The lunch crowd was finally dwindling, both on the bar side and the restaurant side. Haley grabbed the last two tickets from the register and slid them into the check holders. She could feel Megan's eyes on her the entire time. Watching, studying.

Just like she'd been doing for the last few hours.

Haley tossed her a glance, one eyebrow raised in silent question. Megan looked away, busying herself with restocking the bar. They hadn't had a chance to talk yet, not that Haley would have been an active participant in any conversation Megan started. She wasn't in the mood to answer questions, no matter how well-meaning they might be.

She wasn't even in the mood to be here, hadn't been since Zach's harem had made their appearance a few days ago. She had no idea why that bothered her. Why he bothered her. But he did. They did. And she hated it. At least he'd had the decency not to show up since then.

Haley didn't know why that bothered her, too.

What she needed was a vacation. A vacation would be nice. In fact, a vacation would be perfect. Too bad she couldn't afford one. That didn't mean she couldn't dream about it. Visions of clear blue water and soft white sand filled her head as she delivered the checks to her last two tables. Someplace tropical, definitely. Was the water really as blue as the pictures showed? Probably not. That was probably nothing more than some creative photoshopping to draw people in, to entice them with false expectations that crashed and burned once harsh reality set in.

Haley knew all about harsh reality—she'd been born into it. Had been living it her entire life, all twenty-two years of it. That didn't mean she couldn't dream.

She went back to the first table and picked up the paid check, barely refraining from rolling her eyes when she noticed the tip. Five shitty dollars on a sixty-dollar bill.

Yeah, dreaming was about all she could afford to do, and even that was pushing it. At least the tip on the second check was a little better. Not enough to make her rich, not by a long-shot—just enough to splurge on something besides ramen noodles this weekend.

Haley shoved both check holders into the pocket of her waist apron and cleaned off the tables, then carried the tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen. She was lucky that she didn't have to rely solely on tips like her last waitressing job. Mystic's owners—Megan's parents—actually paid their staff a decent hourly rate, something above minimum wage. No, she wasn't going to get rich—not even close. But she wasn't going to starve, either, not if she was careful with her money.

Which meant no vacation.

Oh well. Not like she'd know what to do on a vacation anyway.

"Everything okay with you?"

Haley jumped, startled, then blew out a quick breath, hoping to cover her gasp of surprise. Had Megan noticed? She looked over her shoulder, noticed the way Megan's brows lowered over her eyes, the way her lips pursed into a thin line.

Yes, she noticed.

Haley forced a smile. "I'm fine. Why?"

"Then why are you so jumpy?"

"I'm not jumpy. You just surprised me, that's all." She pushed past Megan, hoping to make it into the back room without being followed. No such luck.

"Are you mad at me about the other night?"

Haley shrugged into her jacket then reached behind her to pull her hair out. "What night?"

"You know. The other night. Last week. After the game."

"Oh." Haley grabbed a tattered book from her equally tattered tote bag then pasted a blank expression on her face. "You mean when you told Zach what was going on? When you told him where I was? That night? No. Why would I possibly be mad about that?"

"I never told Zach what was going on. I wouldn't do that. You know I wouldn't."

"Really? Because somebody must have told him something."

"I think that was Jason's sister. She pulled Zach outside to talk to him."

"And I guess she's the one who told him where I was, huh?"

Megan shifted. Everything about her screamed guilt, from the way her gaze slid to the rack of shelves behind Haley to the way her fingers twisted the hem of the flannel shirt she wore open over a tank shirt. Even in the way her right foot rocked from side-to-side, marring the bright yellow canvas of her Chuck's. She took a deep breath, her gaze meeting Haley's again.

"No, that was me."

"You shouldn't have told him. You had no business telling him—"

"You didn't see him, Haley. He was—I don't know how to explain it. Angry. Intense. Worried." She swallowed and looked away. "So was I. I still am."

"I told you, there's nothing to worry about. Jimmy and I broke up. It's over."

"Is it?"

Haley's grip tightened on the book and she narrowed her eyes. "Yes. I told you that already."

"Does Jimmy know that?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just—I saw him the other night. At least, I think it was him. His car, I mean. When Jason and I left here."

A shiver danced across Haley's neck, filling her with a dread she didn't want to acknowledge. She was overreacting, just like Megan. "You probably imagined it."

Even though Jimmy had sent her that text. Even though he'd told her he was going to Mystic's to look for her.

No, it couldn't have been him. He knew where she lived. If he had really been looking for her the other night, he would have shown up at her apartment.

Another shiver passed through her, chilling her from the inside out. That's all she needed: to worry about Jimmy showing up at her apartment.

Stop it.

She was overreacting, that was all.

"I'm pretty sure it was his car."

"I doubt it. And even if it was, so what? It doesn't mean anything."

"I don't trust him, Haley. I don't like him. I don't like the way he treated you."

