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“Why not?” he asked, his clear blue gaze boring into my soul, but there wasn’t any judgment in his gaze. It was pure curiosity. I opened and shut my mouth.
“I never said no,” I rasped, pulling my hand away from his as I reached for the pad in my apron to take his order.
“No, but you were planning on it.” I bristled at his assumption even though he was right.
“I can’t. I have to close tonight.” He stared at me for a moment, then he simply shrugged.
“Well, what can you do, right? If you say you can’t, you can’t.” His bright blue gaze dropped to the menu even though I was about ninety percent sure he was about to order what he normally did.
“Right,” I whispered. I didn’t like the disappointment I felt. Or the easy way he’d just given up on sharing a meal with me.
Oh, well.It was better this way. The attraction I’d felt when I saw him for the first time might have sent a jolt of awareness and familiarity through me, something I had never felt with anyone, much less at first sight. But it had obviously been one sided.
“Okay, then, what can I get you?” I asked, changing the subject. I put a fake smile on my face to try and mask the hurt I felt.He is just going to let it go. Maybe the West men weren’t as stubborn as they were rumored to be.
He set the menu on the counter and looked at me. I hated how I felt like I was the only person within a fifty-mile radius to exist when he stared at me that way.
“Pancake plate. Turkey bacon with scrambled eggs.”Yup. His usual.
“Sounds good. I’ll get that going for you.” I nodded and turned, putting the order up for my cook in the back. Sasha, my cook and friend, smiled at me and gave me a knowing look. One I knew meant we would be talking soon.
I moved to the coffee station and started to work on getting a new pot of decaf going. When I was done, I stood there, staring at it as it percolated, and my mind filled with visions of the man who was probably staring at the back of my head.
Visions of what could be. Filthy sweaty ones.
“Earth to Emi!” Maya snapped me out of the trance I’d found myself in. “There you are.” She winked. Her eyes shined with humor. “What is going on with you today?” she asked, and I felt my face start to warm up.
“Nothing.” I cleared my voice because it was clear to me how breathy and hoarse it sounded. “I just, umm…” I brushed my long hair off my shoulder. “I didn’t sleep all that great.”
That was the understatement of a lifetime.
How could I sleep when a certain cowboy’s face plagued my dreams? Anytime I shut my eyes,bang!There he was. His stupid, beautiful blue eyes and a little too long dark hair that made my fingers itch to move it out of his face so I could get a better look at him.
But I knew better.
He’d walked in at my most vulnerable.
Like a gentleman and true cowboy, he had held and soothed me. Let me pour my heart out while I sobbed and made a mess of his flannel shirt. Heck, he even walked me to my door to make sure I made it home safe and sound.
Somehow, when I slipped into my bed that night, I fell asleep calmer than I had in a long time. Slipping between my thick covers and drifting off with a smile on my face. I genuinely truly believed that maybe, just maybe, I’d judged the cowboy too harshly.
That maybe there was more to him than the jerk who seemed to love talking about me, how I had no right to swoop into town and buy the diner from under the town when that was not how it happened.
That night, hope had started to worm its way into my heart.
Then nothing.
Sure, he came in daily, sometimes twice, but he didn’t mention that night again.
“Couldn’t sleep, huh?” Maya repeated. Her attention was on the basket that held the utensils, and she started to grab two sets. “Had nothing to do with a certain you know who?” she asked under her breath. I hushed her, shaking my head.
“Order’s up!” Sasha called out. I hurried over to get Clay’s food. When I set it in front of him and, just like I had assumed, his eyes were on me.
“Here you go. Need a top off for your coffee?”
“No, darlin’, I’m good for now.”
“Okay.” I nodded, not knowing exactly what to say but knowing I didn’t want to leave. “How’s the ranch?” I asked, making small talk.
