His fathomless gaze rested on the hollow of her throat for a moment before he said,
"Just coffee."
"Gotcha."
She could feel those wintry blue eyes on her back as she turned and walked away.
Knowing he was watching her sent a shiver down her spine.
"That guy at booth six is… " Bobbie Sue Banks, one of the diner's other waitresses, shook her head. "I don't know who he is, but he's kind of spooky, don't you think?"
Spooky was just the right word. There was something just the slightest bit off about him.
If she didn't know better, she might have thought he was some kind of alien. She remembered an old Twilight Zone episode in which the aliens had looked just like everyone else, except one hid a third eye under his hat and the other one hid the fact that he had more than two arms under his coat.
"Well, lett's hope he's a big tipper." Vicki glanced over her shoulder at the booth in the back only to find that the mysterious stranger was no longer sitting there.
Frowning, she looked around the diner and then she saw him through the front window, walking down the rain-swept street with Sharlene Tilden, who had been sitting at table two. Sharlene was a cashier at Perry's Market. She came in for dinner every night at the same time. Sharlene was divorced and it was rumored that, since her divorce, she slept around, but that was none of Vicki's business. Anyway, she didn't believe it for a minute.
Sharlene had never been the type to indulge in casual sex.
With a shrug, Vicki tore up the stranger's order and went to clear Sharlene's table.
The stranger was back again the following night, sitting at the same booth in the back corner of the diner, one arm flung over the back. Once again, he wore black jeans, a black T-shirt, and a long black coat. Once again, it was as if all the darkness in the world had gathered around him.
Taking a deep breath, Vicki pulled a pencil out of her pocket and went to take his order.
"What'll it be?"
He lifted one shoulder and let it fall in a negligent shrug. "The special will be fine."
"Are you gonna stick around long enough to eat it tonight?" she asked, jotting his order down on her pad.
A wry grin lifted one corner of his mouth. "I might."
"Do you want coffee again?"
His gaze held hers for a long moment. Something flickered in the depths of his eyes, something primal and sensual that made her heart skip a beat and sent a rush of sexual awareness to every nerve and cell in her body.
"Sure." His voice was soft and low, and far too intimate.
With a nod, she dragged her gaze from his and went to turn in his order. Standing near the counter, she glanced around the room, noticing for the first time that Sharlene wasn't there. Vicki checked her watch, then shrugged. It was always possible that Sharlene had decided to eat dinner at home. She did that once in a while, though not often. She had told Vicki once that she wasn't crazy about cooking and she hated to eat alone.
Vicki noted the other regulars. There was old Bert Summers, who owned the local newspaper, and Judy West, who worked over at the Pear Blossom Creek Curl and Dye Beauty Salon. Judy was always trying out "a new look." Tonight, her shoulder-length hair was pink and teased into a beehive that made it look just like cotton candy. Jovial Rex Curtis, who owned and operated the car repair shop across town, was avidly reading the sports page; Maddy Malone, who was a teller at the Pear Blossom Creek Bank and Trust Company, had her nose buried in a book. Vicki had always thought Rex and Maddy were made for each other.
A pretty redhead sat alone at table five. Vicki didn't remember seeing the woman in the diner before, but that wasn't unusual. A lot of their customers were travelers passing through town who stopped in at the diner just long enough for a quick cup of coffee or a bite to eat.
Vicki turned away when Gus called her name to tell her that her order was up. As she carried the tray to the far side of the room, she noticed that the stranger was gone.
Tonight, he had left a twenty dollar bill under his water glass.
Biting down on her lower lip, Vicki looked over her shoulder.
Somehow, she wasn't the least bit surprised to discover that the pretty redhead was gone, too.
Chapter 3
Victoria slept late Sunday morning. Looking at the clock through one bleary eye, she saw that she had missed early Mass. With a groan and a sense of guilt, she threw back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.