Exposed (2 page)

"You're such a tease," I say as I walk past her into the already bustling bistro.

***

"He's here. Oh my fucking god, he is here," Alexa hisses into my ear as I'm trying to take the order of a man with a very thick Russian accent.

"So that's a large, quad, half-sweet, caramel macchiato?" I repeat back hoping that this time I've finally got his order right. The dozen people standing behind him waiting for their java fix don't look too amused by my lack of translation skills.

"Yeah, yeah." The burly Russian exclaims as he claps his hands. "You right!"

I smile as I take the cash he offers. I ring it through and drop the remaining few cents into the tip jar at the edge of the counter.

"Sadie." Alexa pulls me to the side as she whispers my name. "The guy. That guy. He's here."

"Good for him." I can't focus on what she's saying. Josephine, our manager, is staring a hole through both of us right now. I may not need the job, as Hunter Reynolds pointed out last night but I love this job. I can't lose it.

"Not now." I pull on Alexa's apron to get her attention. "We're so backed up. Whoever he is, you can talk to him on your break."

"Pay attention." She grabs both of my shoulders and gives me the slightest shake. "That guy. The one you thought wanted to fuck you in the coat closet. He's here."

I stare at her lips. Is she saying that Hunter is here? He's in the bistro? Now? I search her face for some clarification but she's fixated on something past my shoulder. I'm frozen. I can't turn around.

"Shit. He's waving to me." She drops her hands and I get a glimpse of her fingers wafting through the air next to my head.

"I feel sick," I whisper. If I have to be subjected to Hunter Reynolds picking up my best friend, I'm going to hide in the back room with the ground coffee and paper cups for eternity. When did my life become this humiliating?

"He's motioning for you to turn around." There's confusion woven into her words. Why wouldn’t she be confused? She looks like she just stepped off a fashion week runway show for baristas and I look like I've been dragged under a truck. I have spilled milk, a combination of espresso and cocoa and something that resembles chewing gum stuck to the front of my apron.

"I can't." I try to barrel my way past her to the refuge of the office at the back of the bistro. "I need to help Josephine do up next week's schedule."

"Alexa." As if on cue, Josephine's shrill voice carries over the buzz of the customers. "Take an order."

"Fine," Alexa barks back. I cringe when I see the expression on our manager's face. I've saved Alexa's ass from being fired so many times I've lost track and if she doesn't change her attitude soon, I'll be working here without her.

"Excuse me, Sadie." I hear his deep voice calling out from behind me. I know this is the moment when I'm supposed to turn around and act all nonchalant about the fact that he's in the middle of the bistro I work at. Given the fact that it's just shy of eight o'clock on a Saturday morning and I only saw him a few hours ago, I'm guessing that he has an ulterior motive. It's likely he's looking for the number of the redhead who was bartending last night or maybe that blonde who was handing out canapés before dinner.

I turn slowly, trying in vain to wipe off my apron. He's standing near the counter, his left hip leaning against it. He's wearing a pair of jeans, a light blue dress shirt and a navy suit jacket. I drink him in. He's more gorgeous than he was last night, if that's even possible. The way his hair is falling casually onto his forehead gives him a boyish charm. The sharpness of his formal look has been replaced with a softness that makes him even more stunning.

"Sadie, it's me. Hunter Reynolds," he says with a grin.

I nod. Of course I know his name. I searched for it online after he left last night but what little I found didn't amount to much. He's elusive and that makes him even that much more appealing. "Yes," I whisper.

"Can you talk for a minute?" he calls over the hum of the crowded space.

I shake my head as I look at the crowd of people waiting to place orders. The line is out the door now. Working at the busiest bistro in downtown Boston certainly had its perks. You couldn’t beat the tips and the steady throngs of people passing through meant each shift flew by. "I don't have a break until ten thirty."

He glances at his watch. "I'll just wait."

I scowl at the thought of him waiting more than two hours in this crowd just to talk to me. I shake my head. "No. That's okay. Did you need someone's number?" I walk over to where he's standing. Maybe if I just give him what he wants he'll leave and I can get my heart beat back under control. How can any man possibly be as beautiful as he is?

