She felt a tremor of butterflies go through her. Donnie was a frequent presence at Mae's. Whether he was outside, lounging on his bike while waiting for Dev and Kaylie, or inside, lounging in one of the booths and eating apple pie.
The guy loved to lounge.
He was the most relaxed human being she’d ever laid eyes on. He seemed nice too. And he was way too good looking for comfort. Rugged, but with bright blue eyes. He had the kind of smile that could power an entire city.
She knew he was a biker and bad news. Those guys didn't treat women right. It was a well known fact that they used women like tissue paper.
Kaylie's boyfriend Devlin seemed to be the exception. He was absolutely devoted to her. It was almost funny, watching the big guy in leather follow her around like a puppy.
And Jack was the same way with his new girlfriend Janet. But they were special. Both were stunning not to mention they were smart girls. And they were different, stronger than Sally could ever be.
They were brave and always standing up for themselves, she thought wistfully. She knew she was weak. He’d told her enough times.
For someone like her, it was better to stay away.
That didn't mean she couldn't look though, did it?
With his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, Donnie was gorgeous. He was almost too pretty to be a biker. She'd even heard some of the other guys give him shit about it. She'd nearly laughed out loud at the sour look on his handsome face.
Yeah, Donnie could have easily modeled with his looks. Never mind being tall and incredibly well built. The man was pure muscle. Not that he would ever notice someone like her.
The old her, yes. But the new, mousy, afraid little ghost? Doubtful.
She'd have to resign herself to her extremely active fantasy life and leave it at that. After the other night she had something new to add to the pot; the ways his arms had felt around her. And the way he smelled. And the moment when he looked at her the way a man looks at a woman he wants to kiss.
She'd seen that look before, even if it had been a while. She sighed wistfully. It was so delicious to have a man look at you that way. Especially when you felt the same way about kissing him.
Of course, it always started out like that. Her ex had looked at her the same way. Before the looks turned to disgust. Before he started using his fists.
She shook off the thought and reached for one of her old sparkly pink lip glosses without thinking. She immediately snatched her hand back as if the pink tube were a poisonous snake.
No. That would attract attention. She could peak her head out of her shell, but only a little.
Baby steps, Sally.
She would wear her hair down and leave the cardigan at home but she would not wear makeup. She didn't want anyone to actually look at her.
She reached for her good old cherry Chapstick and slipped it into her jeans pocket. The designer jeans were from her old life. They were sexy and hugged her rear tightly but that couldn't be helped. She couldn't afford a whole new wardrobe on a waitress’s salary.
At least these didn't have rhinestones on them like most of her other ones did.
Chapter 3
Donahue
"She definitely said she was coming?"
Donnie knew he sounded like a chick but he couldn't help it. Kaylie was being nice enough not to mention it, though he had seen her hiding a smile the fourth or fifth time he'd asked.
"Yes. Well, she said she'd probably stop by. I don't think she goes out much."
He frowned. Why was that? She certainly wouldn't have trouble finding a date. Even with her dowdy clothes and lack of makeup, she was a very, very pretty girl.
"What does she do when she's not working?"
Kaylie shrugged.
"I'm not sure really. She works a lot of shifts. I know she likes to reads a lot of books too."
"Books?"
"Yeah, they are these pieces of paper with words on them, all stuck together."
Jack and Janet laughed from their perch on the picnic bench nearby. Great. He had been hoping no one had heard that. Those two always seemed to be in their own world these days.
"That's it?"
"Yeah. Sally doesn't really talk about herself too much. Oh, I know! She said she wanted to get a dog."
Now Donnie rolled his eyes. She wasn't giving him much to go on. It didn't really matter anyway. He wanted her.
In fact, he couldn't remember wanting a woman this badly ever before in his life.
So, he was going to have her.
In his mind, it was more or less a foregone conclusion that little Miss Sally Adams was going to be in his bed. Soon. Not one woman on God’s green earth had ever been able to resist him yet.