Page 14 of Taking Care of the Target

“I brought it to you with the last bottle.”

“Oh.” The girl giggled and scanned the table. “Here it is. Come on, everybody. Cough it up. It came to just shy of two-hundred, so forty plus tip each.”

“I’ll let you get it all settled and be right back. Does anyone need a to-go box?”

No one piped up, so Cassie walked across the restaurant, figuring she’d check on her one other table. The couple had already left, so she leaned over to get the bill. Her gaze drifted to the large window facing the street, and the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up.

The only thing she could make out was the faint glow of streetlights, combined with the reflected lights of the restaurant. She knew it made no sense, but the past few days she’d had the distinct feeling of being watched.

The doctor said there might be times of confusion.She shook her head, chalking the eerie sensation up to a combination of that and exhaustion, and turned away. Although now she wished she’d driven so she wouldn’t have to walk home alone in the dark—the walk there in the crisp afternoon was always so nice. And it was only five blocks.

Five blocks in the dark with my neck constantly prickling, suddenly sure every person who walks or drives by is out to get me.She shuddered and attempted to stifle those thoughts so she wouldn’t completely freak herself out. Then she remembered the brand new canister of pepper spray in her purse and took comfort in that.

Her lively customers were heading toward the exit, so she waved and told them to have a good night. She looked around at the mostly empty restaurant.Now what?

Suddenly she was wishing for it to be busy again—funny how even though she didn’t know the customers, simply having them there helped combat the lonely feeling that kept rising up and lodging in her chest. The other two waitresses were already friends, and when she’d attempted to make small talk, it’d been a stilted, clunky conversation that made it clear they were just waiting for her to leave so they could go back to their previous conversation. Clearly she’d have to look for friends elsewhere.

Where does a slightly paranoid, trying-to-get-over-her-shyness—and oh, yeah,amnesia—waitress go to make friends?

The door opened, and she glanced toward it… then did a double take. The guy had a ball cap pulled low, making it hard to see his eyes, but the dark stubble on his jaw, the nearly black hair peeking out from the hat, and the large biceps displayed by his form-fitting T-shirt made her very bare legs go wobbly on her.

Holy hotness, Batman.

Usually there was a hostess up front, but she must’ve snuck to the restroom or to the back with the other staff since it was slow, so Cassie figured she’d take the initiative and seat him. That way he could be in her area, too, so bonus points.

She approached and grabbed a menu from the stand. “Hi. Just one?”

His gaze caught hers. Brown. His eyes were definitely brown—a really cool mix of shades that made her want to take back calling Mr. Brown’s name boring, because evidentially brown could be very, verynot-boring.

Peering into those eyes made her heart go completely fluttery. She licked her lips, fighting to maintain her composure instead of simply batting her lashes and drooling.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in a low voice that sent an electric zip through her core.

Wow. She didn’t usually feel so… inexplicably drawn to guys she didn’t know.Well, I suppose it is explicable, actually. He’s pretty much the hottest guy I’ve ever laid eyes on.

His eyebrows arched, reminding her he’d asked a question—a kind of weird one. “I work here,” she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Would you like me to show you to a table?”

He stared at her for another beat where she forgot to breathe, and then nodded. As soon as he was seated, she fought the bout of shyness trying to take over and make her say stupid things and asked what he’d like to drink.

He continued to stare, his eyebrows knitting closer together by the second, like he didn’t understand what she’d said. If he hadn’t spoken a minute ago, she’d wonder if he spoke English. He looked Italian, but not foreign, if that made any sense. With her brain short-circuiting from being near him, making sense was a thing of the past.

She cleared her throat and worked on keeping her voice steady. “We have Pepsi products, and our alcohol list is right there.” When he didn’t make a move for it, she reached over the table to where it was propped against the wall and placed it in front of him.

His gaze had moved to her legs, and heat licked at her skin, following the trail his eyes followed. She swallowed past a dry throat and tugged at the skirt. He seemed to realize he was staring and looked up. “Pepsi’s fine.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back with that. Our special is the yellowfin ahi tuna with wild rice and grilled asparagus.”

The nose crinkle clashed with the bad boy look he had going on, and the delicious mix caused her heart to skip a beat. “Not a seafood fan?”

He crossed his arms on the table, and she couldn’t help noticing the way it made his muscles stand out. “Seems like you know me pretty well.”

Cassie laughed, and while it came out a little more nervous-sounding than she would’ve liked, it wasn’tcompletelyembarrassing. “Lucky guess. Combined with the face you made.”

An amused spark flickered through his eyes. “Actually, it was the rice and asparagus that had me the most worried.”

“Don’t worry. They’re really good.” She lifted her ordering pad as if she were about to divulge a huge secret and didn’t want anyone else to know. “But if I were you, I’d go steak and potatoes. The steak here is the best I’ve ever had.” She lowered her eyebrows. “I think, anyway.” She shook her head. Why hadn’t she just stopped talking? “But that’s neither here nor there.”

There she went, just adding more.Okay, seriously, zip it.She pressed her lips together, curved them into a smile, and said, “I’ll be right back with your drink.”

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