Why Lie? (Love Riddles #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

My nerves play tricks on me, no one glances my way but it feels as though everyone is looking at me.
    News travels fast in a small town and by now everyone has to know that Sydney dumped a soda over my head. What she’s said I don’t know.
    Since no one has directly called me out for being a dick to her, I don’t think she’s shared. That in itself is a miracle.
    She’s standing near a booth toward the restrooms, one hand resting on the back of a seat, the other on her hip. She’s smiling down at whoever’s sitting there, but now she’s looking at me, her smile fading. Her hand falls from her hip, the sass in her stance faltering.
    Holding her gaze, I lift my chin. She frowns before looking away.
    There’s an empty booth close to the one she’s already working. Pointing my shoes in that direction, I move toward her.
    As I pass behind her, I pause long enough to place my hand on her hip.
    “Syd,” I murmur, my mouth near her ear.
    She inhales, her back stiffening. My fingers tighten before I let her go, dropping my hand before I continue to the empty booth.
    She pulls herself together as I watch, plastering on a smile that comes close to the one she wore before she saw me. Only this one does not reach her eyes.
    When she finishes whatever she was saying to the couple in the booth, she turns toward me. She stares somewhere above my right shoulder as she smooths her apron over her dress before approaching me.
    Early this morning, her hair was in a wild tangle on the top of her head but now it’s in a slick ponytail, her bangs off to one side.
    She’s wearing makeup and I’m torn between when she was prettier—this morning when she looked sleepy and sexy all at the same time or now, with my attention drawn to her stormy violet eyes. But, it’s her fire-engine red lips that have my mouth going dry, thirsting for her.
    She’s a pin-up girl come to life. It took me too long to figure out she’s exactly what I want.
    “Want a soda?” she asks, still not making eye contact with me.
    Her question is loud enough for anyone sitting near to hear. There are a couple of chuckles but I ignore them.
    “Do you get a lunch break?” I ask.
    Her eyes slide to mine. “Are you asking me to eat with you?”
    I nod.
    She looks over my head. “I’m not hungry.”
    “We don’t have to eat. We can sit and talk,” I reply.
    “You have zip to say that I want to hear, Mackey. Now, I’m not going to turn away a paying customer so if you want food, now’s the time to order it.”
    Rome wasn’t built in a day, or so that’s the saying. We’ll see how long it takes for me to get Sydney to give me another shot.
    “I’ll take the lunch special,” I reply.
    She waits a beat, maybe to see if I’m going to say something else. When I don’t, without a word, she walks away.
    When my food is ready, she silently delivers it with a lemon-lime soda. After she leaves, I watch her go, enjoying the sway of her hips. Chuckling to myself, it seems she remembers I hate this soda. It’s progress though since it didn’t end up over my head.
    While I eat, I watch her work. She’s warm and friendly, easily chatting with everyone but me. She’s a star in the sky, brightening the space around her with her smiles and laughter. When she’s near me, her light dims as if I pull it from her like a black hole.
    The difference is so stark my head turns till the parking lot fills my vision. When I came up with my plan, I had overlooked what being in my presence would do to her.
    Her anger has lessened but I had been too overwhelmed by it at first to recognize her pain. Dropping money, enough to cover my meal and a nice tip on the table, I leave.
    Instead of making a point to touch her, like I had when I got there, I avoid her as I exit. Once in my car, hands on the steering wheel, my gaze stays on her as she moves to where I sat.
    Belatedly, I regret not leaving her a note. Her head turns toward the window, her eyes scanning the parking lot until