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CHAPTER 1

TANNER

“ T hat man is in the parking lot again,” Mrs. Kennedy whispered to me as I rang up her gas and cigarettes.

I didn’t need to look through the windows of the convenience store to know exactly who she was talking about.

“I know. It’s fine.”

Mrs. Kennedy looked skeptical. “Maybe you should tell the sheriff? No good comes from an outsider lingerin’ around here.”

I forced a smile. The last thing we needed was Sheriff Johnson snooping in my business. He’d never liked me ever since I punched his son in the 10th grade for harassing this girl. He tried to sweep it under the rug, and I wasn’t gonna let that happen. After that me and my whole family had been on his shit life. I sure as fuck didn’t want him messing with the guy in the lot.

“No, really, it’s fine. I think he’s just lonely. There’s no reason to get the sheriff involved.”

Mrs. Kennedy raised an eyebrow and studied me, like she was trying to get juicy gossip that didn’t exist. But I guessed that was what happened in a small town with a person who’d known you since the day you were born.

“If you say so. Just be careful.”

I managed to avoid the eye roll. “Always, ma’am.”

That got a smile out of her before she picked up her pack of smokes and walked to the door with a wave. “You take care, Tanner!”

“You too, Mrs. Kennedy.”

I didn’t move until she got in the car, glaring at the poor man, and then drove off.

He waited until her headlights disappeared and then walked into the store, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sunset orange pants.

“Hi, Mark!” I said too brightly, but I couldn’t fucking help it. There was something about the guy that had gotten under my skin since the first time I’d seen him watching me by the drinks cooler a couple weeks ago.

He startled like he always did when I said his name. “Me?”

This was always how our conversations went. I’d say hi to him, and it would somehow surprise him even though he was the only one in the store.

“Yeah, that’s your name, right?”

He blinked, those long lashes framing those beautiful eyes. “Oh, um, yeah. Right. That’s me. Mark.”

I grinned. “How are you today? You’re a little later than usual.”

“Oh, I had . . . a business associate to follow up with. I got here as soon as I could.”

I hummed politely, purposely ignoring his odd choice of phrasing. That was pretty much standard when it came to Mark, so I’d learned to just roll with it.

When he first came into the store, I’d kind of figured he was homeless. He was clearly new to the area, and his eclectic clothing had me thinking that maybe he didn’t have much choice in his style and had taken what he could find or what was given to him. He wouldn’t be the first person who’d camped out in Forest Glen when they had nowhere else to go.

Now, though, I wasn’t sure. Obviously, you could have a job and still be unhoused, but I didn’t get that feeling from him. The way he talked, it seemed like he did have a home, but maybe it was far away.

I probably should’ve been more freaked out because I was like 95% sure he was stalking me, but, and this is fucked up—if anyone called me on it, I’d deny it with my dying breath—I kind of liked walking into work every day and knowing that this adorable man with blue eyes so dark they were almost purple and ridiculous, out-of-season, brightly colored outfits would be there, waiting for me, watching me.

It made me feel alive for the first time since I’d moved back to Destiny. I got here as soon as I could .

Gah.

That should have me running for the hills, or at least following Mrs. Kennedy’s advice and calling the sheriff. Instead, I grinned like a fool and hoped Mark didn’t notice me blushing.

“That’s okay. You’re here now.” Mark grinned and rocked back on his heels, like I’d said the best thing in the world to him. He was so fucking adorable, I couldn’t stand it. He was around 5’9””, the top of his head coming just below my nose. It was perfect. I could easily tilt my head up to kiss the top of his head.

Which I didn’t. Obviously. Because that would be weird. Why would I want to kiss my stalker in any way at all? But just saying, if I did want to, it would be easy.

His hair was so dark that it was almost black, thick but silky smooth. There was one light-blond streak toward the front that fascinated me. It was so light, it was almost white. I thought at first that he’d dyed it, but the more I stared at it, the more I was sure it was natural.

That thick, silky hair, that was probably so soft to the touch, fell to right below his shoulders. The first few times he’d shown up, it had been loose, falling in natural tangles like he’d forgotten to brush it. But lately he had it pulled back in braids on either side of his head. It was so different than the way any man in this tiny fucking town would ever wear his, and I was obsessed. It looked so good on him.

His almond-shaped eyes tilted slightly to the side and stared with such an intensity, it had to freak most people out. Mark didn’t miss anything. His skin was tan and smooth, his body narrow but lithe. He wasn’t big, I could probably wrap my hands around his waist and they’d almost meet—though, I had massive fucking hands—but there was something about him that screamed dangerous. I didn’t know what Mark did for a living, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t strictly legal.

Today, he was wearing those sunset orange parachute pants with a white tank top with a sparkly unicorn dabbing on it. He had his usual golden band around his wrist that somehow accentuated the tribal tattoos up and down his arms. He was also wearing a collar today. Well, it was probably a choker, but it looked a whole lot like a collar, and it was distracting as hell. It framed his neck perfectly, and I could easily imagine him kneeling at my feet, those almost purple eyes watching me through his thick lashes and that collar around his throat.

Fuck . . . Maybe I was the creepy one in this relationship, or whatever you wanted to call it.

“Have you eaten today, Tanner? You only had one of those soft pretzel things for dinner last night. I looked it up. They are delicious, but they don’t have all the nutritional value a human needs to be healthy.”

And there he went. It was one of those statements that any normal person would freak out about, but all it did was make me swoon. Maybe I needed therapy. I should check to see if our insurance covered it?—

Mark was waiting patiently for me to answer. He always did that. He never nagged or hurried me up. Being the oldest of five with a single mom who had been battling health issues most of my life, I was used to being rushed or just straight up ignored. I also wasn’t used to someone worrying about what I’d eaten for dinner and its nutritional value. I was the worrier. I made sure the kids were fed and my mom took her meds. Not the other way around. I scoffed at myself. Then I wondered why I found Mark’s attention nice.

He was still waiting, and I found my cheeks heating. “Oh, um, I grabbed one of the breakfast sandwiches from the counter when I came in. I’m fine.”

Mark frowned, looking up at the ceiling as he thought. I waited with bated breath, wondering what his thoughts were. Finally, he shook his head.

“You should eat again. I’ll stop at Todo Los Tacos. I know you enjoy their tacos.”

I wracked my brain, trying to remember if I’d ever told Mark that. It was possible. After two days of him lingering toward the back of the store watching me, I’d initiated a conversation with him, one that had been ongoing ever since. We might have spoken about my love for Todo’s tacos. Or he might’ve just known. I decided not to worry about it because now that he’d mentioned it, I was kinda hungry.

“Can you get chips and guac too? Oh, and a side of queso.”

Mark rolled those pretty eyes. “Of course.” Like that wasn’t even a question.

“I will be right back, Tanner,” he told me seriously.

“I know.” I smiled softly at him. “I’ll be here. Thank you.”

He grinned again, his whole face lighting up. “You don’t need to thank me for taking care of you. It’s what we do.”

I didn’t get to question who he was talking about before he was through the door and out of sight.