Page 15

NINE

REIGN

I arrive at the Piney Creek Diner twenty minutes early the next morning. The bell above the door jingles as I step inside, and the smell of coffee and bacon grease hits me immediately.

This place is exactly what I wanted. Unpretentious and filled with locals who know how to mind their own business. The kind of place someone like Vega would never set foot in. The kind of place where I can see Audrey without his goons breathing down our necks.

The morning crowd is sparse. Just a few construction workers hunched over plates of eggs and hash browns, a couple of elderly men nursing coffee at the counter, and a young mom trying to corral two kids into eating their pancakes.

No one looks up when I enter except the waitress behind the counter, who gives me a friendly nod.

I make my way to a corner booth with a clear view of both entrances. I slide in and face the door. Then I check my watch.

7:44 AM.

Audrey should be here at eight, but a knot of tension forms in my gut at the thought she might not show.

Last night was intense. The way she melted in my arms, the sounds she made when I was inside her. All of it confirmed what I already knew. She’s mine.

But there’s a difference between knowing something and having it, and right now Audrey is still wearing another man’s ring.

I drum my fingers on the worn tabletop, scanning the diner again. No security cameras except one pointed at the register. No tinted windows on any of the cars in the parking lot. No one who looks like they don’t belong. I’m being paranoid, but with Vega involved, paranoid is the right call.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

I look up to find Lainey Ruins standing by my table, coffeepot in hand, her blonde hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Her smile is warm and genuine, the kind that makes this place feel like home even to strangers.

“Morning, Lainey.” I return her smile and feel some of the tension ease from my shoulders. “Marcus said you were off today.”

“Cook called in sick.” She pours coffee into my mug without asking if I want it. “Want your usual?”

“No thanks,” I say, wrapping my hands around the warm mug. “I’m waiting for someone.”

Lainey’s eyebrows lift slightly, but her expression remains neutral. “I figured you might be.”

She doesn’t press, doesn’t ask who or why, just gives me a look that let’s me know that Marcus probably told her about last night. I’m grateful for her discretion. The last thing I need is questions I can’t answer without revealing too much.

She moves on to refill other cups, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the growing knot in my stomach.

The bell above the door chimes, and my head snaps up.

Audrey steps inside and scans the diner until her eyes find mine. She’s wearing a white shirt and a short denim skirt. Her dark hair falls loose around her shoulders, and she’s bare-faced except for a touch of lip gloss that makes her mouth look even more kissable.

She’s fucking gorgeous.

And she’s not wearing her engagement ring.

The sight of her naked left hand sends a surge of satisfaction through me. She walks toward my table with a nervous energy.

“Hi,” she says softly when she reaches the table.

I stand immediately, unable to stop myself from cupping her face and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. It’s risky as hell in a public place, but I need to taste her.

“Hi yourself, princess.” I pull back to study her face, noting the flush that spreads across her cheeks. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She glances around the diner nervously. “Are you sure this place is okay?”

“Trust me, it’s perfect.” I guide her into the booth across from me, my hand lingering on her lower back. “No one here gives a damn who we are.”

Lainey appears at our table almost immediately, coffeepot still in hand. “What can I get you folks?”

“Coffee, please,” Audrey says, offering Lainey a genuine smile. “And could I get the chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Coming right up. And for you, Reign?”

“Steak and eggs, medium rare.” I keep my eyes on Audrey as I speak. “Extra bacon.”

“You got it.” Lainey fills Audrey’s mug and tops off mine. “I’ll get this order in.”

Once we’re alone, I lean forward, my voice dropping to that low rumble I know affects her. “Good girl. You followed my instructions.”

The flush on her cheeks deepens. “About what I’m wearing?”

“About everything.” My eyes drop to her left hand, bare of jewelry. “Especially that.”

She follows my gaze, twisting her naked ring finger. “I couldn’t wear it. Not after last night.”

“Good.” The possessiveness in my voice is unmistakable. “That ring has no business on your hand anyway.”

Audrey glances at Lainey and frowns.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, following her gaze to where Lainey is wiping down tables.

“For some reason that waitress looks familiar,” she finishes, tilting her head slightly.

