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CHAPTER ONE

It was almost time Addison Price slid the coffeepot back on the heater, unable to keep her eye from the clock

The diner closed at ht at eleven fifty-five on the dot, he came in

Tonight, though, eleven fifty-five came and went And eleven fifty-six, eleven fifty-seven

She’d have to close up Bo, the owner, liked everything shut down right at oing through the accounts for the day

Eleven fifty-eight The last customer, a faro, grinned at her and said, “Night, Addie Tio home to the wife”

He said that every night Addie only nodded and gave hiood-bye

Eleven fifty-nine In one n around to “Closed,” help with the cleanup, and then go home Her sister and two kids would be asleep, school day to shower, play on the Internet a little to unwind, and then fall asleep Her unwavering routine

Tonight, though, she wouldn’t be able to analyze every single thing the white-and-black-haired man said to her and decide whether he liked her or was justconversation

The second hand on the analog clock above the pass to the kitchen swept down from the twelve toward the six Eleven-fifty nine and thirty seconds Forty Forty-five

Addie sighed and lass front door

Which opened as she approached it, bringing in the warht, and the man

Addie quickly changed reaching for the door’s lock to yanking the door open wide and giving him her sunniest smile “Hello, there Y’all come on in You made it just in time”

The big ave her his polite nod and walked past her with an even stride, his black denieous ass Addie had seen in all her days Because this diner’s clientele had plenty of men froood backsides in jeans or showing inappropriately over waistbands

Her man was different His behind orth a second, third, and fourth look He was tall but not lanky, his build that of a linebacker in fine training, his shoulders and chest stretching his black T-shirt The footwear under the blue jeans was always either gray cowboy boots or black ht, it was thehis ankles

And, as always, Addie’s man carried the sword He kept it wrapped in dark cloth, a long bundle he held in his hand and tucked beside his seat when he sat down and ordered At first Addie had thought the bundle held a gun—a rifle or shotgun—and she’d had to tell him that Bo didn’t allow firearms of any kind in his diner She’d lock it up for him while he ate They had a special locker for the hunters ere regulars

The man had shot her a quizzical look from his incredibly sexy eyes, pulled back the cloth, and revealed the hilt of a sword

A sword, for crap’s sake A big one, with a silver hilt Addie had sed hard and said that iven her a curt nod and covered the hilt back up

But that was just him He was like noshade of green she couldn’t look away from The eyes ith his hard face, which had been knocked around in his life, but he still h to turn the head of whatever wohts, was only Addie

His hair, though, was the weirdest thing It hite, like a Scandinavian white blond, but striped with black As though he’d gone in for a dye job one day and left it half finished Or maybe he simply liked the look