Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

The interior of the restaurant was small and cozy, and had that casual, laid-back vibe to it. As they settled into a booth, Maya realized how calm and quiet the diner was as opposed to the loud, vibrant atmosphere of Shorty’s Bar and Grill, where she currently worked. She did like working at Shorty’s, and she certainly made better tips, but she had to admit that there was something special about Ted’s.

After they ordered their coffee and pie, Amhara and Maya chatted a bit, sharing the current events of each of their lives. They only lived twenty minutes away from one another, but were usually too busy with work to hang out as often as they’d like. Their conversation lulled as their food arrived, and they silently enjoyed their cherry pie and coffee. Once their bellies were full, they grabbed the check and headed for the cashier so that they could pay for the meal.

As they made their way toward the front of the restaurant, Maya noticed a tall man with shoulder length hair and a lean build talking to a woman who stood in front of the cash register. Although his back was facing her, she knew without a doubt that it was Evan. The moment her eyes fell on him, she felt her body respond to his presence. She felt a dull ache in her heart, and her pulse had begun to race a little quicker.

She noticed that the female cashier was being very flirtatious with him, and she watched the woman scribble something down on a piece of paper and then rip it off the pad. Maya didn’t have to see what was written on the paper to know that it was the cashier’s phone number, and as Evan folded it up and slipped it into his pocket, she felt a pang of jealousy tear through her heart. The last bit of hope she’d been clinging to had officially died, and she knew there was little chance of getting back together with him.

The waitress walked out from around the counter, and as she came up to him, Evan bent over her petite form and gave her a hug. Watching them embrace was torturous for Maya, and her stomach tightened at the unpleasant display. She could have found some way to deal with the fact that the waitress had given him her phone number, perhaps even made up some excuse in her head to ease her mind. But this was heart wrenching in a completely different way. Hugging was reserved for people you cared about, people who meant something to you on a deeper level.

Once the hug finally came to an end, Evan offered a good-bye to the cashier and was just turning to leave when he noticed the two women standing right behind him.

“Maya?” He turned to face her.

“Hello, Evan.”

His gaze swept over her club attire, openly admiring the way that the dress clung to her body. “You look nice. Off to a party or something?”

“We went to a nightclub.” She didn’t know what else to say, but felt awkward with there just being silence between them, so she lamely added, “What about you? What are you up to?”

“Not much, just on my way home.”

“Oh.”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and tugged gently on her earlobe, a nervous tick she reverted to whenever she was feeling awkward.

“Well, I gotta go. Take care, okay?” He gave her a little smile and then glanced over at Amhara to give her a nod of acknowledgment.

“Give me a call later, okay, Evan?” the waitress called after him.

“Sure thing, Tanya,” Evan said over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

As Maya and Amhara approached the cash register, Tanya flashed a smile.

“Enjoy your meal, ladies?” Her vivid, green eyes were enhanced by her jet-black hair, which was styled in a retro-looking bob.

“Yes, we did, thank you,” said Amhara, digging into her purse for her wallet.

Studying the features of her face, Maya couldn’t help noticing how good-looking Tanya was. And to top it all off, she had a sizable pair of breasts, which undoubtedly turned heads wherever she went.

The cashier took the check from Amhara and then rang up their order. “Your meal tonight comes to a total of five dollars and sixty-two cents.”

Flashing her perfect smile, Tanya took the money from Amhara, then handed her the change.

“Thanks, ladies, and enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Maya could feel Tanya’s eyes on them as they walked out of the restaurant, and she didn’t have to turn around to know that the waitress was sizing her up. Tanya wanted Evan, no doubt about it. But as fine as Evan was, what woman
wouldn’t
be attracted to him?

As soon as they were outside, Amhara turned to her and said, “Okay, now you
know
you’re gonna have to give me the lowdown, right?”

As they headed to Amhara’s car, Maya began to tell the story of how it all happened. But she found that as she was talking, she didn’t even feel as if she were really there anymore. It was as if something inside of her had gone on autopilot, and her mouth was simply moving on its own accord, without the help of her brain. Maya found that she wasn’t aware of very much at all, and as the numbness set in, she willfully let it take over.

Chapter 6

Nearly two weeks had passed since Maya’s run-in with Evan at the diner, and for the first few days after it happened, she found herself obsessively replaying the moment in her head. She knew it did no good to keep thinking about it, but she figured there must have been something inside of her that enjoyed the torture, because she just couldn’t seem to stop reliving it. But little by little, her feelings began to lessen, and her thoughts of him eventually became less frequent.

She’d finally come to the conclusion that pining over a man she couldn’t have was a complete waste of time, so she quit daydreaming about what could have been and concentrated instead on improving her life. Whenever extra shifts were offered at the restaurant, she took them, and she also found a yoga class that was taught only a few blocks away from her apartment. She knew her heart wasn’t going to heal overnight, but it certainly made things a little easier when she kept herself busy.

Earlier that morning, she’d received a phone call from the repair shop letting her know that her Honda was ready, so after securing a ride out there with Amhara, they’d taken a drive to go pick up her car.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the car repair shop, Maya realized that she had a bad case of the stomach flutters and inwardly chastised herself for being so nervous. Weeks had gone by since they’d parted ways, so why did she still feel so helplessly lovesick?

After thanking Amhara for the ride, Maya waved good-bye and headed for the office, preparing herself mentally along the way. She had to play it cool, and let him know that she was living life just fine without him.

As she entered the office, she saw Gary direct his gaze toward her and offer her a smile.

“Hello there.”