"Someone's number?" He smiles sheepishly. "What do you mean?"

"You're looking for a woman's number, right?" I glance over my shoulder at Josephine. She's standing right behind Alexa watching her every move. I sigh. I'm grateful for the gentle reprieve.

"What woman?" He throws the question back with a quizzed look.

"Petra's replacement." I offer. "I assume you're here to get a number from someone else you met last night."

His eyes wander over my face while he contemplates my words. "I'm not looking for any numbers." He gazes down at the counter before he continues, "I just wanted a few minutes to talk to you."

"To me?" I almost scream the words. Dammit. I have to temper my reactions to him. He may be the best looking man I've ever met but I can't keep acting like an inexperienced fool when he talks to me.

"I'll order a coffee and wait." He throws a smile over my shoulder. I assume it's in the direction of Josephine. She may actually be the only person alive his charm won't work on. He quickly darts his gaze back to me. "Ten thirty it is."

I watch him walk to the back of the line as I pull in a deep breath. Hunter Reynolds is going to sit in this crowded, over heated bistro for more than two hours just so he can talk to me. I wish I had a clean apron.

Chapter 3

"Can I get you another cup of coffee?" I reach for the empty, stained paper cup sitting in front of him on the small circular table.

"No." He chuckles as he waves his hand over the rim. "Three cups is my limit for the morning."

I nod silently as I place a chilled water bottle on the table before taking a seat across from him.

"I wanted to apologize." He leans just a touch forward in his chair so his elbow rests on the table. "I didn't handle myself very well when I came back to your place last night."

I can feel Alexa's eyes burning a hole in my back. The quick pep talk she gave me in the storage room before my break only made me more nervous. Her advice for flirting left me laughing in her face. I can't think about that now or I'm going to start giggling and Hunter is going to think I'm more of a childish brat than he already does.

"I misinterpreted what you said," I offer. I still feel embarrassed over assuming he was talking about seducing me.

"I'm not usually such an asshole." A thin grin slides across his lips.

I smirk. "I would call you more of a dick than an asshole."

He throws his head back in laughter. I stare at the shape of his jaw and the soft stubble that is covering it. None of the boys I've dated in school have been anything like him. He's different. Maybe it's his confidence or maybe it's just that fact that he knows how to carry himself. Whatever it is, it feels like a magnet that is pulling me into him.

"That's fair." He picks up the paper cup and lightly taps it against the table. "I shouldn't have come back that late and I sure as hell shouldn't have been a dick about your work."

The way he emphasizes the word dick makes me smile. "You were hot for Petra," I say casually.

His eyebrows shoot up and a smile once again floods his face. "I was?"

"You must have been." I shrug my shoulders while I try to stifle in a giggle. "Why else would you come back in the middle of the night to get her number?"

"I lost track of time?" He poses it as a question.

"Wrong answer," I tease.

"I was in the neighborhood?" He runs his tongue along his lower lip and I almost melt.

"Strike two," I whisper.

"I'm a dick?" He playfully punches his fist lightly on the table.

"We have a winner." I giggle before taking a small sip of water from the bottle.

"I came to apologize." His voice has taken on a more serious tone. "It was wrong of me to show up at the door that late and I had no right to ask about where you worked."

I'm surprised. I'm sure that he can tell by my silence and the stunned look on my face. This guy sitting across the small table from me isn't the same guy I was talking to a few hours ago in my parent's house. This man seems genuine and the charm has slipped into the background.

"Apology accepted." I glance at the clock on the wall to the right. "I need to get back to work."

I feel his hand reach for mine as I start to stand. The electricity that flows from him into me startles me. I look directly into his eyes to see if he feels anything and I see something that I just can't place there.

"Wait," he says quietly. "Maybe we can grab a coffee or lunch sometime."

I sit back down in silence. I can't process what he just said. I don't want to humiliate myself again by misjudging his words.

