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CHAPTER 1

ALLISON

Your ruler, Mercury, is set to go forwardGet Ready To Invite Romance Into Your Life!

How nice it would be ifin the air shifted when he walked into the Stardust diner

The feeling was indescribable

Barry Manilow’s Mandy had been playing but the volu seemed to fade with the feel of the brisk wind that blew in the door when the eous man I had ever laid eyes on walked in and sat down in booth number three

That table wasn’t in my section, so from behind the counter, el with butter and a side of coffee Then his crystal blue eyes proceeded to find h me

Hot flashes permeated my body and I instinctively turned away ier than I could control

Whoever he was, he was dressed to kill From the neck down, it was all business He wore a button down shirt that hugged his protruding edly sexy avy hair that looked like it had just been ht amount of chin scruff

I tried my hardest not to stare, but the interest see in his direction, I could still feel his gaze followingand every ti turned from black and white in here to color

So, this was turning out to be a far from typical Monday

Sure, nice looking guys walk in here all the tiuy ell, there are no words to describe the level of utter beauty He was drop-dead—not so a suburban diner, that’s for sure

Why did I have to be wearing this duht now? Max, ive the diner a retro feel, so aitresses wore dresses reminiscent of those worn by the characters Flo and Alice in Mel’s Diner froht blue uniform had my name, Allison, stitched over the left breast pocket and everything

The custoive me the sa tables…you ht?” The truth was, this certainly wasn’t what I wanted to do withtables was the only career I had

I had dropped out of the special education graduate degree prograe because I couldn’t afford it any where I could eventually ith special needs kids and ram was intensive and expensive Plus, certain life circumstances in the past year made it iive o back I ood money at the diner, enerous with their tips So, I would be et by and save up, so that so I was passionate about Max was hbor and when he offered me the job, I took it

And today, with Blue Eyes here…I am really happy to be a waitress at the moment and wouldn’t trade it for the world

Even though Delores had taken the gorgeous man’s order, which I overheard since my ears and eyes were in tune to hiave it to me to serve I didn’t knohether to thank her or kill her She knehat she was doing

Holy Shit

My heart was really pounding and my throat seemed to close up I placed his tray on the counter and hesitated before walking over

At thedown at the Boston Herald the previous customer left on the table Thisto face him

He was truly stunning with a chiseled face and thick shiny chestnut brown hair, slightly parted in the front and long on the sides curling just above his ears And Iblue eyes He was tall too, at least six feet, I would guess

Under the table, I saore black argyle socks and shiny black dress shoes I squintedto escape through the satiny blue dress shirt he wore and knew the foruy oozed sex but he was also definitely a professional of some sort, dressed like that The combination meant he stood out like a sore thumb here

His expensive looking navy suit jacket lay across the opposite booth and I was glad I had wiped down that greasy seat before he arrived

A shiver ran down e of the newspaper

That was one lucky finger

I inhaled deeply, lifted the tray off the counter and walked over asof the butterflies in my stomach intensified with each step toward the booth

After placing the bagel down in front of hiainst the spoon set on the saucer beneath it I so and cleared my throat

“Can I get you anything else?” I asked

“No, thank you” He s beautiful white teeth The combination of his smile, scent and smooth voice was so sexy it was painful not to reach out and touch him

“Well, just let e your mind,” I replied

“Will do,” he said, nodding slowly but continuing to look atHis eyeballs brieflyto take a picture of my face with his translucent eyes

There was an aard silence between us, but I could hear his breathing His eyes never leftht of his heated stare on my back as I walked toward the kitchen Sweat droplets trickled down my armpits and I hoped I remembered to wear deodorant

Inready to leave

“Excuseeye contact with the woman Of course, Blue Eyes’ head was still turned in the direction of my mishap

Back behind the counter, I snuck peaks at hiel and sed

That was one lucky bagel

He wiped his hands fro what looked to be a Rolex watch wrapped around his sleeve

When he turned his head inon a conversation between two elderly women who sat at the counter, as I refilled their coffee cups One was talking to the other and when the woo to the bathroom, the other one looked at me with lipstick on her teeth, and confessed, “I couldn’t hear one word she was saying tothe front door opening

One of the regulars, Mr Macchio, walked in He caest accent His loud voice snapped ht for his favorite seat in the corner, reen-a tea-ya today, eh? My wife, eh, she say, I should cut down on, eh the coffee, so I gonna try a green tea, o-key?”

