Blackstone Ranger Charmer - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,40

her lips, she continued, “There’s a place called Full Moon Diner on Highway Seventy-Five. I’ll meet you there at seven thirty.” It would be perfect timing so she could tell him she had to go home right away to wake up for work the next day.

Tony shot up to his feet and dusted himself off. “Seven thirty. Don’t be late, baby.”

Temperance watched him leave, just to make sure he really did go. When the door closed behind him, she let out a sigh of relief. Though a few people were still staring at her, she ignored them, and instead spun around and marched away from the table.

“What do you want me to do about the flowers?” Bridgette asked before she went into the kitchen.

“Ugh, throw them away,” she said.

“And, uh,” Bridgette glanced around sheepishly. “He didn’t pay his check.”

Temperance grumbled inwardly. Typical. “I’ll take care of it. Sorry about that, Bridgette.” With a deep sigh, she pushed the door open.

I should have told him to go fuck off. That was her thought the rest of the day. Tony was like a disease, and everything he touched turned to shit. Her heart plummeted as her thoughts immediately turned to Gabriel. It was a good thing he wasn’t here, because she didn’t want to have to explain to him about Tony and the shame she felt at what she allowed him to do to her.

He can never find out about Tony or that he’s even here. She’d meet Tony and get rid of him before Gabriel came back from Vegas. And for now, she would focus on work and hopefully just get through the day.

The rest of the workday passed much quicker than she wanted, even though she procrastinated and stayed until it was time to leave to meet Tony. She had prepped for tomorrow, telling Rosie she wanted to be ready, but the truth was, there was no way she would be able to stay sane if she went home and waited there for a couple of hours until tonight. Busywork would help her get through the day without anxiety driving her crazy, so she made enough pies to at least get through the next morning. Rosie had asked her if she was okay, but she just waved her away, saying everything was fine.

Soon, she found herself entering the Full Moon Diner at seven thirty on the dot. Tony wasn’t there, which wasn’t really a surprise. She sat in the farthest booth in the corner, and waved the waitress away when she came to get her order. “I’m waiting for someone,” she said. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to eat until this entire thing was over and Tony finally got out of town and out of her life.

Tapping her fingertips on the table, she waited. And waited. Finally, it was nearing eight o’clock, and she had just about had enough. Tony always did this, kept her waiting whenever they would meet somewhere, and now she understood that it was his way of keeping her on her toes and asserting his dominance over her, because he knew she would always wait. Knew that she would always feel like she couldn’t do better than him and she should bend over backwards to keep him happy. Well, no more.

It was strange, but as she got up to leave, a moment of clarity came over her. In the last few months as she’d learned to be independent, be alone and stand on her own two feet, it was now obvious that he’d been the problem all this time. And it was a freeing thought. The inhibitions she felt began to melt away and—damn Tony or anyone else—she was going to get out there and take what it is she wanted, including allowing herself to open up to Gabriel.

Humming to herself as she walked to her car, she was already thinking up a pie recipe to make for tomorrow for Gabriel when she heard someone call her name.

“Temperance! Yo, babe, where are you going?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned around. “I’m leaving. You’re late.”

“Nah, babe, you’re early.” Tony held his hands up defensively and shrugged. “You know I’m always thirty minutes late especially since I always get lost in new places. You should have factored that in.”

God, Tony was a piece of work. She should just leave him here, but she just wanted this over with. “Say what you need to say, and then you can go.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, Tempe, baby.” He