"Yeah, I know. You keep telling me that. And I keep telling you that it's over. There's nothing to worry about."

"What if he—"

"Just stop, okay?" Haley pushed past Megan and headed toward the side door. "Nothing is going to happen, nothing I can't handle."

"Like you handled it before? Is that how you got those bruises?"

"I'm done talking. I'm taking my break and going outside to read for a little bit. I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"Haley—"

"No. I'm done." She pushed through the door, her eyes squinting against the bright afternoon light. Chilled air washed around her but she shrugged it off. It wasn't too cold, she could handle it for fifteen minutes. And maybe the air would help clear her head.

She set the timer on her phone then took a seat on one of the overturned buckets and opened the book. Two minutes later, she slammed it closed. The story, an expertly woven tale of action and suspense and romance from her favorite author, failed to pull her in. It wasn't the story's fault—this one was one of her favorites, one that she'd read many times before, one that always sucked her in.

Just not today.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cold concrete wall. The bright sun caused spots to dance on her lids, but there was no warmth in it—just the cold from the concrete seeping into her back and the chilled breeze that mocked the calendar's upcoming arrival of Spring.

Haley took a deep breath, trying to empty her mind, trying to take even a short break from reality. That's why she brought the book out with her—for that escape, no matter how brief.

But her mind wouldn't cooperate. Too many thoughts and images whirled in her head, too many worries.

The disastrous relationship with Jimmy. How she'd been sucked in by his charm. How she'd let herself be fooled by his big words and even bigger dreams. How she had kept making excuses for his behavior, telling herself he was just having a bad day. And another. And another. How those bad days were nothing more than his artist's temperament.

Yeah. Sure they were.

He was no more an artist than she was. And God, how had she been so stupid to fall for it? To fall for him? Two months. It had taken her two months to come to the realization that the relationship was toxic.

Relationship? No, it hadn't been a relationship. Not even close. There was something about Jimmy. Something...off. Something that still worried her, no matter how much she tried to convince herself she was overreacting.

And then there was Zach, the terminally constipated hockey player that was nothing more than a pain in her ass. Why the hell had he tracked her down the other night? She still didn't understand it, couldn't figure out why.

How had Megan described him? Angry. Intense. Worried.

But why? What the hell did he care?

And why the hell couldn't she stop thinking about him? Even after his harem showed up the other day, surrounding him and his teammates with their annoying laughter and eager smiles.

Intense.

Yeah, Haley could definitely agree with that part. There had been something intense about him the other night, when he had her backed against the door of her apartment. In the way his knuckles had grazed her jaw, in the way he'd slid his large hand across her throat and just held it there. Not threatening, not even close.

It was almost...almost as if he'd been promising something.

Ridiculous.

And how about the way he watched her, those deep brown eyes dark with an emotion she didn't understand? Not passion. Not desire. Not from Zach.

Haley laughed, the sound short and breathless.

Yeah, that's why she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him the last few days. Thinking about that hard body pressed against hers.

Thinking about his kiss, wondering what it would feel like. Wondering how he would taste.

She really did need her head examined. There was definitely something wrong with her if she was thinking about Zach in those terms. Thinking about him in any terms.

So what if he was hot? So what if her fingers itched to trace the tattoos covering his arms? So what if she wanted to strip off his shirt and discover any other tattoos he might have?

With her fingers. Her tongue.

Another shiver danced across her skin, one that had nothing to do with the chilly air.

Yeah, she really did need her head examined.

The alarm on her phone went off, jarring her back to reality. Haley sighed and pushed off the bucket, ready to reach for the door. It opened before her hand closed around the knob. She took a quick step back, narrowly missing being hit as Megan stepped out.

"I'm on my way back in, don't worry."

"That's not why I came out." Megan propped the door open with her foot then wrapped her arms around her middle. "I wanted to ask what you were doing Friday night. After work, I mean."

"You couldn't wait until I was back inside to ask me that?"

"I didn't want to forget."

Haley frowned. Wondering what her friend was up to. "Yeah, sure. You never forget anything."

Megan shrugged but didn't say anything. Haley finally rolled her eyes and reached for the door, opening it all the way so she could go back inside. "I'm not doing anything except going home. Why?"

"Did you want to come over for movie night? We haven't done that in a while."

"Won't you be busy with Jason?"

"They're on the road all weekend."

Haley almost made a comment about being second fiddle. She swallowed the words at the last minute, knowing how they would sound.

Knowing how they'd make Megan feel.

She didn't need to be taking her bad mood—or whatever this was—out on her friend.

"Sure. Movie night. I can do that."

A broad smile lit Megan's face. "Perfect. It'll be fun."

Haley wasn't sure if she'd go so far as to say it would be fun, but it beat going back home and locking herself in her crappy little apartment.

Worrying about Jimmy.

And fantasizing about Zach.

Not that she'd admit any of that to Megan.