I smiled “Sure, honey”

From the corner of my eye, I could see my mystery man turn around and look in Mr Macchio’s direction as I went to the kitchen to put in the green tea order

When I came back out, I nearly dropped the tea in a panic when I saw Blue Eyes suddenly get up frorab his jacket and quickly walk out No…he practically ran out The abrupt sound of the door chih upon his exit were like a slap in the face

So fast?

My heart was pounding harder upon his exit than it had been when he was here Panic quickly transfor of e, which was pathetic I had i up a conversation withhis name off of a credit card

As Stevie Wonder’s My Cherie Ae to rip off my apron and follow him out the door That, of course, would never happen…but I sure did want to

Without saying ed to awaken so in me that had been dead…desire Not only that, but it was a level of want…of need…of lust…that I had never experienced in my entire life He had such an effect on ain

I swear I felt the roo his a scent and noticed he left behind more than just his smell…fifty bucks on a bill that was under five-dollars I alain) in case this was aof a tip to a flustered mediocre waitress, at that?

Faster than I could think of the answer, I re on the counter where I left it After delivering it, I then went to the register and sniffed the fifty before depositing it and gave Delores half of the sizeable tip Blue Eyes left

“What the—” Delores said as I handed her twenty-five dollars cash

“I know That gorgeous guy! He left us a fifty There is your half,” I said walking soles

I locked the door and sat on the toilet with my head in my hands

Silly girl…you really need to get some

Every day in life, people ill likely never encounter a second time, pass us by For some unknown reason, I just couldn’t accept that he was one of them

For the rest of that afternoon, I fantasized about the beautiful generous stranger and what it would have been like to thank him properly…with my lips

CHAPTER 2

CEDRIC

Oh fuck…oh fuck

Sweating profusely, I ran down Main Street as far away froet

Where the fk did I park my car?

I need to think It’s over there

I got in and slammed the door Silence

She was so fking beautiful

My God

I had an idea of what she would look like, but never could have iirl…but so much time had passed, I should have known that clearly, she would be a beautiful woman

Those gigantic green eyes…

God, I hopewasn’t that obvious I just couldn’t look away

Will do…WILL DO? That was the best I thing I could think of to say to her?

And why the hell did I leave a fifty-dollar bill? Way to slip under the radar I was so flustered and it was all I had insoible while I waited for that I could tell by how fastin there, that if I had stayed, I would have fked it all up

My heart rate has yet to slon

I had to get out of there It’s bad enough I have a forty-ency in the city Who travels forty el? Crazy stalker men, that’s who

I hty-five ht about her name: Allison It’s pretty just like her But of course, I knew she would be reen apples

She seemed nervous Her hand trembled and her cheeks turned rosy when she approached me and that made me want to rub her sweet face with my hand

I wonder what her story is, why a girl that looks like that is waiting tables in a diner in the suburbs Surely, she at least could do better at one of the trendy bars in Boston She could have anything she wants with a face and eyes like that

Not to ed her ass

Fuck!

She’s the last wo like this about Yet, all I can focus on nohether she tastes as good as she smells

Snap out of it, Callahan She’s the one woman you can’t have

Which is why I want her

I need to controlcaptivated liked this

I have to see her again when I can cale it The next teeks are jas

I get back to the office in record ti my assistant Julie who immediately points to my office

“Karyn is waiting for you,” she said

Karyn

I had been in a relationship for six months with Karyn Keller, an attractive blonde television reporter I began representing after she walked into the agency and demanded to be added to my client roster We were inore the agency’s non-fraternization policy

DN Westock represents sohest grossing agent and rising star after nabbing one of the hosts of a nationalshow as a client Not bad for a kid from Dorchester

To say I had hurew up on the third level of a triple-decker aparthest crime sections of Boston, the middle child of an Italian mother and Irish father My parents, older brother Caleb and I and er, shared the two small bedrooms in the apartment My parents, Paul and Bettina, ith the whole ‘C’ na for the kids, which went even further because our last name is Callahan

Money was tight, but our parents did the best they could to provide for us My father worked as a steelworker and my mother was a maid Even so, no one was surprised when I, the boy who survived an accidental drive-by shooting on ht outside our front door, left hoh school Marked with a bullet hole on et into Northwestern on aand school came easy to me, plain and simple ER 1