She looks at me hesitantly but nods her head and turns away. I watch her walk. The same body as earlier that swayed, and I couldn’t take my eyes off. I still can’t, even knowing that she’s not just an employee working on a commercial or something. She’s the main star.
I need to walk away. I need to forget ever meeting Lakelyn because there sure as hell can’t be any kind of future between us.
She’s surrounded by people and cameras, and she’s smiling, doing what she’s obviously been trained to do. I have the same feeling in my gut as when I pushed the hair away from her face earlier. It’s like I’d forgotten who I am until I saw my stained hands next to her beautiful face. We’re nothing alike, and there can never be a us.
I’m rooted to the spot as I watch her. She’s laughing, posing for pictures, flipping her hair around. She’s a fuckin’ goddess. I shift my stance because my cock is lengthening in the leg of my pants. She does this to me... just by looking at her.
I pull my gaze from her and look at the other people that are here to observe. There’s a part-timer from the Whiskey Run Co-op. There’s a rancher that I recognize from the Yates ranch who’s probably in town to just pick up supplies but found himself here to see what’s going on. They’re both standing at the temporary fencing that’s been set up, hands in their pockets, staring at my – Fuck, she’s not mine... not now or ever will be mine.
I jam my hands down into the front pockets of my jeans. Jealousy is raging inside me because I don’t want anyone else to look at her... not the way these men are looking at her now. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a right to feel the way I’m feeling.
With one last glance at Lakelyn, I walk away. There’s no point in me sticking around. Yeah, I could probably get her number... maybe even take her out. But as soon as she found out what I did for a living, well, she’d be gone five seconds later. Nope, it will just be wasted time, and I’m not going to put myself through it again.
I turn down Main Street and walk to the end of the block, past Sugar Glaze Bakery, past the library, and when I come to the intersection of Main and Joy Street, I turn into the parking lot of Jennings Auto Repair. My shop. It doesn’t look like much, probably like any other auto repair shop around, but to me it’s been everything.
“Wow, that’s probably the longest lunch break you’ve ever taken. Violet okay?” Jeremy, one of the mechanics, asks. He’s been with me since I opened the doors on the shop ten years ago.
“Yeah, she’s good,” I answer as I walk past him. I don’t want to talk or chat or make small talk. I need to work and try to get Lakelyn out of my head.
3
Lakelyn
He didn’t stick around. Filming starts tomorrow, but the photoshoot was today. It was supposed to be a couple hours – three tops – but it ended up going for almost four. It doesn’t matter, though. I kept looking for him, but he was gone before we even finished the first shots.
I’m only here for a few more days, and I should just let it be. But I can’t. He’s all I’ve thought about all afternoon, and nothing is going to stop me until I can at least talk to him again.
I walk straight from the town square toward Red’s Diner. I’m hopeful when I walk in that I’ll see the beautiful, pregnant woman that I met a few days ago, but she’s not in the front of the restaurant. With fingers crossed, I walk up to the counter. A woman is snapping her gum, and she looks bored when she asks, “What can I get ya?”
“Uh, actually, is Violet here?”
The woman pockets the pad of paper in the front of her apron and rolls her eyes. “No, she left hours ago.”
I nod but keep smiling. I know I’m not going to get any information if I get testy with her. “That’s okay, actually, I’m looking for Tate... her brother.”
She finally stops snapping her gum. “What do you want with him?”
Now I am frustrated... and maybe a little territorial. “To talk to him.”
A slow smile burns as she looks me up and down. “Don’t waste your time, honey... he’s not the settling down type.”
It’s like a kick to my gut. I didn’t get the feeling he was a player, but I’ve sure been wrong before. But there’s no way I’m going to let this mouthy waitress see she’s got the best of me. I give her my biggest smile, showing her my perfect white teeth. “Oh shucks, that’s okay... I was just hoping for a one-night stand.”