Whisky State of Mind (5 page)

“They’re
bikers
,” he hissed, keeping a wary eye on the three men across the room.

“They haven’t done anything wrong. They’re just customers—
paying customers
,” she added pointedly as she glanced around at the other empty tables in the diner.

“Yes, well…we don’t need their kind of patronage in here. This is a quiet diner. We let people like them in and pretty soon they’ll be fighting each other and selling drugs from the booths and destroying the place.”

Sky grew up with this kind of stereotypical prejudice and remembered how much it had confused her as a small child. The people she knew weren’t the lawless troublemakers that most people saw the minute they caught sight of the tattoos and leather jackets. Looking back though, she realized that there may have been some justification. While she’d been sheltered from the nastier side of the business, as she grew older she realized that her Daddy wasn’t exactly like the other kids’ Dads at school. She was pretty sure the kind of businessman he was, was very different to the kinds of businessmen fathers who turned up on parent days to explain what they did for a job.

Once she left the club, her grandparents went into detail, explaining exactly what kind of business the Black Mustangs were involved in. It had shocked her to
realize her father had been a criminal. Although there was no way he could have possibly done all the things they’d told her he’d been involved in, she was pretty sure that most of what they said was true. To his credit—she’d never witnessed anything shadier than a poker game taking place in the club and not once had she been exposed to any violence. Looking back now, she supposed she could have ended up a whole lot more messed up than she was…guess that was something.

Did she believe the Mustangs had gone straight now
adays? Not entirely…why should she? How would she possibly know what they were involved in these days, but it irked her that other people could make snap judgments on people who had once been her family. Her boss’s attitude was more than a little hard to swallow but she grit her teeth and managed a tight smile.               `“I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. This isn’t their kind of place anyway.” And with any luck, Sawyer wouldn’t be back in her life for long.

****

Sky pulled on her apron and secured it with a hard yank of the ties
. Mr. Mysterious
wasn’t in the coffee shop again this morning. Her resolve not go back in there again had sounded fine until this morning when she caught a whiff of coffee and her good intensions went straight to hell.

Part of her was a little bit relieved she didn’t have to face him after the fiasco of the last time they’d met, but a bigger part had been devastated that she’d be starting her day without having caught sight of him
. You know this is irrational right?
A voice whispered inside her head.
This is probably how creepy, stalker-type people start out before they graduate to breaking and entering and hide in people’s closets and watch them while they sleep…

To add to her shitty morning, Marcy was adding an extra dollop of cow to the day, talking to her as if she was some kind of moron in front of customers and muttering snide remarks under her breath at every opportunity. All in all, it had been a very crappy start. And then the bell above the door tinkled.

“Well hello there tall, dark, and handsome.”

Sky turned slowly at Marcy’s drawled welcome and froze.

It was
him
.
Her
him and she felt her heckles rise at the wolf-like grin Marcy was wearing.
Oh, hell no!
There was no way Marcy was going to get her skanky hands all over her perfect, mystery guy.

Ignoring Marcy, his gaze fixed on Sky, he smiled shyly and instantly Sky felt herself melt into a big, gooey mess. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she echoed breathlessly.

“Can I seat you at a table?” Marcy said
, cutting into their stare fest.

“No, it’s okay, I’ll seat him,” Sky said taking the menu from the other waitress
’s hand.

“
I
saw him first,” Marcy said, snatching it back and narrowing her eyes at Sky.

“Thank you Marcy, but I think I have this covered,” Sky tugged at the menu, trying to keep the smile fixed on her face with great difficulty.

“He’s in
my
area,” Marcy snapped, no longer trying to keep her cordial tone.

“Ah, it’s okay, I actually came to see…um…her,”
Mr. Perfect told Marcy with a smile to soften the blow.

Marcy’s mouth dropped open and Sky bit back a smile.
Yeah—that’s right...he came to see me,
she thought smugly, before it suddenly registered…
holy crap! He came to see me!
  and all rational thought once more vanished.

“So you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here?”

His words jolted her from her stupor.  Actually she hadn’t recovered from her initial shock for that to have even registered, but only an idiot would have blindly accepted a sudden appearance of a mysterious stranger at her workplace…so she summoned a weak smile and nodded. “Do I have to call the police to report a stalker?”

The smile that touched his mouth made her pulse rate kick up a notch. He really was gorgeous. She loved the way his eyes crinkled around the edges when he smiled like that.

“…so I thought I’d come in and say hi,” he said.

What?
Oh crap.
She’d been so busy staring at his eyes she’d missed his explanation.
Damn it. Get a grip, Sky!
“Ah, well, I’m glad you did,” she had no idea what he’d just said but decided to roll with it. “I missed you this morning…at the coffee shop,” she added quickly as his grin stretched slowly. “I mean…you know…”
Shut. Up.

“Caleb Santiago,” he said
, extending his hand.

“Sky…McKenna.” Hot guy had a name. She wasn’t sure what to think about this new turn of events. For three long months he’d been mysterious and…nameless. Now he had a
name, which meant a little piece of the mystery had slipped away.

“Sky,” he said seeming to taste the words before giving a slow nod. “It suits you.”

Sparkles came out from the kitchen, followed by a smugly smiling Marcy and Sky swallowed a groan.

“You’re not due for a break for another half hour, and I’m not paying you to chat,” he rebuked her, as though addressing some misbehaving child.

“Oh for goodness sake,” Sky muttered beneath her breath. “I was just about to take the order,” she smiled through clenched teeth and turned her back to him before she snapped and said something that may cost her, her job. “So, can I get you something?” she asked, pulling out her order pad and waiting for Caleb to finish reading over the menu.

