Page 153 of Cozen

Reds and purples.

Yellows and oranges.

It reminded her of that day … that evening … all those years ago.

Cozen tucked her legs up to her chest on the wicker chair, and stared out at the ocean. As long as the shopkeeper didn’t notice her before he closed up for the evening, she had probably found a place to sleep for the night.

Her last boss fired her when he realized she was sixteen. Apparently, it would have been okay for her to strip on a pole, but not be serving liquor.

Something like that …

Losing her job meant she couldn’t use the backroom in the bar to sleep, either. There went her damn bed.

And the roof over her head.

She’d figure it out.

She always figured shit out.

“Hey, you okay?”

Cozen glanced up—worry saturated her insides as she thought the shopkeeper had noticed her, and was about to send her on her way. It was supposed to rain tonight, or so she overheard someone saying. She really just needed a bit of shelter to keep her out of the wetness, and the overhanging roof with the wicker furniture behind the café on the beach would provide that.

She wasn’t going to do anything.

Not steal, or whatever.

She only stole when things were really bad.

Instead of the shopkeeper, Cozen found someone else entirely.

A beautiful man.

Brown skin with a golden glow. Dark eyes, and a charming smile. He was a couple of years older than her, at least. Tall, with wide shoulders and a body that looked like he might be a boxer. Something radiated from him that almost made Cozen feel safe.

She didn’t know what it was.

No one ever made her feel safe.

Against the backdrop of the colorful sky and the rushing tide on the beach, the guy almost looked God-like.

A saving grace for her, maybe.

She didn’t even know if she believed in that kind of thing.

“You okay?” he asked again.

Cozen swallowed hard, and stood up from the chair. “Yeah, I’m just … waiting for a friend.”

“A friend?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“So, you won’t mind if I sit here and wait with you, then?”

“Uh …”

“Just to make sure nobody bothers you while you wait,” he added quickly.