Hunter shook his head. “Just be available. I’m sick of your crap ... and I am going out of my way to keep your granddaughter safe. You owe me.”
Grandpa was resigned. “Let’s not pretend that you’re doing this for me. You’re doing it for her ... and yourself.”
Hunter remained silent.
“I’ll be around if you need to talk later,” Grandpa relented. “You have to wait until I’m done on the grill. We’ll be slammed through the breakfast rush.”
THE MORNING SHIFT SEEMED TO DRAG on forever. And ever, and ever and ever.
Grandpa watched me like a hawk, perhaps thinking I was going to run upstairs to hang out with Hunter the second he turned his back.
For his part, Hunter walked in and out through the back door, ignoring everyone but David, who dropped in from the gas station to see what the fuss was about. Hunter moved his car to one of the employee parking spots and set about his tasks.
Occasionally he met my gaze when I was placing orders or picking up plates, but he only offered an encouraging smile. We didn’t talk, and eventually I managed to push him out of my mind when he set up shop in my apartment. Every once in a while I heard hammering upstairs, but he didn’t come back down and I lost myself in my work.
After a few hours, I managed to convince myself — mostly — that the only people who knew Hunter had spent the night were Grandpa and the grocery store manager. That notion went straight out the window when the door flew open shortly after ten and Monica stormed in. The look on her face told me that the gossip train in Shadow Hills was still chugging along.
“You.” Her eyes were narrow slits of hate.
I swallowed hard, glancing around to see if anybody was watching. Every set of eyes in the restaurant had turned in our direction. There was so little to do in town that meal theater was a regular occurrence, and it was obvious everyone in the cafe section was ready for some entertainment.
“Hey, Monica.” I tried not to focus on her eyebrows. They’d clearly been drawn on with pencil ... and unevenly at that. I reminded myself that she had every right to be angry. From her perspective, her boyfriend had spent the night with another woman. She couldn’t possibly be aware of the circumstances surrounding the act itself, so she’d filled in the gaps herself. “You look nice today.”
Her expression darkened. “Do you think that’s going to work on me?” She stalked over to the coffee counter, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
“Maybe we should take this outside?” I suggested, hating the eyes I felt watching us. “It might be better if we keep this private.”
“Better for whom?” Monica’s tone was icy. “Do you think they don’t already know? Are you really that stupid? Or don’t you care? I’m guessing it’s that you don’t care.”
I pressed my tongue to the top of my mouth and remained focused on the coffee pot. “Nothing happened.”
“Oh, don’t even.” I had no doubt that if Monica thought she could get away with it she would launch herself over the counter and start beating me over the head with the coffee pot.
I found the strength to raise my chin and meet her gaze head on. “There was an incident last night and Hunter came to help. Someone tried to break into my apartment. That’s all it was.”
“So he had to spend the night with you?” There was fury in her eyes. She hated me. There was no doubt about it. To be fair, she’d probably hated me before we even met. My history with Hunter would’ve ensured that.
“He slept on the couch.” Sure, I ended up sleeping with him, but she didn’t need to know that. “He was being a good friend.”
“He’s not your friend,” she screeched. “He’s my boyfriend ... or was. If he thinks I’m going to sit back and let him make a fool of me, he’s got another thing coming.”
I felt bad. Like ... really bad. I’d cost Hunter something more than just a letterman’s jacket this time. “I swear nothing happened.” The words felt empty coming out of my mouth.
“I don’t believe you!” If it was possible to shoot fire from eyes, like in movies, I would be a charred mess. “I knew when I heard you were coming back that it was going to be bad. I told him. But he reassured