Fake Friends - Saxon James Page 0,38
his car is in the diner parking lot, so he’s clearly on the early shift. Piper is behind the counter when I walk in, so I assume Rowan must be out back.
“Well, this is a surprise,” she says with a wide smile. “I swear I’ve never seen you in here so much in my life.”
“Eh. You never had anything I wanted before. He through here?” I point to the door to the kitchen.
Piper eyes me for a moment. “We’re starting our breakfast rush though, so if you go back there, you’ll be helping.”
As if I wasn’t going to anyway.
I push through the door, and my smile is automatic when I see him leaning over the grill. He doesn’t look up, so I go over to where the aprons are hanging on the wall and grab one.
“This a good look on me?”
Rowan jumps and almost drops his spatula on the hot surface. Oops. Probably shouldn’t surprise a man while he’s cooking. When he looks up, his smile is as automatic as mine was. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s been a few days.” Almost a week actually. “I wanted to stop by.”
Yikes. And that’s where I stop talking.
“You’re out of photos, aren’t you?”
“This is the first order?” I ask, pointing to a receipt above the salad table.
“Yes …”
I can feel his eyes on me as I grab a bun, break it in half, and slide it into the toaster.
“Press the green button,” he says. “It’s a timer.”
I do, then finally turn to face him. “So I got an offer this morning.”
“Oh yeah?” He scoops a fatty hunk of meat off the grill and onto a plate, next to a pile of scrambled eggs, then passes it through the return to Piper.
We’re not exactly private here, so I’ll have to watch my words.
“It was for a big brand. The shoot’s in LA, and I can only imagine the kind of attention it’ll bring me.”
“That’s awesome.” He looks sincere. “Congratulations.”
I don’t respond. Instead, I turn my attention back to the burger bun as the timer sounds and check the receipt again. Relish, cheese, and onion. Rowan throws some eggs and bacon on the grill to finish it up.
“That’s good, right?” he probes.
“Yes … but I want to do it with you.”
He almost drops the spatula again.
I laugh and grab his arm, pulling him away. “They asked for both of us. The shoot will be super high-end and tasteful, but there’ll definitely be a sexual element involved. So I totally get it if you’re not interested.”
“Circus …”
I consider telling him that they only want both of us. That without him, I can’t do it. Because I know how good he’ll be, but I also can’t put that kind of pressure on him. “Look, just think about it today. No one around here pays attention to brand names, but the shots will be in magazines and online, so there’s a higher chance someone will see them. That said, it’s just modeling. It means nothing. And it’s a lot of money.” I glance around the kitchen. “That fifty K is small-fry compared to what they’re offering. Two hundred K. You could get out of here, do whatever the hell you want.”
Rowan catches me completely by surprise when he steps forward and covers my mouth with his hand. There’s a tiny smile on his lips as he looks down at me, and I swear my heart kicks up a notch. “You want me to do it though?”
I nod.
He takes a minute to study me. “Let me think about it. And in the meantime …” He waves a hand to the receipts. “Your orders are banking up.”
I laugh. “Oh no, I was just helping until the conversation was over. Which it is now, so …”
“I’m thinking about helping you with your career, you can help out here in return. And who knows, maybe if you’re really good at it, I might even say yes.”
I hold back my groan in favor of a smile and grab the next receipt. “One fried embryo and some pig flesh thanks.”
He laughs. “I don’t think breakfast has ever sounded so classy.”
I get to the Ugly Mug early so I can polish off a beer before anyone else arrives. Having drinks with Circus’s friends is intimidating, but since this is the second time he’s invited me, I guess I should probably show.
His request from this morning won’t stop running through my mind.
Neither will the way he looked in that apron, though that’s for other reasons.