by A. M. Myers
“Well, let’s see how the food is.”
“Here you boys go,” the waitress says as she stops at our table and sets a plate in front of each of us. “Can I get y’all anything else?”
Smith smiles up at her. “I think we’re good for now, darlin’.”
“Just holler if you need me,” she replies with a blush staining her cheeks and I nod as she turns and walks back to the counter. By the time I glance back at Smith, he’s already shoving a huge piece of lasagna into his mouth and I sit back with an arched brow to see his reaction. He chews for a second before his face contorts with disgust and I laugh. To his credit, he doesn’t spit it out but once he has forced the first bite down, he doesn’t take a second.
“That’s fucking terrible,” he whispers and I nod, combing through the noodles on my plate that look like they were cooked a week ago.
“Yeah, we should get pictures of this shit, too.”
He nods as he pulls his phone out again and starts snapping pictures of the food. “I gotta tell ya…”
His words are cut off by a crash from the kitchen and we both turn as Ben slaps one of the waitresses across the face. I’m out of my chair before I even realize what I’m doing but I don’t get far before Smith grabs my arm.
“Sit down, brother,” he hisses, his gaze flicking around the room and I do the same, deflating when I see the two other tables brave enough to risk lunch here, watching me. “We have to keep a low profile.”
I stare at him for a second before shaking him off. Everything he says is true but I also can’t let something like that just happen and not do anything. After charging across the dining room, I step into the kitchen and Ben turns to look at me. The man is a little pissant and I mean that literally since he just barely reaches the top of my chest as I glare at him. My gaze flicks to the blonde he hit.
“You okay, darlin’?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“You feel safe enough to stay here?”
“I…” Her gaze flicks to Ben and I notice her hands shaking before she turns back to me with resolve in her gaze. “Yes, I’m okay.”
“Guess what…” I say, turning back to Ben with my skin on fire and my fingers itching to wrap around his throat. I pretend to glance down at his name tag. “…Ben. You just made a new best friend.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
I take a step forward and flash him a menacing smile. “It means I’m going to be back here every goddamn day and if I ever see you put your hands on another woman, I’ll show you how it feels. Are we clear?”
“You think I’m afraid of you?” he sneers, crossing his arms and I glance around the kitchen as the three cooks and dishwasher look on with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. Fuck this little shit, thinking he’s a badass and hitting the women who work for him. Before he even realizes what’s happening, I sweep his legs out from under him, flip him on his stomach, and shove my knee against his spine as he screams.
“What was that, Ben?”
“Okay, okay. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re fucking right, it won’t.” I release him and stand back as he lumbers to his feet. As he backs away from me, I wave and flash him another grin. “See you tomorrow, Benjamin.”
“Jesus, dude,” Smith says as I get back to the table and sink into my seat. I shrug.
“What? I couldn’t let him get away with that. Besides, I just gave us the perfect cover for coming back here every day.”
He shakes his head. “Where the hell did you learn that move and can you show me how to do it?”
“The Marines and no,” I answer with a laugh, feeling lighter than I did when we first arrived. My phone pings from my pocket and I pull it out, frowning when I see the notification from the dating app I signed up for.
“Everything okay?”
I glance up and nod before shoving the phone back in my pocket. I can’t believe I actually signed up for that stupid thing and that I still haven’t deleted it. “Yeah.”
“You sure?” he asks, his face knitted in concern. I sigh.
“I drank too much the other night and signed up for a goddamn dating site.”
He grins and leans forward. “Did you now? Any luck?”
“No,” I lie, thinking of the message from a woman named Shiloh I just got. He laughs.
“You fucking liar.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter cause it was a dumbass idea and I’m not going to go through with it.”
“Why not?”
“‘Cause like I said, it was just a dumb idea that sounded good after a few too many beers.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, leaning back again. “But you just said you wanted the wife and the family and all that, right?”
I nod.
“So, you’re never going to find it if you don’t try.”
I roll my eyes. “Like you tried? Or Storm? Or Kodiak? You all met your wives because of luck.”
“Dude, just give it a shot. There’s a coffee shop literally right across the street,” he says, pointing out the window and I glance over my shoulder, eyeing the little cafe. “Just pop over there and get coffee with her. It’s like thirty minutes out of your day.”
I flash him a glare. “Just let it go.”
“No. I’m serious. Give it a shot. Maybe she’s the one.”
“You sound like a goddamn girl right now, you know that?”
He shrugs. “All I hear you saying is that you’re scared and maybe you should shut up and listen to me cause I know how good it is on the other side of that mountain you’re too afraid to cross.”
Motherfucker.
I want to come back with a snappy remark but his words hit a target I didn’t even realize I’d put up and I sigh as I lean back in my chair and fiddle with the silverware next to my plate. Jesus Christ, what the hell am I doing? I’m thirty years old and I’ve been single for the last ten goddamn years because of one dishonest woman.
“You’re an asshole,” I growl as I pull my phone out of my pocket and he laughs.
“I’m okay with that.”
Ignoring him, I pull up the message from Shiloh.
