Leading the Witness by Chantal Fernando

Author:Chantal Fernando
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books

chapter 17

RILEY

“THE DAY YOU WENT Away” by Wendy Matthews plays on the radio, and I sing along to it while I wipe down all the tables. We haven’t opened yet, but sometimes I like to come early and make sure everything is spotless. It’s my moment of peace, before all the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I vacuum and mop the wooden floors and then make sure all the glasses and plates are sparkling, and that we are all stocked up with everything we’re going to need for the day.

Callie comes in thirty minutes early, and we both sit down at one of the booths and have some breakfast together. I don’t know how this became our morning routine, but I really enjoy it. On the menu today is smashed avocado, toast, and poached eggs. It’s not as good as Cheffy’s, because we made it ourselves, but it still tastes pretty good. I don’t mind cooking. I’m pretty decent in the kitchen, although I don’t have the time to cook every day like I used to.

“Whose playlist is it today?” she asks me, eating a bite of toast. “I really hope it’s not Preston’s.”

“I think it’s Cheffy’s,” I reply, smirking. “Love songs all the way today then.”

“Why can’t the men here have cooler taste in music?” she asks, sighing. “I like working to upbeat stuff, and not just Preston’s pop music, it makes the day go faster, and I can dance when no one is looking.”

“As if you care if anyone is looking,” I point out.

Actually, I’m pretty sure she likes it.

“True,” she says, chewing slowly and swallowing. “I really don’t care. I like to think I’m a good dancer.”

“For a pole, maybe,” I tease, laughing when she looks outraged but then eventually nods, agrees, and murmurs, “Who am I kidding?”

Without so much as a pause, she asks, “So are you ever going to talk about what happened with Hunter the other night? I’m over making hints and hoping that you will tell me of your own accord.”

I laugh, because she’s been hinting so obviously but hasn’t straight-out asked until now, so I kind of avoided the subject. “Well, we kissed. And chatted a little, and that’s about it.”

“About fucking time. How was the kiss? Months of pent-up sexual tension exploding into a clash of lips and tongue?”

The shit she comes up with.

“The kiss was . . .”

How do I explain the kiss? I’ve never been kissed like that in my life. He’s so good with his mouth, with his tongue, and the way he was looking at me . . . It was the emotion behind the kiss that really hit me. I’m so drawn to the man, and I’ve been fighting it; just after that kiss I have to ask myself: Why? Yes, it’s a risk, and yes, I could get hurt, but . . .

That. Fucking. Kiss.

It was worth it, and it’s worth what will or won’t happen.

No one has looked at me like that before either.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.