Free Concealed by Victoria Michaels Page A

back on that ugly mug of yours, it’s Sydney.”
    “I would have asked her out on my own, you know.”
    “Well frankly, I got tired of waiting, Wade Jenkins. I leave in a couple days and there was no way in hell I was gonna wait six months to hear about your first date.” She leaned back in her seat, smiling. “Look at it this way: I just gave you two a little shove in the right direction, that’s all. You can thank me later.” As she scooted out of her seat, Wade caught her wrist.
    “Thanks, Mel.”
    She bent over and kissed his cheek. “Anytime.” With a wink she walked away, checking on each of her tables and filling the diner with her infectious laughter.
    His thoughts returned to Sydney and the kiss they had shared. He had no idea what made him do it, driven only by the thought that he couldn’t not kiss her at that moment. She had looked so sweet and nervous. And sexy. There was something about her he couldn’t resist, and he realized he didn’t want to anymore. Not after he had a taste of her and what could be.
    As luck would have it, just then Sydney’s tiny blue car flew into the parking lot, kicking up rocks as she sped around back to park. Fate wasn’t going to let this go. And neither was Wade.
    The first time Wade saw Sydney Ross was four months ago and it was a sight he’d never forget. She was standing on top of the counter, changing a light bulb in one of the fixtures for Cara. Her laughter and spirit caught his attention immediately, not to mention her killer legs which were on full display that day. He buried his smile behind his mug at the memory. She was beautiful, with the kind of curves a man couldn’t help but notice, and hair so blonde it was almost white.
    He’d had many fantasies about that hair of hers.
    At thirty-four, Wade had been through the relationship wringer and had no interest in doing it again. Even with all her personality, there was something about Sydney, a darkness in her eyes, a mystery that she kept to herself that he had been trying to figure out. Women with secrets were bad news in Wade’s book. But Sydney wasn’t just any woman; she was the first woman in years to spark his interest and make him even think about what it would be like to have someone in his life.
    How stupid was he?
    He learned a long time ago, you find out more about a person by watching than talking to them. Staying true to that, he was quite content to watch Sydney every chance he got. Sometimes, he noticed her eyes were full of sadness, but only when she thought no one was looking. She kept it hidden well, probably from years of practice, Wade guessed. When her daughter, Faith, was around, it was the opposite. Her face glowed. She couldn’t hide her love for her daughter if she tried. The two of them together were like sunshine, and everyone around was attracted to them.
    Especially Wade.
    “Sorry I’m late.” He heard Sydney’s soft voice in the kitchen and Wade forced his eyes to stay trained outside a bit longer. “Faith had a fever when I picked her up from school. I gave her some medicine before I left her with Agnes, but I wanted to see if it went any higher.” He heard the kitchen door squeak and his head reflexively turned to watch her make her entrance with two boxes balanced in her arms. As she slipped the golden crusted pies into the rack, Wade knew she had been up late baking.
    And she still hadn’t called him.
    He knew she’d go on the date, since it was part of his bounty for winning the pie and she didn’t seem the type to back out of an obligation. But he didn’t want her to see him as an obligation; he wanted to be her choice. She had liked it when he kissed her—he’d kissed enough women to know when they were into it, and she was definitely right there with him. But since then, she’d been avoiding him. His damn wounded pride wouldn’t let it go. He’d rather not go out with her at all than to have her grudgingly follow through with it because she felt like