Page 9

That wasn’t the same. At. All.

But again, I held my tongue. The last thing I needed was to get fired after a week on the job.

“Sure!” I nodded. “Got it.”

“Aren’t you going to write that down?” she chuckled, mockingly.

“Great idea.” My lips were trembling from all the polite smiles I was trying to force. For some reason, her talking down to me made my gut clench and emotion clog my throat as I pulled out a pad of paper and scribbled down the order I’d already memorized.

It was demeaning.

It shouldn’t be.

But it was.

And I deserved it. I’d run away and never looked back. My gut clenched again. So maybe I had looked back, but only because I’d had no choice. He’d left me no choice…

But to run.

Right?

I’d been so young. We’d both been.

I thanked them, walked off, and typed the order into the computer.

“Hey.” Liza slipped by me carrying about ten empty beer bottles. They clanged together, nearly tipping over, before she set down her tray and put her hands on her hips. “You look horrible.”

“Gee…” my shoulders slunk, “…thanks. That’s just what every girl wants to hear on a Friday night, just before all the rich people barge in and start complaining over the fact that I didn’t give them a choice between still or sparkling water.”

Liza’s blue eyes twinkled. “Cheer up. I just mean you don’t look like your normal, peppy self.”

“When have I ever been peppy?” I finished typing in the order and moved my head back and forth to stretch my neck out.

“You were peppy in high school,” she pointed out while she dumped the beer bottles into the recycling bin and wiped off her tray.

I let out a pitiful groan. “I was a cheerleader in high school, who thought the world revolved around the next football game.”

“Correction.” Liza bent over and grabbed a pack of napkins then tossed them in my direction. I ripped the plastic wrapping open while she kept jabbering on. “You were a cheerleader in high school who thought the world revolved around Jason Caro.”

My cheeks felt hot. “Shh… keep your voice down.”

“What?” She glanced around the empty hallway leading into the kitchen. “You afraid he’s going to hear you all the way on the other side of town? From the police station? And the main office? With his door shut?”

I held up my hand. “You’ve made your point.”

Liza’s easy grin didn’t help the nerves suddenly attacking every inch of my body. I’d have to face him sooner or later. The town wasn’t big enough for the both of us.

Damn it.

Liza gripped my shoulders with both hands. “Look at me.”

I glanced down at my black ballet flats.

“Maddy.”

Slowly, I lifted my chin, my gaze faltering as my lower lip trembled just slightly. Age had done a real number on my emotions. I could at least admit that much.

Sometimes, I still smelled his cologne. He’d always looked like he’d just stepped out of a GQ commercial, so it only made sense that the man had worn Burberry. Something that, even to this day, made my eyes mist over and my throat clog up with emotion which, in turn, always made the peppy perfume-counter women think I was having an allergic reaction to their spray.