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“No,” I say tightly. “Just him.”
“Oh.” She hesitates by the table as I pull my chair out. I lift my brows expectantly. Her hands wring together and she snatches her notepad from her apron. “Can I get y’all anything to drink?”
My eyes narrow, but I nod. “I’ll take a sweet tea and Oli will want her usual.”
Cassie jots it down, her head bobbing nonstop. The second she’s done writing, she blurts, “Could you ask him to call me? Roman, I mean. I’d love to catch up.” She tucks her dark hair behind her ear, and it takes everything I have not to roll my eyes.
“Sure.” I murmur, giving her a tightlipped smile. “I’ll let him know.” She beams and dips her head in thanks.
I slump into the chair and look out at the lazy downtown of Divinity Falls. Gathering my hair in my hand, I lift it off my neck as I fan it with my other. It was the wrong day to choose to wear it down. It’s so damn hot. I should have picked an inside table, but I didn’t know if Oli would be alone.
Scanning every car that drives by, my irritation grows. Where the hell is she? I knew I should’ve taken my time getting here. But she made it sound urgent.
I sigh again. It’s not her I’m annoyed with. It’s Roman. It’s me. It’s Isaac. It’s the mess the three of us are in. It’s the fact that Roman holds too much power in his stupidly tattooed hands.
Homesick? Seriously?
“Eve?” My head jerks up at the sound of my name. “Whoa, sorry.” Marcus holds his hands up, his brows bunching in concern. “You okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” I breathe, running a shaky hand over my sweat-damp hair. “How are you?” He lets out a breathy laugh as he moves closer to the table.
“Fine,” he says, sliding his hands into the pockets of his dark green cargo shorts.
I do a cursory glance, taking him in. He’s paired the shorts with a casual white v-neck and a pair of Sperry’s. I only know the brand because I’ve always liked them but they’re hard to find around here. Where is he from? He doesn’t act or dress like he's from the south and he doesn’t sound like us. California, maybe? I wonder what brought him here.
Marcus rocks back on his heels, pulling my attention and my absent smile falters. What’s wrong with me? I need to stop being so rude and get it together.
“Would you like to sit?” I wave my hand at the empty chair beside me, leaving the one opposite me open for Oli. She won’t be happy to have an intruder, but she’ll have to deal. She was late, not me.
“You wouldn’t mind?” He grabs the back of the chair as he speaks, pulling it out, not giving me a chance to say anything. He scoots it closer to me as he sits and leans his forearms on the table, his eyes on mine. “You sure you’re good?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say, waving him off. I’m not. Not even close. But it’s not like I can tell this random dude that I’m in a pseudo-love triangle with my stepfather and stepbrother. “Just hot.”
I wave my face again.
Christ, I’m so fucked.
“You know, you can tell me anything,” he says slowly, his pretty green eyes laced with concern. “I’m a great listener.”
“I’m sure,” I laugh. I rest my elbow on the table and prop my head on my hand. “If I need a confidant, I’ll find you, okay?”
“Deal.” He grins, his eyes twinkling. Glancing at the empty chair, his smile falters. “On a date?”
“With my best friend,” I say, a teasing note in my voice.
“Good,” he mutters, his smile turning genuine again. My brows lift, but before I can say anything, he continues. “I actually wanted to ask you something.”
Disappointment fills me. Marcus is a cute guy, he’s really sweet and seems like he’d be fun to date. But I can’t be with him. I have Isaac. And Roman.
No.
I have Isaac. Just Isaac.
But do I? a small voice whispers.
Bracing myself to turn him down, I force a pleasant smile on my face, one that he returns. He leans to the side and grabs his phone from his pocket and stares down at it as he scrolls, bracing his forearms on the table. I blink at him.
“I got an interview at the autobody shop down on third,” he says, and my smile falls completely.