“I guess I should get a coffee since I didn’t get my morning one,” he paused as he caught the quick shake of her head and frantic look of horror on her face. “No?”

“I wouldn’t go for the coffee here,” Sky murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

“That bad?”

“Why do you think I get mine on the way to work?”

“Point taken. Okay, how about a shake and a big breakfast?”

“The shake is a safe bet…but the big breakfast is a heart attack waiting to happen.”

“Then what would you suggest?”

“Eating elsewhere?” she smiled, but it was clear he was happy to risk his health by eating here this morning so she relented and suggested the only things she considered palatable. “The scrambled egg and toast would be my pick. Or you could just have a muffin…I know they come in fresh from the bakery up the street each day.”

“What about pie. I like pie.”

“It’s about three days old, but I can scrape the top off if you like.”

She smiled at his grimace. “A muffin and a shake thanks,” he decided
, handing back the menu. 

“Excellent choice,
sir. I’ll bring it over when it’s ready.” With Sparkles keeping watch from behind the counter, Sky gave a regretful sigh and went into the kitchen to oversee the order being prepared.

“Why the sudden influx of men? What have you been doing? And why are they suddenly interested in
you?
” Marcy demanded, glaring at her from the doorway.

Sky took her time washing her hands and gave an offhand shrug. “Just lucky I guess.”

“I don’t get it. First there was that hunk the other day and now this guy. He looks way out of your league though honey, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up that he was going to stick around.”

“He just came in to order some food, Marcy. There’s no story.”

The blonde gave a small snort. “A word of advice—the ones in suits…are just lookin’ for a quick snack. They go back to their fancy homes and wives for a proper cooked meal.”

Sky dried her hands on some paper towel and tossed it in the bin. “Then it’s a good thing I’m only the damn waitress isn’t it.” She turned her back on Marcy and selected a clean plate, adding the muffin and sprinkling it with a dash of icing sugar
, then picked up the plate and carried it through the doorway and out into the front of the store.

She slid a glance across at the table and felt her heart give a little kick of excitement.
He was perfect,
she sighed inwardly.

He’s out of your league.”
Marcy’s words floated back to taunt her.

Distracted by her thoughts she wasn’t prepared when he’d lifted his gaze to catch her watching him and had to force a smile to her lips, snapping herself back to what she was supposed to be doing.

It wasn’t every day your fantasy man stepped into your reality.

Chapte
r
5

Sky watched as he reached for his wallet inside his jacket and withdrew a few bills, handing them over the counter to Sparkles. “And add a decent tip onto that for your waitress here—she did an awesome job.” 

He came to a stop beside the table she was wiping down and Sky straightened, taking a deep breath as discreetly as she, filling her lungs with the delicious scent of lemon she’d missed this morning.
God he smelled good.

“I was wondering if maybe we could branch out from coffee and maybe have dinner sometime?” Caleb said
, tucking his wallet back inside his jacket.

“Sure. I eat dinner,” she said trying for an offhand casual tone.

“Great. Tonight?”

“Tonight?”
So much for offhand and casual
. “Ahh…sure. I could do you…” she closed her eyes briefly before correcting forcefully, “
dinner,
tonight.”

His slow grin only managed to fluster her more, but the sexy chuckle that rumbled from his chest made her forget all about the rush of blood to her cheeks. “Do you want me to pick you up or would you rather meet me somewhere?”

Mindful of her usual safety precautions when dating, she decided to meet him at the restaurant and suggested the one located just around the corner. She wasn’t sure where he lived, but she figured if he was at the coffee shop each morning then it wouldn’t be too far out of his way.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

Sky managed to nod and smile, hoping he couldn’t see her heart jackhammering out of her chest.
OhmyGod
she was going on a date with her mystery man!
Sky had to wait until her break before she could share the news with Bella and by that time she was about ready to bust.

Sky: I’m going on a date…with HIM…tonight!

Bella: Maybe he finds coffee snorting attractive… Call me and let me know how it goes! I want details!

****

Sky entered the restaurant and looked around noticing Caleb hadn’t yet arrived. The waiter seated her with a friendly smile and she took the chair that faced the entrance of the restaurant so she could watch for him. Ten minutes passed and Sky glanced at her watch covertly, not wanting anyone who may be watching to realize she was quite possibly being stood up. When she glanced back up, she saw Caleb’s dark head above the crowd in the doorway and gave a heartfelt sigh of relief.

“Sorry I’m late, I couldn’t get a car park anywhere,” he said taking his seat and offering an apologetic smile.

“Car park? I thought you lived around here?”

“Ah,” he began and looked a little sheepish as he dropped her puzzled gaze. “No, I don’t live around here.”

“But you’re at the coffee shop every morning…I thought you must live on this block?”

“Yeah…I ah…I stopped there one morning on the way back from a job
.” He seemed to squirm a little and Sky wondered where this was heading. “Okay, confession time, but promise me you won’t freak out or anything?”

In Sky’s experience whenever someone warned you not to freak out before they told you something…it usually meant you were going to freak out.

“So a few months back, I was sitting at a table drinking my coffee and looking at all these people who were dressed in drab business suits and all looking like zombies as they ordered their coffee. Then all of a sudden, the door bursts open and in came this girl wearing a bright red woolen hat, and this amazing multi-colored scarf that looked like someone had run out of wool and added in all these leftover bits and pieces. She had the most amazing blue eyes.”