Shiloh062:
Hey, handsome ;)
I’d love to get to know you more.
Are you free soon to go out?
WyattL23:
I’m free right now, actually.
Want to grab a cup of coffee?
“So…” Smith asks, leaning across the table to try and see my phone as I move it away from his gaze. “What did she say?”
“None of your damn business.”
“Aw, come on. Let me see the fruits of my labor.”
My phone buzzes with a notification and I scoop it up as I shake my head. There’s no way in hell I’m giving him the satisfaction of this. “No.”
Shiloh062:
I’d love to.
Just tell me where.
I send her the name and address of the cafe across the street and she replies back right away, telling me she’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Setting my phone back down on the table, I run my hands through my hair as my knee bounces. Smith smirks.
“Jesus, dude. You look like you’re about to shit a brick.”
I pin him with a glare. “Shut the fuck up. I’m going on this damn date, aren’t I?”
“When is she going to be here?” he asks, grabbing his fork and cutting off another piece of lasagna. I watch in fascination as he shoves the bite in his mouth and chews for a second before making a face and spitting it out on his plate. “Fuck! I forgot how bad that was.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“It’s not my fault, man. It’s sitting in front of me, looking and smelling like lasagna and I’m so fucking hungry that my brain blocked out how bad it is. Now, answer the question.”
I scowl. “What question are you talking about?”
“You know damn well what question I’m talking about. When is she going to be here?”
Ro
lling my eyes, I glance down at my watch. “Ten minutes.”
“And just to give me an idea of how screwed you are, when was the last time you went on an actual date?”
“Fuck you,” I spit, crossing my arms over my chest as I turn to look out the window. It pisses me the fuck off but he’s right. The last time I went on a real life date was when I was married to Piper, before I deployed and my whole world collapsed. Since then, if I did hook up with a girl, it was always casual, something just to fulfill a need and dating was never required.
“Holy shit, please tell me you’ve been on a date since she left you…”
“I said shut up, Smith,” I snap, interrupting him and he blows out a breath.
“Oh, this is such a bad idea.”
My gaze flicks to his and I glare. “Now you tell me this. Five minutes ago, you were calling me a pussy and egging me on.”
“Five minutes ago I didn’t know how fucked you were.”
“Thanks, asshole.”
He shakes his head. “It’s okay. We can fix this. Just ask her questions about herself and don’t delve into religion, politics, or shit like that. Keep it fun.”
“I’m not a goddamn idiot.”
“I have to cover all my bases,” he answers, picking up his fork again before remembering how terrible the food is and dropping it onto the table with a sigh. He looks at his phone and nods to the coffee shop. “You should get going.”
“I hate you,” I tell him and he laughs.
“No, you don’t. Oh, if they have pastries, please bring me one. I’m so fucking hungry and this food is inedible.”
I shake my head. “Not a fucking chance.”
“Come on, Fuzz,” he pleads as he stands up and I laugh, shaking my head again.
“Nope. Enjoy your stakeout.”
He continues to plead as I walk away from the table and I feel a little bit of satisfaction over the fact that he’ll have to sit there hungry while I get this stupid date over with. Then again, maybe I’d prefer to sit there hungry. When I step outside, I suck in a breath and lean back against the brick wall of the restaurant to relax. I already know I’m a moody fucking bastard and if I go into that date pissed off, the poor girl will be miserable. As I glance up at the cafe, I release a breath. It hadn’t occurred to me until Smith said something that I haven’t actually been on a date in ten damn years and I don’t know how I let so much of my life get away from me. Jesus, I’ve pissed away so much time being angry at Piper that I haven’t lived but that just infuriates me more.
How did it all come to this?
Dropping my head back, I run my hand through my hair and blow out a breath. I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on Piper Robichaud like it was yesterday even though it’s been twenty damn years since that day. She had just come to live with her aunt Myra who was my next-door neighbor and even at ten years old, when I looked at her, I felt something I never had before. The look in her eyes… it hit me right in the chest and I just knew, with the innocence of a boy, that she was different than any other girl I’d ever looked at before. We hit it off like a house on fire and I rarely spent more than the eight hours my parents required me to sleep away from her. Three years later, I asked her to be my girlfriend and the rest is history.
That girl, she fucking owned me, heart, soul, and body and even though I was still too young to fully grasp the magnitude of our feelings for each other, I still knew that she was it for me so the night we graduated from high school, we drove out to the river and under the full moon, I dropped down on one knee and asked her to marry me. Right after that, I joined the Marines and we got married down at the courthouse with my parents and a couple of our friends watching on before I shipped off to boot camp. They stationed me in North Carolina and shortly after we arrived, I had to break the news to her that I was deploying. Leaving her was hands down one of the hardest things I’d ever done and as terrified as I was, I knew I would make it back to her safely. I had to. With Piper in my life, I had too damn much to live for to die in the desert and I would never leave her like that. Too bad I never saw the real threat coming.