She returned his smile with one of her own. “I received a call earlier this morning that my car was ready for pick up.”

“Yeah, I remember you. Your name is Maya, and you own the blue hatchback, right?”

“Yep.”

“It’s all ready. Just follow me into the garage, and you can talk to Evan.”

She hated the way her heart tightened just from the sound of his name, and she knew it would be a challenge to mask the emotions she was feeling. Once they were in the garage, Gary called out to his nephew and waved him over. As he headed their way, Maya noticed that her body was starting to heat up, and that was when she realized that any efforts she’d made to ease him out of her system had been completely futile. The feelings she had for him had set up a home inside of her, and they weren’t making a departure anytime soon.

“Hello, Maya.”

She didn’t like the way his voice sounded. It was so flat and businesslike.

“Hi, Evan.” She kept her face stoic, struggling to keep her desire for him concealed.

She didn’t know how great of a job she was doing, though, because inside she was thinking, why the hell does he have to look so damn good?

“Sorry it took so long. It was supposed to only take a couple of days, but there was a delay on the shipment for one of the parts that I needed. Anyways, I replaced the rod bearings, and I also tightened those brakes up for you, so you shouldn’t have any more problems.”

Her eyes drifted to his mouth, and she thought back to the first time they’d kissed. She could still remember the taste he’d left upon her lips.

“Great, thanks a lot. So how much do I owe you?”

He walked over to a counter where the shop computer was located, and typed in her info to bring up her account. “The brakes cost eighty, and the rod bearings usually cost five, but I was able to knock two hundred bucks off of that price, so what you’re looking at here is a total of three hundred eighty dollars and sixty-two cents.”

Digging into her purse, she retrieved her credit card and gave it to him. After he ran it through, he hit the print button on the computer and copied out a receipt.

“You really didn’t have to give me that discount, you know. I could have paid the full amount.”

He pulled his shoulders into a little shrug. “No problem. I said I was going to give you the discount, and I like to stick to my word, so that’s what I did.”

“Well, thank you. I really do appreciate it, Evan.”

“No big deal, I was happy to do it.”

As her lips pulled into a smile, she noticed his gaze lower to rest on her dimples. She knew that he liked them, and found herself wondering what went through his mind whenever he looked at them. For a few brief moments, it seemed as if he were looking at her in that special way that he used to, and she began to hope that he would lean down and kiss her or say something that would express his feelings for her. Then this terrible rift that had grown between them would be gone, but none of that happened. And, as suddenly as that look of tenderness had appeared, it was gone.

Tearing his gaze from her face, he said, “Well, your car is all set, so I’ll take you to it.”

He motioned for her to follow him, and they headed toward where her Honda was located. Once they reached it, she opened the door and slid behind the wheel. Tossing her purse onto the seat, she saw that her keys were already in the ignition.

“Thanks again.” She looked up to meet his eyes.

She wanted to tell him how much she missed him and how often he was on her mind, but instead she remained quiet. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as desperate.

“No problem, Maya. Let me know if you have any more problems, and take care, okay?”

“You, too.” She called after him as he turned away from the car.

Maya started up the engine and backed up her car, then drove out of the garage. As she was heading out of the parking lot, she noticed a gray SUV pull up, and as soon as she saw it, she began to wonder why it seemed so familiar to her. It took her a little while to remember, but then she came to the realization that it appeared to be the car that had rear-ended them that day they’d run into Dylan. As the driver exited the vehicle, her suspicions were confirmed. It was the same lady she had seen on the day of the accident, and she was even wearing another one of those gypsy skirts. Lifting her foot off the gas pedal, she allowed her car to slow to a crawl. She watched in her rearview mirror as the woman headed for the garage, giving Evan a wave as she spotted him.

Maya’s lips pressed tightly together as she recalled the woman’s flirtatious personality, but before her emotions could get too out of control, she decided to rein them back in. The woman was probably just there getting repairs done on her car, so what was she getting so worked up about? It had been quite a hard impact after all, so the lady’s SUV had to have a fair amount of bumper damage. As soon as she came to this realization, she felt relief wash over her. But the feeling didn’t last very long at all, because what she saw next left her with an ache in the lower pit of her stomach. She gazed intently into the mirror, watching as Evan and the gypsy skirt woman walked out of the garage and toward the SUV. Once they reached the vehicle, they both got inside, and then there was the sound of the car starting up. Not wanting Evan to spot her, Maya pressed her foot on the gas pedal and drove out of the parking lot, making a turn onto the road. Taking a passing glance in the rearview mirror, she caught sight of the SUV making its own exit, and watched as it took off in the opposite direction of where her own car was driving. She wasn’t entirely certain that anything was going on between Evan and the gypsy skirt lady, but then again, she wasn’t so sure that there wasn’t. A sigh of unhappiness fled from her lips, and as she drove along the road, she inwardly coaxed herself to bury the pain before it could tear her apart.

* * * *

After a particularly exhausting day at work, Maya finally arrived home, walking up the pathway toward her apartment. She’d been on her feet all day, so right now she wanted nothing more than to kick off her shoes and curl up on the couch to watch some TV. Once she was inside her apartment, she slipped out of her work shoes and headed back to the bedroom to change into some lounging clothes. She slipped into a drawstring skirt made out of stretchy cotton material and a white tank top, and was just getting ready to go to the bathroom and wash her face when she heard the doorbell ring.

When she reached her front door and opened it, she was surprised to see Evan standing there, and as her eyes landed on him, she experienced a surge of happiness. Dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, Evan’s hair was worn loose, flowing over his nice broad shoulders.