Free Chosen by V. Vaughn, Mating Season Collection Page B

hands were and the way he towered over me when he asked if I was okay. Yup, the man strikes terror in my heart. So why is it all I can think about is how his mouth would taste and what those fingers would feel like on my bare skin? I place my hand on my chest beneath the V neck of my uniform and notice my skin feels warmer than usual. It seems to happen every spring.
    “Trixie? Honey, are you feeling okay?” Darla places cool fingers on my forehead. “You have a fever.”
    I push her hand away, because my temperature runs hotter than most people. And it’s something I’ve learned only gets me questions I can’t answer. “I’m fine. Sometimes my allergies do this.” I pull out my standard lying game and yank at the neckline of my dress. “Do you see any hives?” I’m sure I don’t have any, but you’d be surprised how susceptible to suggestion people can be.
    “No. Huh. Well isn’t that strange.” Darla grabs two plastic tumblers to prepare drinks for her table.
    I shrug. “It’s normal for me. Nothing to worry about.”
    “Earth to Trixie. Food.” Ekton’s voice pulls me away from my daydreams.
    “Thanks.” I grab the sandwich plates and make my way over to a booth. The couple barely acknowledges me when I set the food down. I notice their drinks are full and don’t ask if they want more.
    I’m not sure what possessed me to apply for a waitress job. I prefer quiet places without any people. My mother thinks my new position is wonderful and tells me that it’ll help me come out of my shell. She doesn’t know I climb right back in the moment I walk out the diner door.
    I glance up to giggles and notice two girls from school come in and make their way to a table at the far end of the restaurant. They’re here often, and I walk over with a smile. “Two diet sodas?”
    “Yes. Please,” says Emily. Her straight blond ponytail is over her shoulder, and she twists it in her hand as she speaks.
    Emma is her best friend and has the same fair coloring. She studies me for a few seconds. “You have the hair I was just talking about. I would die to have thick, wavy locks like yours.”
    I flush at her compliment. Especially since before I started working here, these girls had no idea I existed. “Thanks.”
    Emily says, “You should totally get it cut into layers. It would take weight off the ends and let it curl.”
    A quick vision of Parker’s girlfriends flashes in my mind. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to style it.”
    “I’m sure the hairdresser could teach you. Besides, I think yours would just do it.”
    Emma pipes in. “You should go for it. I bet it would look great.”
    “Maybe.” I leave them to go get their drinks.
    When I’m at the soda machine, Carrie, another waitress, breezes out of the kitchen. “Hey there.”
    “Hi. How was the birthday party?” Carrie’s daughter turned three yesterday.
    “It was wonderful. Sticky fingers and lots of crying. I call that a success.” She chuckles as she ties her apron strings around her waist. Her eyes scan my body, and she speaks softly. “You’ve lost weight. It looks great.” She would notice. When I first started working here, my uniforms fit like a sack, and she altered them to give me a waist.
    “Thanks.”
    She says, “Let me know if you need me to take in your dresses. Might as well show off.”
    I smile at her before walking away with my table’s drinks. The compliments on my hair and weight improve my mood, and I end my shift on a good note.
    I step out into the cool night air. Spring in Winter Valley can be as cold as winter, and frosty vapor escapes my mouth as I make my way past the dumpsters, but I’m not cold. My internal furnace is a blessing in disguise right now. My mother and I live in the trailer park about half a mile away, and I like the walk. It gives me time alone after dealing with people all day.
    A vehicle door slams, and I glance over to discover a hulking figure coming my way. He’s as big