Larry kept an eye on them and made sure I knew he thought they were up to no good, but they didn’t cause any trouble. The only sound from them was the occasional outburst of laughter.

That is, until Jackson appeared about forty-five minutes later. He stumbled inside the door and scanned the room for me. It took a minute for his eyes to focus, but when he finally saw me, he yelled across the diner, slurring, “Get your ass over here, Cass.”

I hustled toward him, not wanting him to make another scene.

I made it a few steps from him before a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me backward and the menacing-looking twins stepped in front of me. Jackson was in absolute shock, as was I.

“What the f**k, Cass?” He tried to yell around them but they blocked his view. “You better hope I’m not up when you get home.” It wasn’t an empty threat. I knew I would suffer for this later.

They never said a word to him, just kept their arms crossed over their chests until Jax gave up and left out the front door.

I was speechless. The bell above the door chimed as it closed, and the men slid back into their booth and continued talking as if nothing had happened. I hurried to the kitchen and slipped inside. I grabbed each twin a beer. Larry shot me an angry glare, but I ignored him and took the bottles out to the guys. One of them was on the phone, but he paused to say thank you. I nodded, not wanting to interrupt his conversation.

“Here she is,” the guy said, and held out the phone for me to take.

I looked at it as if it might explode in my hand, but still, I took it and slowly raised it to my ear.

“Cass, sorry I wasn’t there this time. I have some work things to take care of. My boys promised they won’t let anything happen to you.” It was Tucker, his voice laced with concern.

“Wait . . . what?” I ran my hand over my hair as I tried to process what the hell was going on.

“You really shouldn’t let that guy treat you like that. You deserve better, sweetheart.”

There was a long, pregnant pause as I listened to his breathing on the other end of the phone. I should have told him I was not his sweetheart. I should have told him I wasn’t his problem.

“Thanks,” I whispered, my voice barely making a sound. Why does he care? He didn’t know me. He didn’t know my situation. My free hand ran up my arm to the fresh bruises from this morning. Maybe he understood better than I realized.

“No problem. I’ll drop by as soon as I can get out of here. You working until closing?”

I chewed my lip as I looked at the guys sitting in front of me. “Yeah . . . yes.”

“Good. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” I handed the phone back to the twin and made a beeline for the restroom.

Once inside, I leaned against the door and took a deep breath. No one had ever cared. Not for years. Not my parents. Not my boyfriend. It was overwhelming.

I floated through the next few hours in a daze. I was nervous about seeing Tucker. I didn’t understand why. He was the only person . . . a stranger . . . who gave a damn about me. I should have been excited, but I found myself questioning his motives. Trust wasn’t easily earned from me, not that anyone had ever before made an effort to gain it.

I washed down every empty table in the restaurant. When the place was sufficiently clean, I used my tips to buy myself an order of fries. I was starving and I didn’t want to pass out in front of Tucker. He already saw me as the damsel in distress.

I ate by myself on the far side of the diner, keeping my eyes on the twins. They had to be really good friends with Tucker to waste hours out of their day keeping an eye on me. I wanted to know more about them, but I wasn’t going to ask. Maybe they belonged to some weird altruistic biker gang that went out of their way to help others. I snorted and laughed to myself. I wished they would leave. I had taken care of myself all of these years, I didn’t need someone to babysit me now. Still, it felt good that someone cared. I still wished that someone were Jackson.

I finished my fries and grabbed the old broom and dustpan from the supply closet to clean the ancient tile floor. I’d never put this much effort into taking care of the diner, not that it made a difference. It didn’t shine like a new penny, and all I had successfully done was wear myself down.

The bell above the door chimed and I stopped dead in my tracks, holding my breath as Tucker stepped inside. He scanned the diner, and when his eyes met mine, he smiled. I smiled back and felt heat as a blush washed over my face. This boy was nothing but trouble, but damned if I cared.

He slipped into the booth with his friends, and I headed to the kitchen to grab him a beer, leaving the broom propped against the wall. My palms were sweating and I felt excited. This was new for me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt excited about anything.

I grabbed a longneck from the fridge and took a deep breath before slipping back out onto the main floor.

I placed the drink in front of Tucker on the table and gave him a smile. A genuine smile.

“Thanks.”

I looked down at my feet and back to him. “Anytime.”

He smiled, and his cheeks dimpled. “This is Chris and Terry.” He pointed to the guys with him with the neck of his bottle.

I nodded. “Nice to meet you.” I felt like an idiot, standing there grinning like a fool.

Terry . . . or was it Chris? One of the twins broke the silence. “We’re gonna head out, man. Got that party to hit, and Eric is probably already swinging naked from a chandelier. You sure you ain’t coming?”

Tucker’s eyes flickered to mine and back to his friend.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” the twin said, and gave me a small grin. The guys got up from the table and headed for the front door.

Tucker and I stared at each other awkwardly for a moment as the bell chimed, signaling their exit.

“Wanna sit?” He motioned to the seat across from him.

I had no other customers to tend to, so I slid onto the bench seat and fidgeted nervously with my fingers. “Why did you do that?”

He gave a half grin. “Well, I couldn’t be here. I had a work obligation.” He took a drink from his bottle.

“I don’t mean why did you send someone here, I meant why did you try to protect me at all?”

He looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language. “Why wouldn’t I?” He sounded insulted. He took a long drink from his beer, his eyes trained on mine.

It made me nervous. I dug into my bottom lip with my teeth and stared down at my hands. He had to want something from me. No one goes this far out of his way to be nice to someone without wanting something in return. “And you still aren’t going to tell me what you do for a living?”

He sat his beer on the table and shook his head no.

