Wild Hyacinthe (Crimson Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

earning myself any gentleman points with Aria by treating her co-workers that way.
    But I wanted to be near her. I wanted her to ask me what I’d like. I even wanted to stammer like a moron, as long as I got to stammer at her.
    More than that, I wanted to hear her laugh and see her smile up close. She could laugh at me all day for being an idiot and I still wouldn’t grow angry with her. Irritated by her rejection, sure. Defeated and ready to give up? Hell, no.
    Moments later, there was a slight commotion from the kitchen. The manager was shouting.
    “Wherever he wants! Come on, Bernadette. That’s Asher Chain. You want him to go somewhere else to spend his daily fortune just because you’re too greedy to give up the tab? If he wants Aria’s section, he gets Aria’s section.”
    I grinned as Aria walked past me to refill coffees at the table of men and women who shifted uncomfortably in their seats. She met my gaze, confused, poured new coffee and left. I winked at an old man who stared, and he cracked a grin at me and gave me a subtle thumbs-up. Apparently Grandpa had once been there and done that . . . or at least he thought he had.
    “No, we don’t make him wait, Bernadette!” the manager shouted. “
Now,
as he requested.”
    The manager burst from the swinging kitchen doors, nearly crashing into Aria, who scooted easily out of the way of his warpath. Bernadette followed with tears in her eyes. She and the manager spoke quietly to the staring old gentleman at the table I wanted, and then gestured to Bernadette with a sheepish nod. Aria listened to them for a moment and then approached my table with caution like a mouse curious about the cat that napped in the corner.
    “Why did you do that?” she whispered, embarrassed as she poured my coffee.
    “I wanted a specific waitress, today,” I said with a wink. “I’ll pay for their food. I’ll pay for all the food on all the tables in here, if you need me to. It’s not my intention to get you in trouble.”
    “You’ve never had a problem with Bernadette before.”
    “It’s your second day,” I scolded her. “How would you know what I never do?”
    Aria snorted an unladylike sound that made me want to grin. I hid my humor. “You’re talked about around here, Mr. Chain. I know that you
never
call attention to yourself like that.”
    I nodded and traced the edge of my mug, watching her talk. Her thumb was slung through the belt loop of her miniskirt, pulling the edge of it down. I frowned—why the hell did miniskirts need belts?—but then I remembered the dreadful clothing of that blond I waved off in the club a few nights prior and realized women wore belts in strange ways these days. Not like Aria’s running shoe-skirt combination. I liked the quirkiness of her attire.
    “Right you are,” I said as I dipped the tip of my finger in my coffee, testing that it was hot. She watched me do it, raising one eyebrow with curiosity at my habit, and I grimaced at the realization that I was about as socially awesome as my sister.
    “You’ve also just taken a full family table off my payroll for the day. You’ve cost me my tip,” she said.
    “So I have. I’ll make it worth your while.”
    Aria glanced around at her new, empty section. “Why?”
    “What does the H stand for on your nametag?” I changed the subject, leaning forward to let her stare into my eyes.
    She stuck her other thumb through her other belt loop and cocked her head to the side, puzzled. “It stands for my last name.”
    “Which is . . . ?” I prompted.
    “My last name. We haven’t known each other long enough for show and tell.”
    I liked the smirk she wore as she teased me. “You have to show your last name?”
    “Yes. Now what will you have today?”
    “Surprise me,” I dared her, grinning, hoping she took my challenge as an invitation for playfulness rather than the entitled assholery I displayed a few minutes ago. I sat back.
    Something naughty and excited flashed behind