Shoving off the wall, I shove my hands in my pockets, pushing thoughts of my ex-wife out of my mind as I start crossing the street for my date but her memory is fucking persistent. It always is and thoughts of her always leave me feeling the way I did ten years ago when she walked out of my life. What the hell is wrong with me? I was supposed to be relaxing so I could go on my damn date but I feel more agitated now than I did before I stepped outside and I am already feeling sorry for poor Shiloh. Any woman I want in my life deserves a hell of a lot better than a messed up man with trust issues.
Jesus Christ, Landry.
Get your shit together.
“Wyatt?” a sweet voice calls and I turn, taking in the curvy blonde walking toward me. Damn, her pictures didn’t do her justice and the way her jeans hug her hips flips a switch in me. She smiles and I straighten my shoulders as I pull my hands out of my pockets.
“Shiloh?”
She nods as she reaches me and I extend my hand at the same time that she goes in for a hug. I awkwardly wrap my arms around her and pat her back like she’s a fucking child before rolling my eyes at myself.
For fuck’s sake.
I can almost hear Smith laughing his ass off at me from across the street.
“Nice to meet you,” I tell her as I pull away and her smile widens.
“You, too. Are you ready? I’m dying for some caffeine.” She motions to the cafe and I nod before gesturing for her to go first before placing my hand against the small of her back and leading her inside. I don’t know how I look but everything I do, every movement, every word I utter, feels so goddamn forced and awkward and I barely resist the urge to apologize to her for what is sure to be a terrible date. As she steps up to the counter and orders her latte, she reaches into her purse for her wallet and I shake my head, stepping forward to lay a twenty-dollar bill on the counter.
“I got this.”
She shakes her head. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I insist,” I assure her with a smile. I may be a little rusty at this dating thing but I still know that my mother would kick my ass black and blue if she found out I didn’t pay for a date. Shiloh flashes me a grin as she moves off to the side for me to order. The barista, a teenage kid with big, bug glasses, looks up at me expectantly as I scan the counter, my stomach growling at the sight of the donuts and muffins. “Cup of coffee, black, and a blueberry muffin.”
Once I pay and we both have our orders, I let her lead me to a table along the back wall and sit across from her as she stares out the window for a second before laughing.
“So, I have a small confession.”
I nod. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”
“This is my first date after signing up on the site and I’m so nervous.” Color rushes to her cheeks and I smile as she ducks her head. Fuck, she’s cute. Okay, so maybe I haven’t dated in a long time but I’ve got this. Shaking off some of my nerves, I reach across the table and grab her hand.
“If it makes you feel any better, this is my first date, too.”
“Really?” she asks, her gaze flicking up to mine and I nod. Tension seeps out of her shoulders and she takes a deep breath before taking a sip of her coffee. “Okay. Now I feel a little bit better.”
I pull my hand back. “Glad I could help.”
“So, Wyatt… tell me about yourself.”
“What would you like to know?”
She tilts her head to the side as she studies me for a second before leaning forward and meeting my eyes. “Actually, there is one very important question I have for you.”
“Shoot,” I answer with a nod.
“What are you looking for out of this?”
I arch a brow. “Our date?”
“Yeah, ‘cause I’ve talked to a couple other guys on the site who were looking for something different than I was and I don’t want to waste my time, ya kno
w?”
My stomach sinks as I nod. “And what is it that you’re looking for?”
“A good time. I mean, I’m only twenty-four and I’m certainly not ready to settle down anytime soon.”
“Oh,” I mutter, trying not to grimace as my mood plummets. “Unfortunately, we are looking for different things.”
She purses her lips. “I was afraid of that… but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time together until you find what you’re looking for, does it?”
“Actually, it does. I’m sorry and I hope you find what you need,” I say as I stand and grab my coffee and muffin from the table. Between my sour mood earlier and the disappointment coursing through me now, I don’t have the patience for anymore of this. I nod at her, ignoring the shocked expression on her face, before turning and walking out of the cafe. After tossing my stuff in a trash posted right outside the door, I pull my phone out of my pocket and open the dating app. This was a bad idea from the jump and I never should have let Smith talk me into going on this date. In the settings menu, my thumb hovers over the delete account button as a message pops up on the screen from a woman named Violet and I pause, studying her photo.
Again, what the hell is wrong with me?
Apparently, I am a glutton for punishment because instead of deleting the account like I damn well know I should, I open her message and reply.
Chapter Four
Piper
“Pip-Squeak!” Eden calls as the door to my apartment opens. “You home?”
I poke my head out of my bedroom on the second level and glare at her as she pulls her keys out of the lock and shuts the door behind her before turning to me. “How many times have I asked you not to call me that?”
“Dunno. Why don’t you try a few more?” She shrugs as she walks into my apartment and sets her purse down on the kitchen table before waving the thick folder in her hand. “Come down. I have something to show you.”
“Fine,” I grumble. She drops the file onto the table with a thud as I walk down the stairs and I arch a brow. What the hell is in that file? She turns and walks into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. Since the day we met, we’ve always had an open door policy with each other when it came to our apartments and most days, I absolutely love it but I didn’t sleep well last night, haunted by nightmares, and my patience is wearing thin today.