“I’m not going to judge you.” I laughed. “I’m a waitress, for God’s sake.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Make it sound like you’re beneath everyone else.”

“I don’t even know why you care.”

“That’s because you didn’t ask.”

“Are we playing Twenty Questions again? I don’t think it ended very well last time.”

He laughed and drank the remainder of his beer.

Chapter Five

GO FOR A ride with me.”

I glanced up at him, shocked.

“On my bike. Let’s ride around the city. You can give me the tour.”

The idea sent my stomach into somersaults. “I don’t think so.” I tucked the loose pieces of my hair behind my ear as I shook my head.

“Why not?” He grinned that wicked smile of his, and my eyes became glued to his pouty lips. He leaned over and lowered his voice. “What have you got to lose?”

Everything. I could lose everything. “I don’t even know you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Why are you wasting your time here talking to me?”

“You think you’re a waste of time?”

“I think a guy like you has better things to do.”

“Better things to do than you, sweetheart?” He winked, and my skin immediately heated and for once I had no idea what to say. “You got a pen?”

“Yeah.” I grabbed the pen from my apron and slid it across the table to him, confused. He slipped his napkin in front of him and began to write. “What are you doing?” My curiosity was getting the best of me.

“Making a note of this. I’d imagine it isn’t often a girl like you is speechless.” He laughed as I grabbed the napkin and crumpled it into a ball, throwing it at him. He playfully dodged it.

I glanced up at the clock. We would be closing in a few minutes, and all of my side work had been completed this morning before my shift. My mom and Jax would most likely be passed out cold. They wouldn’t even notice I was gone. I wasn’t anxious to see Jax after his threat earlier, anyway. I jumped up from the table and made my way to the kitchen.

“Where ya going? I was only playing!” Tucker called after me.

I smiled to myself. “I’m taking off, Larry.” I untied my apron and tossed it on the counter. He gave me a curious look, but I ignored him and headed back into the dining area. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Tucker grinned from ear to ear. He hopped up and placed his hand on the small of my back as we made our way out into the parking lot. “You know I don’t back down from a challenge.”

I was exhausted from the tense day, but my adrenaline was racing now with the tingle from his fingers on my spine. We reached his bike and I took a moment to look it over. I had never been on one before, and I suddenly became afraid.

Tucker let out a small chuckle and held out his spare helmet to me. “It’ll be fine, I promise. I won’t let you get hurt.”

I took the helmet and slid it over my head. Many people had made promises to me in the past and I knew better than to ever take them seriously, but for some reason I believed Tucker. He went out of his way to make me safe, keep me protected, even when he couldn’t do it in person, and that had to count for something.

He slipped his leg over the bike and stood it upright, knocking back the kickstand with his boot. “Come on.” He slipped his helmet onto his head and held out his hand for me.

Electricity shot through the tips of my fingers as they connected with his. I honestly couldn’t remember ever getting this feeling with Jax, even when things weren’t so bad. It was both frightening and incredibly exciting. I lifted my leg over the back of the giant black machine and settled my body against his. It was awkward being so close to someone I didn’t know. “Where do I hold on?”

He reached back and grabbed my hands, wrapping them around his waist. “Hold on to me, sweetheart.” He rubbed my hand, then quickly went back to the handlebars. The bike roared to life, but I hardly heard it over the sound of my heart thumping in my ears. His body was rock hard under my fingers, and I could feel the ridges of his stomach muscles as they pulled and tensed under my fingertips.

We rode a few miles into the city under the cloak of darkness. Everything was so much more beautiful at night. The stores and restaurants were lit with softly glowing signs. We traveled up Interstate 95 for about twenty minutes, but it didn’t feel long enough. I wasn’t ready to give up my seat on the back of Tucker’s bike, even if it was only mine for the night.

I guided him down River Street. The bike jumped against the cobblestones of the road, and we had to slow to nearly walking speed to keep from rattling our brains.

River Street is a popular tourist spot during the day, but at night it comes alive with the locals out to have some fun. Music overflowed into the street along with the people who were drinking and having a good time. Vendors line up outside the shops to sell their homemade crafts and paintings.

“Let’s grab a drink,” he called over his shoulder as he pulled the bike to the designated parking lot along the river. I pulled off my helmet and yanked off the tie on my hair, shaking it free to cascade down my back. What was I thinking, going out in my work clothes? My eyes scanned the crowd of women wearing miniskirts and cutoff shorts to help fight off the heat on this balmy night.

Tucker took the helmet from my hand and secured it to the back of his bike while he watched me play with my hair.

“I’m not really dressed for this.” I looked down at my black polo shirt and black slacks. I looked horrible.

Tucker’s eyes scanned the storefronts. “There!” He pointed to one of the little shops along the river. A red canopy hung over the door. In thick black cursive was written SCARLETT’S. He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the street. The shop owner was just taking their dress racks inside to close for the evening.

“Wait! One second! We need a dress.” He grinned his impossibly sexy smile and pulled me past her. I gave her an apologetic grin as we slipped inside the store, but she was busy drooling over Tucker. He seemed to have that effect on everyone. The store was small and crammed with racks of bohemian-style dresses and cases of jewelry. The walls were stone and painted a beautiful gold.

Tucker began leafing through the dresses on the racks, finally selecting one that he handed over to me. “Try this one.”

“That’s not a dress, it’s a scarf.” I glared at him.

He smiled and stuck it back on the rack, flipping through a few more. “How about this?”

I held the dress to my body. It was beautiful and definitely not my style. Not that I had a style. I wore hand-me-downs and thrift-store finds. This was an elegant, cream-colored garment decorated with pale purple flowers. The halter dress reminded me of Marilyn Monroe.