Thrill Seeker (Sinful in Seattle)

I wound my way around the rest of the staff that was coming in for the lunch rush. With Chapel Enterprises across from us, and the handful of local businesses on the same block, we did a brisk lunch business.

This was what I needed.

To be useful.

To be able to put Max into my rearview.

For the next three hours, the lunch rush—and the regulars who loved me—made the day fly by. If my gaze strayed to the door one too many times, I quickly corrected myself.

Max was a busy man. He’d already been in to tell Angel about the incident. We were having a staff meeting about it between the lunch and dinner crush.

I was the one who had pushed him away.

I shouldn’t be the one looking for him.

Ugh. Beyond insanity. I bounced between tables on the patio and back into the main dining area. Small talk, inquiries about families, polite chitchat—that was my specialty.

It fueled another hour before Angel hooked an arm through mine and scooted me to the back. “That’s enough. I see the bruises under your eyes and the stiffness in your shoulders. Time to go.”

“Well, thank you, Angel. Just what I wanted to hear—that I look like crap.”

“You do.”

“Excellent.”

Angel’s light green eyes twinkled. “It’s not the exhaustion that shows, it’s your missing sparkle. Go home. Get some rest. Find your sparkle.”

“I do not sparkle.”

“Oh, but you do.” He laughed. “Right now, you have fire for eyeballs.”

“You’re an ass.”

“Yes, but I’m the ass who owns this joint. Out. Time to go.”

I sighed. Namely because he was right. Not about the sparkle—what the hell did that mean? But I was crashing. Hard.

I patted my pocket for my phone and groaned. No phone. At least if I got out now then I could stop at the phone store and handle that crappy task before the rest of the world got out of work.

“All right. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Of course you will. Now go.”

I curled my fingers around his wide wrist—well, as much as I could. Angel was a big guy and the closet-sized office only made him seem bigger. “Thanks.”

He nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”

I went up on my toes and brushed a kiss over his cheek. “You’re a good guy, Angel.”

“Don’t let that get around.”

I laughed because it was what we both needed. I moved back out into the bar area and waved to Dean as he tied his apron around his hips and ducked under the end access point.

Chelsea flew across the room to me. “Where the heck were you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Angel just dragged me into his office to tell me to go home.”

“Oh.” She tucked a hank of strawberry blond curls over her ear. “Huh. Well, that explains a little of what just happened.”