Crazy Stupid Love (Crazy Love #1)(8)

“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can get for you?” I ask, eager to escape the awkwardness of a clearly emotional situation.

“No, dear. Thank you.” She gives me a weak smile.

I nod, turning to collect the payment books from the table before heading back inside.

Having paid in cash, the moment I leave the table she stands, collecting her purse, exiting the patio just moments later with Trey at her side.

Letting out a slow exhale, I turn my attention to cashing out each check, trying to focus on something other than my disappointment with how quickly Decklan left. I don’t know what I expected. I guess I hoped maybe...hell, I don’t know what I was hoping for.

Shaking my head, I flip open the last payment book to find Decklan’s check inside but no money along with it. Confused, I glance back towards the table thinking maybe he left the cash there but immediately freeze when I realize he has reclaimed his seat at the table.

Swallowing down the sudden lump in my throat, I head slowly back outside, more nervous now than I have been since he arrived because now I don’t have the buffer of his family being with him.

“Sorry. I thought you left so I picked this up,” I say, sitting the payment book back onto the table in front of him.

“What time do you get off work?” he asks, completely bypassing my statement.

“What?” The word falls from my lips in confusion, but I quickly recover. “Um, here in the next few minutes,” I say, doing my best to seem as casual as possible. “I have to wait for the rest of my tables to cash out.”

He nods his head slowly as if processing the information. “In that case, I think I’ll have one more.” He gives me a slow smirk that makes my knees tremble slightly below my weight.

“Oh, okay,” I say, not sure why what time I get off work plays a factor in him staying for another drink.

Confusion swarms my mind as I try to figure out exactly what is happening right now. And while I am a bit scared at the possibility that maybe he wants to hang out when I get off, the thought also sends an excitement through me that is nearly impossible to contain.

Picking the payment book up, I return just moments later with his fourth beer and his new check. He gives me a slow nod, his gaze following me as I set the glass down in front of him.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” He cocks his head to the side as if trying to figure something out.

“Am I that obvious?” I blush slightly, not entirely able to control the flood of all the emotions I’m currently experiencing.

“Let me guess, Indiana?” He crosses his arms casually in front of himself as he relaxes back into his chair.

“West Virginia.” A small laugh manages to escape my lips at his expression.

“Close enough.” He gives me an amused smile, the action making him so incredibly sexy I can barely stifle the moan that seems to work its way into my throat.

“I take it you are from here?” I force myself to speak.

“Is it that obvious?” He repeats my question back to me.

“Kind of.” I can’t contain my wide smile when he leans his head back on a deep laugh. “Well, I should get back to work,” I say, gesturing towards the indoor dining room. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“Not at the moment.” He gives me a wicked smile and slides his aviators down just far enough that his gray eyes meet mine, my stomach bottoming out the moment they do.

I have half a mind to say screw my other customers and beg him to take me somewhere and show me what I have so clearly been missing. It’s apparent in the way every fiber of my body aches for him that I have never truly known what it means to want someone.

“Okay,” I stutter out, feeling the blush once again flood my cheeks.

Spinning around I quickly walk away, wondering if he’s purposely implying something or if I’m just interpreting things the way I want them to be.

After dropping off the checks for my last two tables, I slide inside the ladies room to wash my hands and try to get a grip on my quickly unwinding nerves.

“You don’t even know him,” I say to my reflection in the mirror. “Pull yourself together.”

Even as I utter the words, I can’t help the slow smile that spreads in front of me.

“Stop it,” I warn myself.

It does me no good. He’s under my skin.

I continue to try to talk myself out of encouraging this situation any further, knowing full well that if anyone is hidden behind one of the stall doors I am likely to sound like an absolute lunatic but honestly at the current moment, I’m not sure that I care much.

I stare hard at myself in the mirror, taking in my flushed complexion and the glaze over my eyes. The way my wild curls are tied up haphazardly in a knot fit perfectly with how wild and unhinged a man I don’t even know has managed to make me feel.

Taking one more deep breath I finally exit the bathroom, my steps faltering the moment I catch sight of Garrett leaning against the bar speaking to Jane, the mid-day bartender. I have to do a double take, at first convinced that my mind is playing tricks on me.

Only I don’t think it is.

In fact, I know it’s not.

I know the moment his chocolate eyes meet mine and a wide smile crosses his clean shaved face that he really is standing just feet from me and now closing in. It’s only seconds before his arms wrap around my shoulders and he’s pulling me tightly against his chest.