Page 29 of Secret Stalker

Chapter Ten

After wolfing down a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy at Eva-Marie’s diner, Max leaned back against the corner booth. And settled in to wait.

He glanced at his watch, then at the door to the diner, dreading the upcoming conversation. He still wasn’t sure why he was doing this. Then again, who was he kidding? He was doing this because of what had happened last night with Bex, or, what had almost happened. And how badly he’d wanted it to happen.

That alone, the fact that it had nearly killed him not to kiss her, told him that this meeting he’d set up this morning was the right thing to do. The honorable thing to do. Even though he had no intention of pursuing a relationship with Bex again. Thoughts of her were consuming his days, his nights, no matter how hard he tried to push them out of his head. And that made it impossible, and wrong, to remain in a relationship with someone else. It was time to end his three-week dating spree with police intern Monica Stevens.

Breaking up with someone in a diner made him cringe. He’d tried to schedule this discussion at her place, or his. But as soon as he’d called her this morning, saying they needed to talk, it was as if her sixth sense had kicked in. She’d become distant, defensive, and insisted that they meet here. In public. Why she wanted to do that, he had no idea.

Then again, as the door opened and she strutted inside, he realized exactly why she’d chosen this particular place. He’d wanted to spare her feelings and not make a scene. But she obviously had no such intentions toward him.

Monica strode down the center aisle, her heavily made-up eyes tracking him like a radar-guided missile. Her long, blond hair bounced around her shoulders. Impossibly tight jeans outlined her curvy figure, tapering down her long legs to a pair of bloodred stilettos that clicked across the black-and-white tiled floor. Every head turned her way, watching her deliberate progress until she stopped beside Max’s booth.

He started to stand but she waved him back down.

“Don’t bother acting the gentleman now.” She put her hands on her hips. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? This whole town is talking about your little girlfriend and how you carried her out of the grocery store all lovey-dovey.” She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re breaking up with me so you can go screw that boyfriend-stealer again. Admit it.”

A gasp of outrage sounded behind her. Monica looked over her shoulder to see Sally, the waitress, holding a pot of coffee, her mouth hanging open.

“Go away.” Monica made a shooing motion with her hand. “We’re busy.”

Max shot Sally an apologetic look before rising to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

Monica rolled her eyes again. “It’s a little late for that.”

“I was talking to Sally.”

Monica narrowed her eyes.

Sally glared at Monica’s back and whirled around.

Max tossed some bills onto the table. “Let’s go somewhere private.”

Her hands went back to her hips. “Are you breaking up with me or not?”

He didn’t have to look past her to know that everyone was listening for his response. She’d practically yelled her question. And the place had gone completely silent.

“Monica—”

“Answer me,” she shouted.

He winced. “We’ve only been dating for a few weeks. I hardly think it qualifies as a breakup. But, yes, I’ve got a lot of things going on with the investigation and all. You deserve someone who can focus on you and right now that’s not me. I think we should stop seeing each other—”

Whap!

Her hand slapped his cheek. The sting was nothing compared to the sting to his pride as she pivoted on her stilettos and marched out of the diner. He’d never made a woman angry enough to slap him before, and it bothered him that he’d done so now.

“Good riddance is all I can say.” Sally stopped in front of him and refilled his coffee cup. “I could tell she was trouble from the minute the chief hired her. You never should’ve taken up with the likes of her.”

Max sat back down, figuring another cup of coffee might do him some good. Since Sally was still standing there, expecting a reply, he shrugged.

“She’s an intelligent, nice woman. I can’t blame her for being upset. As soon as I knew that Bex was back in town I should have told Monica about our past. Obviously she heard the rumors from someone else. That had to embarrass her.”

“Right. When would you have talked to her? After the first shooting or the second?” She shook her head in disgust. “The woman was a police intern, for goodness’ sake. She had to know you were busy with the investigations and didn’t have time to coddle her. Not that you should anyway.” She looked past him, out the window, and her mouth quirked up in a smile. “You been wasting years on types like that Monica woman. When all along you should have been spending time with someone of quality, like her.”

She waved toward the window, then took her coffeepot with her as she headed to the counter.

Max looked out at the parking lot, worried that Sally might be trying to fix him up with someone. Then he saw her. Bex. She’d just parked her mom’s Taurus in the only space left at the end of the packed lot and was heading toward the diner.

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