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“Oh, for the love of God,” I huff and storm over to the medicine cabinet, grabbing a box of Benadryl off the top shelf. “I’m not dying, you idiots. I just need these.” I wave the packet in my hand as I make my way over to the sink, then grab a glass and fill it with water.
Turning around, I pop two pills into my mouth and take a big drink while glancing back and forth between them, my irritation tapering slightly when I notice the look of anguish written all over Owen’s face.
“Jesus, Mac, I’m so fucking sorry. I—” he murmurs painfully.
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard, and the annoyance I was feeling a moment ago quickly dissipates. He looks positively distraught, and the genuine remorse captured in his eyes is something I haven’t seen before.
All the times he has pulled pranks on me, never once has he shown such deep-seated regret over his actions, and I can’t help but feel my own guilt tug away at me that I didn’t reassure him sooner that everything would be fine.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine,” I say, placing the empty glass down, along with the Benadryl, then push off the counter and make my way toward the exit. “And stop calling me Mac,” I fire over my shoulder before pushing through the double doors and onto the restaurant floor.
Making my way behind the counter, I spot Lexi smirking at me before she lifts up her cup of coffee and takes a sip, observing me over the rim.
“What?” I ask, moving to collect the plates from the serving window, feeling Owen’s eyes on me the whole time.
“That was quite the show. I almost felt sorry for the guy.”
“Some friend you are,” I mutter, and she shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have work today?”
Lexi’s family owns the grocery store across the street, and like me, she went to work for the family business when she left college. With a degree in accounting, she took over the books after her father attempted to do it himself and nearly got audited by the IRS.
What was supposed to be a temporary position to get everything back on track ended up being permanent. And while she could be making the big bucks working for some high-profile corporation in the city, there’s something to be said about doing your part to help make a small town like this thrive. Everything we do to make each and every business here successful matters, not just to owners but to the people who live here and rely on having what they need close by. The simplicity of this way of living is humbling and more rewarding than any dollar amount could offer.
“Day off,” she responds without a deep yawn, then leans her head on her palm and looks at me with an amused twinkle in her eyes. “Besides, I’m sticking around to witness your payback. This shit is more entertaining than an episode ofRidiculousness.”
“Yeah, it’s entertaining, alright,” I grumble sarcastically as I grab the coffeepot, then turn back to Lexi to refill her cup.
Hearing the door to the diner open, I glance over and spot a very familiar blonde bombshell strutting in here like she owns the place.
Violet Buchanan.
Former captain of the cheerleaders at Clark Falls High, prom and homecoming queen, and Owen Parker’s high school sweetheart. With her long blonde hair, watermelon boobs, and legs for days, she could be covered in mud and cow shit and still be the most beautiful girl in the room. But her beauty is very much only skin deep. She is the very definition of a world-class bitch and is downright rotten to the core. Why she is still living here is one of the town’s greatest mysteries. She’s always believed she was better than everyone else just for existing and has had no qualms in trying to prove that point countless times.
Usually, the sight of her would make me feel all sorts of inadequacy. But with the plans I have in store for today, her arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. So plastering on an award-winning smile, I give her the warmest of welcomes.
CHAPTER3
OWEN
I’m an asshole.
A complete and utter asshole.
Playing pranks on each other is our thing. It always has been. And I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I revel in the constant back and forth between us. It’s the highlight of my working day, it makes me feel alive, and it’s the only time I ever have her full, undivided attention.
But never in a million years would I ever do anything to intentionally hurt her.
I genuinely thought I’d learned everything there was to know about Mackenzie Scott over the years. I’d cataloged everything, from her likes to her dislikes. To the way she bites her bottom lip when she’s nervous or how, when she’s happy, it reflects in her aqua-blue eyes like two gems shimmering under lustrous streams of light.
So I was very well aware of the fact that she hates lavender. With the way she practically tore up the diner like a crazed animal in search of the lavender-scented diffuser I secretly hid behind the coffee machine, her hatred for it was abundantly clear. But had I known she was allergic to the flower itself, I would never have taken things this far.
“Order for table five,” Mac calls through the pass-through, then slaps her hand down on the bell sitting on the ledge.
Looking over my shoulder, I see her bloodshot eyes piercing right through me as she punches the order slip through the spike, and a mixture of guilt and longing forms a tight knot in my chest.
Even with her face all red and puffy, she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
Her long chocolate-brown hair is tied in a ponytail and cascades down her back, the locks shimmering and rippling with her movements like strands of silk caught in an afternoon breeze. She’s not wearing makeup today, but she doesn’t need to. Her smooth, flawless skin always holds that subtle hint of a golden glow even long after her tan has faded from the summer just gone.