"I thought it would be good to learn more about your mother's charity." He drops my hand. "I was impressed by what I heard last night and I'd like to know more."

I breathe in a heavy sigh. "My mom would be the best person for you to talk to about that. She's away in Europe right now but if you give me your card I can have her call you."

"Can't you tell me more?" He cocks his head to the side.

"I guess," I say dispassionately. Although my mother started her charitable endeavours when I was ill, I've never been directly involved with it. Last night I was pushed into hosting her dinner because she had scurried off to Europe with my father to put out another fire started by my older brother, Dylan.

"What about later today?" He stands as he picks up the empty paper cup.

"I have plans." I push myself from the chair.

"Plans?" he questions.

I wish I could read him better. He's being almost as pushy as he was last night. "A birthday dinner for a friend," I cautiously offer.

"A boyfriend?"

The question startles me. Why is he asking me if I have a boyfriend? That is what he's asking, isn't it? Maybe he means a friend who is a boy? It's obvious that he sees me as a girl and not a woman.

"A friend." I push back. "I need to get back to work. If you drop by the house late next week my mother will be back and she'll be more than happy to tell you all about her charity work."

He doesn't say anything. He just nods as I turn and walk back towards the counter and Alexa's grinning face.

Chapter 4

"He could be your summer fling." Alexa looks at me in the mirror. "It'll be all hot and heavy until you have to go back to school, then you go your separate ways."

"You must be hard of hearing," I say as I point at my ears. "He's not interested in me. He wants to know more about my mom's charity."

She spins around so she's facing me now. I don't move from my place on my bed. She's almost ready for Kayla's birthday dinner and I don't even have the energy to take a shower. I'm still tired from last night and spending the evening with a bunch of catty girls from Alexa's sorority doesn't seem that appealing at this moment.

"Get up lazy bones." She pushes on my leg with her hand. "We need to be there in forty five."

"When have we ever gotten anywhere on time?" I tease as I sit on the edge of the bed. "You can't make a grand entrance if we get there early."

"Smart Sadie to the rescue." She smirks before continuing, "I'm going to finish with my makeup. Get in that shower."

I begrudgingly do as I'm told and within the hour I'm dressed in a shimmering, short metallic brown dress, nude heels and I've pinned my hair up into a messy upsweep. Unlike Alexa, I opt for minimal makeup. She's always on display and I'd much rather fade into the background. I smile as she walks back into my bedroom. The pink dress she's wearing is cut almost to her navel. The black very high heels she's chosen to wear look impossible to walk in but she breezes through the room with ease.

"I called a cab." She scans the room looking for her purse. "Let's go."

I follow her out of the house and into the waiting taxi. I don't say a word as I watch her expertly palm her way through countless messages on her phone.

"I'm going to meet up with Danny after we're done with the dinner," she says casually as she tosses her smartphone back into her purse. "I need to get laid."

I laugh out loud at her boldness. I envy it but I've never told her that. She's the same age as I am and has had more lovers than I can count. I've only had two and both were quick to leave my life after we had sex. My last boyfriend, Will, told me he loved me but that all changed after we made love. He broke up with me in a text the following day. Alexa has it all figured out. She's the one fucking and then leaving. I don't know how she does it, but she seems happy. Judging by the wide grin on her face at this moment, Danny must be the best of the best.

"I don't remember you mentioning Danny before." I try to stifle a chuckle. I don't remember any of the names of the guys she sleeps with.

"He's new." She gazes out the window. "I met him at a club two weeks ago. He fucked me in his car. Christ his cock is huge. I need that tonight."

I shake my head and don't respond. I'm actually not sure what I could possibly say after that.

"We're here." She throws a few bills through the small window in the glass divide between the driver and us. "Get out, Sadie."

I feel her hand pushing my leg towards the door so I open it and step out into the warm night air. "We're having dinner here?" I glance towards the long line of people awaiting entry into Axel. "H...how?" I stumble over the word. This is the restaurant in Boston at the moment. Everyone wants a table here.