Page 2 of Pretty Little Scars

Dreamy.

“No,” she says and sets that hand on her hip again. “What’syourname?”

I lift an eyebrow and bite a french fry. “I think it’s only fair that if I tell you mine, you do the same.”

She shakes her head slowly and bites her lower lip.

“Duchess it is then.” I chew a bite of my burger, watching her. “It suits you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because you’re gorgeous, and you just look like a duchess.”

“Okay, Hotshot,” she replies, rolling her eyes.

“Wow, we have nicknames for each other.” I sip my coffee. “Looks like it’s true love. We’d better run away together and live happily ever after.”

She smirks, and then she gives me that full smile that makes me feel like I just won the motherfucking lottery.

“Christ, that’s pretty.”

“Eat your food,Hotshot. I’ll be back.”

I’m goingto ask her out this week. It’s getting harder and harder to stay away from her, and it would look damn fucking stupid if I came into the diner every day of the week for lunch just so I can see Duchess.

I’m sitting in my booth when movement catches my eye, but when I look up, with a quip on my lips, ready to flirt my ass off, a blond woman smiles down at me.

“What can I get you to drink?”

“Uh, where’s the woman who usually works on Tuesdays? D?”

“Oh, she quit last week. I’m not sure where she went, to be honest. I’m taking this shift now.”

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I never got her real name.

I never asked for her number or if I could take her out.

And now she’s gone.

“Would you like something to drink?” she asks again.

“No thanks.” I stand and head for the door, my stomach rolling over.

Fuck.

CHAPTER ONE

TUCKER

“What are we, twelve?” I glare at my best friend of thirty years, Zack, and the asshole smirks before he tugs me in for a hug, clapping my back. “Only you would come home once in a blue moon and want to meet up at the ice cream shop.”

“Fuck off, it’s the best ice cream in the world,” he says. “And I should know. Don’t be grouchy just because you missed me. I’ll be home for a whole week.”

Shaking my head, we walk into Sundae’s, and the bell above the door jingles, alerting every one of our arrival.

It’s a good thing that Silver Springs is a sleepy town, especially on a Wednesday afternoon, because if we were anywhere else, Zack would be surrounded by a horde of women and maybe accosted. I’ve played bodyguard more than once in our friendship.