I chuckle, glancing over at Lainey as she moves between tables with practiced ease. “That’s the bride from San Diego. She owns this place.”

Audrey’s eyes widen in surprise. “Really? She looks so young.”

“She is young. Lost her dad a few years back and inherited the diner from him.” I take a sip of my coffee, watching Audrey process this information. “She’s been running it ever since.”

“That’s incredible for someone so young. She can’t be much older than me.”

I lean back in the booth. “Met Marcus through his son, actually. Used to date the kid before she married his dad.”

Audrey nearly chokes on her coffee. “She dated his son and then married his father?”

“Yep. Complicated as hell, but it worked out in the end. Axel’s grown up now, doing his own thing. Marcus and Lainey are happy.” I shrug. “Sometimes the heart wants what it wants, no matter how messy it looks from the outside.”

“That’s...” she pauses, clearly trying to wrap her head around the family dynamics. “Definitely complicated.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t know her growing up. You’re about the same age, and Cooper Heights isn’t that big.”

“I went to private school. Didn’t really mix with the local kids much.

” She glances around the diner again. “But I do remember this place. My dad used to bring me here sometimes when I was little. Every Saturday morning before my riding lessons. He’d order black coffee and wheat toast, and I’d get chocolate chip pancakes with extra whipped cream. ”

“Oh yeah?”

“He’d let me put quarters in the jukebox,” she continues, gesturing toward the vintage machine in the corner. “I always picked the same song—‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond. He’d sing along, completely off-key, and I thought he was the best singer in the world.”

A soft smile plays on her lips at the memory. “Those were some of my favorite times with him. Just the two of us, no cameras, no reporters, no expectations. He always did his best to keep me out of the spotlight, you know? To give me as normal a childhood as possible despite everything.”

I watch her face as she speaks, noting the way her expression softens when she talks about her father.

There’s real love there, real grief. It makes me understand her situation better.

This isn’t just about family duty or money.

It’s about honoring the memory of someone who clearly meant everything to her.

“He sounds like a good dad,” I say.

Her smile falters slightly. “He was. The best. He died of cancer two years ago.”

I remember when Arthur Worthington died. It was front page news for weeks. The entire town shut down for his funeral. Half the state showed up to pay their respects.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I say, meaning it. “It’s so tough to lose a parent. Especially when you’re young.”

“It was.” She stares down at her coffee, her fingers wrapped around the mug like she’s trying to absorb its warmth. “He fought for almost a year. I spent every day I could at the hospital with him.”

“What about your mom? Did she help you through it?”

Audrey’s expression shifts, becoming more guarded. “My mother died giving birth to me. My dad married my stepmother, Lucille, when I was twelve.”

“That must have been an adjustment.”

“That’s one way to put it.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “My friends give me a hard time about her sometimes.”

“Why’s that?”

“This whole debt thing is sort of Lucille’s fault. My dad took out loans to maintain her lifestyle. The shopping, the trips, the constant renovations to the house. He never could say no to her.”

I feel my jaw clench at the image of some gold-digging stepmother bleeding Arthur Worthington dry, but I keep my expression neutral. The last thing Audrey needs is judgment from me.

“But he loved her so much,” she continues, her voice breaking slightly. “And that made me happy, even when things got complicated. He deserved to be happy after losing my mom. I just wanted him to be happy.”

Her voice cracks on the last word, and I see tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Hey,” I reach across the table to cover her hand with mine. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay.” The tears spill over now, and she wipes at them frantically with her free hand. “I miss him so much, Reign. Every single day. He was the only person who really understood me, who saw me for who I really was. And now he’s gone.”

Her voice cracks again as she says the words, and something protective surges inside me. I slide out of my side of the booth and move to sit beside her. Without thinking about where we are or who might see, I pull her closer and wrap my arm around her shoulders.

“This is risky,” she whispers, but she doesn’t pull away. “What if someone sees?”

“I don’t give a fuck. You need comfort, and I’m giving it to you.”

She leans into me, her head resting against my shoulder. For a moment, we sit in silence, the noise of the diner fading into background static.

“I hate this,” she says suddenly, her voice muffled against my shirt. “I hate being engaged to Gio. I hate that I’m disappointing my father’s memory by becoming everything he never wanted me to be.”