew she was upset. It was a dick move and he knew it.

  His waitress looked over at him and then back to her. He watched from hooded eyes as she walked through the doors into the kitchen. It was for the best, he knew it. Being an ass was going to keep her away from him, and far away was where that hot little waitress had to stay.

  He had discovered the diner the first night in town, two weeks ago. The food was greasy and crappy. But it wasn’t the food that had him coming in every night. It was the sweet-eyed, brown-haired sexy waitress with the tight uniform that looked like a second skin embracing her tits. She was fucking beautiful. That woman had become a daily part of his routine in his shower.

  He leaned back in the booth as his waitress walked over to him with check in hand. She gave him a polite smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Stone had upset the other girl and this one was not happy about it. A plastered fake smile greeted him as she dropped the check on the table.

  “The check. Have a nice day.” Her tone was anything but genuine.

  “Thanks,” he muttered.

  She walked away as Stone reached for his wallet but then she stopped, turning back to him.

  “There’s a truck stop about ten miles off Main, the food’s pretty good there.” Her stare was serious. “You should try it.”

  Stone snorted. “I don’t think your boss would appreciate you sending his customers to another restaurant. Do you?”

  Her lip quirked up and her back straightened. Her scowl was locked on Stone.

  “I don’t give a shit what my boss thinks.” She scowled at him. “Have a nice day.”

  Stone watched her leave, receiving her message loud and clear. She wanted him to stay away from the diner and her friend. Stone smirked. He may not be able to do anything with the sexy little waitress but he sure as shit wasn’t staying away from her completely. If all he got was the view, he was going to take it.

  Stone quickly finished up his meal. He threw down a twenty giving the smartass waitress an overly generous, undeserving tip and walked out to his car. His cell rang.

  “Yeah?”

  “Now, where have you been?” Bogs teased.

  Stone rolled his eyes

  “I’m on my way home. What do ya got?” Stone answered blandly. He wasn’t going to tell Bogs where he was. He had already taken enough ribbing about Sadie. Her name suited her, sweet, innocent but sexy as hell. He usually didn’t refer to her by name because it made her real.

  Bogs snorted. “I got an address. I’d ask what you got, but talking about your hard on f
or our sexy little Sadie is old news.”

  Stone grinded his teeth together. Bogs made it his personal mission to fuck with him every chance he got when it came to Sadie. He knew it got under Stone’s skin when he referred to her as “our” Sadie. He gripped the door handle hard and ignored the teasing. “What do ya need?”

  Bogs laughed. “We gotta head out soon.”

  “Be there in twenty.”

  “Later.”

  Stone hung up and got into the truck heading home.

  * * * *

  It had been a long night. Sadie didn’t mind the night shift. She’d been working it since she started there four years ago. It was the shift every waitress at Bernie’s started out with. She knew that when she was hired. There weren’t too many options of employment at the time, so she took it. She was just thankful for the job and income to pay her bills.

  She was never college bound. She had good enough grades in school but didn’t have the money for college, and by the time she graduated high school, her mom was long gone. She left halfway through her senior year. Her mom paid a six month advance on their trailer and called it Sadie’s graduation present. She wasn’t sure where she came up with the rent money but she did. It had been paid up until July. So while most kids in Sadie’s school were checking out college brochures for their future, she was scoping out the Want Ads.

  It wasn’t a bad job. It was easy enough. The pay was all right. Mostly, she survived on tips. When Sadie first started, she was green. Always attentive and nice to her customers, she got by on decent tips. However, the longer she worked the more she learned about the customers.

  Waitressing was like any other service job, it was a hustle. She learned what angle to use on which customers. The old folks wanted to talk so she listened. She engaged them in telling her their life story. The couples on dates wanted her to serve and nothing else, especially the women. Sadie learned to greet the girl first. Always put the check in front of the man but smile at the woman. No woman wanted competition on her date. If she was happy then he was happy and Sadie’s tip would reflect that, which made her happy. Everybody won.