I crank the engine alive and glance down at the clock. It’s only nine thirty. Surely there are bars and restaurants still open so I can go and check out a couple of job prospects.

I drive around the city, looking for any restaurant I see with an open sign. After going into two, and being asked to come back tomorrow, my optimistic balloon deflates a little.

Looking for a job this late is a dumb idea.

I check the clock again and my stomach rumbles. With everything going on, I forgot to eat lunch and dinner today. I’m completely famished.

I begin keeping my eyes peeled for a drive-through when a familiar diner comes into view and I pull into the parking lot.

It feels strange coming here without Xavier, but I’m comfortable enough here to go in and eat alone. I know Nettie will keep me company.

Bells on the door chime the moment I step inside and Nettie glances up at me from behind the counter. “Lord, child. Come on in here and sit down.”

She pats the counter in front of her. “You and I need to talk woman to woman.”

“Oh…okay.” Feeling completely uneasy, I take the seat in front of her, and she hands me a menu.

I study the menu and try to pretend Nettie isn’t watching me like a hawk. My face is probably still a puffy mess where I’ve just been bawling in the car. It was a mistake coming here looking like this. Hopefully Nettie won’t pry since Xavier isn’t with me.

“I’ll have the pancakes again and a water.”

“You got it.” She takes the menu from me and stares for a long second. “He fool around on you?”

I raise my eyebrows.

As much as I want to talk with someone who understands Xavier, I refuse to tell someone who’s almost like his mother what happened yesterday. I’m sure my appearance screams that I’m hurting. I don’t need to make it worse.

“No. I mean, we aren’t together. We’re just friends. He can be with whomever he wants.”

Nettie leans against the counter and her mouth quirks. “The two of you still pretending you are just friends?”

“We are just friends,” I say adamantly.

“Sure you are.” She winks at me. “Like Carl and me. The sooner you learn to set your foot down with that boy, the better off you’ll be.”

“Xavier doesn’t want a relationship with me.”

She cocks her head and gives me the are-you-kidding-me-face. “Honey, you’re the first girl I’ve ever seen him stick with for longer than a night. He cares for you, and I know that may be hard to believe, but I know my boy. Xavier was the most carefree I’ve ever seen him the nights he brought you in here. Give him a chance, he might surprise you.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know Nettie. He was…seeing someone else the entire week. How can I trust him after that?”

“That boy…” She shakes her head and clicks her tongue. “I was hoping he was finally settling down. He’s a good man, Anna. Just had a rough life, is all. Poor kid was out on the streets at fifteen.”

“Fifteen?” I repeat in disbelief. “Was his family that bad? He refuses to speak about them. The only thing he ever told me was his mother died when he was eight.”

“Tragic, isn’t it? When he came in here that first time, hungry, I could see in his eyes the boy was just desperate. Carl and I took him in, gave him a job and got him off the streets.”

“So, when you say the streets—you mean homeless?”

Nettie frowns. “Yes and no. Xavier, like most runaways around here, found refuge with a local gang, but he was still very much on his own and didn’t trust a soul. It took a long time for him to really believe Carl and I wanted to help him.”

“Where was his father in all this? Didn’t he care?” I question. I’m flabbergasted as to where all the support he should’ve had was. It breaks my heart.

“No clue. I know he lived with his grandmother until he headed out on his own.”

I pull my lips into a tight line. “Was she so bad?”

The expression on Nettie’s face tells me that she wants to tell me more, but she’s reluctant.

“I’ve talked about his business enough. I best shut up. I’ll grab Carl from the back and have him cook your pancakes.” She gives me a sad smile as she heads to a wooden, swinging door and out of sight.

I rub my chin as I process everything I’ve just learned about Xavier Cold. It doesn’t change that he fooled around with Deena behind my back, but I believe Nettie when she says he cares for me. It truly felt like he did when we were together. It doesn’t matter if I could ever forgive him for that or not, the fact remains that he’s gone, and any chance we had at ever becoming more than friends is over.

The diner door chimes behind me and before I even see him, I feel him.

I slowly turn and my jaw drops. Xavier stands there in a pair of dark wash jeans and a blue t-shirt staring straight at me. He shoves his dark hair away from his face, but a single strand falls across his forehead, and his blue eyes widen.

He clearly didn’t expect to see me, just like I’m still in shock that he’s standing here before me.

He licks his bottom lip and then grazes his teeth across it. “Anna? What are you doing here?”

I swallow hard. “I, um…I was hungry.”

He takes a couple of hesitant steps toward me, and my heart flutters in my chest as that familiar pull hits me full force.

Once he’s close enough, he reaches out and cups my cheek in his hand. “You didn’t come here for me?”

I melt into his touch and close my eyes. The spicy scent of his cologne and soap lingers on his skin. I inhale deeply and then open my eyes to stare into the deep-blue pools of his irises.

There’s no denying I feel something for him, I’m just not sure what. All I know right now is that I’m addicted to his touch.

“I thought you were already gone, so I didn’t expect to see you here, but I’m glad you are.”

“My flight was cancelled, and I realized I hadn’t said goodbye to Nettie and Carl, so I came to see them before I leave in the morning.”

He studies my face intently as we remain alone in the diner. “Why have you been crying? Remember what I said? I don’t like seeing this beautiful face frown.”

I blink slowly. “I was fired tonight.”

“Why?” he immediately asks.

I sigh and Xavier takes a seat next to me and listens intently as I explain what happened at Larry’s.

“So you stopped here while you were job hunting?” he asks as he puts all the pieces together. “Don’t you find that an odd coincidence?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “You need a job, and I still need that personal assistant.”

The mention of Deena’s old job causes what happened to flash through my mind and it brings back the hurt I feel.

“You sure you don’t want your old assistant back? The two of you seemed pretty cozy the last time I saw you together. I’m sure she’d be happy to have her job back.”

He flinches and licks the corner of his mouth. “I deserve that. I hurt you, and for that I’m sorry. I wish I could take it back. She came over, stripped in front of me and I gave into a moment of weakness. You have to understand, Anna, I’m not used to all this.” He motions between the two of us. “I’m going to fuck up from time to time. Being friends with me won’t be easy, but I want you to give me another shot. Come work for me. Give me time to make it up to you.”

The word friends slice through me. Our connection feels like so much more than just a friendship, but I know at this point neither of us are ready to move our relationship beyond that. Being his employee will create that boundary we need. Not to mention that I still desperately need a job.

“Xavier…”

“Sixty thousand dollars.”

My eyes widen. “What?”

“I don’t want you to say no. I will pay you sixty thousand dollars.”

That’s a lot of money to a fresh-from-college girl like me, but taking this job isn’t about the compensation it will bring. It’s about spending time with Xavier.