LITMIR.BIZ

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I’m so glad you’re still working here....” His voice trailed off when he realized it sounded as if she hadn’t done much with her life in the past decade. Rose’s guarded expression was proof enough of that. Normally he would’ve phrased that better, but seeing Rose had robbed him of his usual polished poise. “I apologize—that didn’t come out right.”

      She gave him a watery smile and shook her head. “Not to worry. Most people aren’t lucky enough to turn their after-school job into a full-time career like I did. If it helps at all, there was a five-year gap where I didn’t even step foot in the building, but they couldn’t keep me away forever.”

      A million thoughts raced through Xander’s mind and he fought to put them in some sort of order. His heart began pounding in his chest as if he were in a live televised debate and had just been thrown a curveball question by the moderator. Fortunately, he performed best under pressure.

      Rose was as beautiful as he remembered, maybe even more so. In high school she’d been just a girl on the verge of becoming a woman. Now her familiar curves were more lush, making the little cotton uniform cling more deliciously than he recalled. Her long straight brown hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail that fell over her shoulder. The tip teased at the swell of her breasts, allowing his gaze to follow to her cleavage and, eventually, over to her name tag. It still read Rosalyn P., as it had in school.

      Had no one snatched her off the market yet? He quickly glanced at her ring finger, which was as bare as his own. That was a crime. A woman like Rose should’ve been married years ago to a man who appreciated and worshipped her. Sometimes he wished that man had been him. He should’ve fought for her, asked her to marry him and not taken no for an answer, but how could he ask her to leave her mother when she was so ill?

      Xander wanted to talk to her, to see what she’d been doing since the last time he saw her. She’d left Cornwall to go to Western Connecticut University when he went to Georgetown. The school had a teaching hospital where her mother was being treated and a great elementary education program. She loved kids and had wanted to teach. What had happened? Why was she back to waitressing when she had so much potential?

      “I meant I was glad you’re still working here because it made you easier to find. Do you have time to chat with me and catch up some?”

      She glanced around the restaurant, biting at her lip. He couldn’t tell if she thought she shouldn’t or she just didn’t want to talk to him. There was a hesitation in her that he didn’t quite understand. They’d parted well, hadn’t they? She’d broken up with him, so if anyone should be upset, it was him, right?

      “Maybe in a little bit after this family finishes up. I’m the only server tonight, but they’re almost done. In the meantime, what can I get for you to eat?”

      Xander turned away from her confusing expression to let his gaze flick back over the menu and then remembered what he’d chosen. “First I think I’ll take some iced tea with lemon. Then I’ll have the Texan burger with fries and one of your awesome chocolate milkshakes.”

      Rose stopped writing on her pad and smiled. He could tell she recognized his order even though it had been eleven years since she’d brought him food to the counter. She looked up at him, her expression softening for the first time. “The usual, huh? Some things never change, do they?”

      Xander shook his head and held her gaze. Her beauty hadn’t faded. His body’s reaction to her was just as immediate, powerful and distracting as it had ever been. Every inch of his body had grown tense when he caught a glimpse of her familiar curves and breathed in her perfume. It made him wonder if the magic they’d make under the summer stars would be just as explosive.

      “They sure don’t. And I’m glad.”

      * * *

      Rose had to literally bite her tongue to keep her nerves from getting the best of her. The pain helped her stay focused, although it made it hard to smile with any sort of warmth. Whatever. What was important was that she could not panic. Not here. Not now. This was her first real test and she couldn’t flunk within a minute of coming face-to-face with Xander Langston.

      Oddly enough, she’d spent a good part of the past five years fantasizing about Xander strolling into the diner just like this. Looking just like this. Smiling at her just like this. Maybe picking her up and carrying her off like the end of An Officer and a Gentleman.

      And yet, in reality, the moment wasn’t all she’d hoped for. She was nervous. Anxious. Worried she would say or do the wrong thing and give her secrets away. And while Xander had the fire of unabashed attraction in his eyes, that was it. His blatant appraisal of her sent a rush of awareness through her body. A warmth rose to her cheeks and other places where a fire had not been stoked in a very long time.

      Time had not dulled her reaction to Xander. How could it, when he had gotten only more handsome? Age had made his features sharper and his jaw more pronounced, but he still had the same kind eyes and charming smile. She could very easily let herself get swept up in the moment. Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to carry her out of the diner and marry her. He had come here looking for her, but she wouldn’t read anything into it. He’d missed their high school reunion a few months ago. Perhaps he’d just come to appease his curiosity and see if she still looked good. As always, hot enough to sleep with but easy to forget about.

      That meant the dull ache of arousal would go unsoothed. She wasn’t about to make the same dumb mistakes twice.

      She forced herself to scratch out his order for the cook and spun off in the direction of the kitchen while she still had the strength to walk away from him. It had been hard enough the first time, knowing how much was at stake. Somehow, with nothing more than a dinner order between them, it wasn’t any easier.

      It had been eleven years since she’d laid eyes on Xander Langston. Eleven years! And yet seeing him like this had lit an unwelcome fire in her libido as though they were back in school again. She’d seen him on the news from time to time, especially during the flood of ads around election season, but it didn’t do him justice. That sandy-brown hair, those enchanting hazel eyes, those firm muscles disguised by his expensive and well-tailored clothes—there was no resisting it. She’d never been able to tell Xander no. He had this charm about him. Once he set his sights on what he wanted, he could be very persuasive.

      For some reason, Xander had wanted her. Rose hadn’t even wanted to date him at first. He was handsome, but they were on different paths. He was the high school senior-class president. He played varsity baseball. He was popular, likable and overflowing with what they called “leadership potential.” He had a full ride to Georgetown and a bright future ahead of him. Rose had none of those things, then or now. And yet once he’d decided they should date, there’d been no turning him away.

      She pushed the ticket across the stainless-steel countertop to Oscar, the night cook. “I need a Texan with extra barbecue sauce.”

      Oscar grunted and turned to the grill. Normally, Rose would take the tea out before she made his milkshake, but she wasn’t ready to face him again. Instead she busied herself scooping ice cream into the milkshake machine. It was easier than figuring out what she was going to do.

      “It’s not a big deal,” she said aloud, dumping the thick shake into the tall fountain glass. And it wasn’t. He was going to come and go, just as he always did. He hadn’t spent more than a handful of days in Cornwall since he’d left. Usually it was for the annual Eden gathering at Christmas when the diner was closed. And then he was back to D.C. and his work at the Capitol Building. Neither his attraction to her nor the secrets she kept from him would change that fact.

      She didn’t know why he was here in the middle of the summer. Or why he’d come to the diner tonight looking for her. He hadn’t sought her out in all this time. She’d left Cornwall for several years but had been back for quite a while. She’d received no calls, no letters, no Facebook friend requests. He’d forgotten all about her, as best she could tell. Hopefully, he would be gone again before he could cause her any grief.

      And at the same time...God, it was good to see him again. She felt almost

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