One & Only (Canton) by Viv Daniels Page A

apply to an internship at Canton Chem, here’s my card.” She handed me a glossy rectangle. “Dylan’s been singing your praises the whole game.”
    “Oh. Has he?” I got their drink orders and managed to keep our interactions to a minimum through the rest of the meal. As I was ringing up their bill, Dylan found me at the computer.
    “What was that all about?” I asked him, punching the buttons on the screen with a bit more force than strictly necessary. “Waltzing in here with him and his mother !”
    He held up his hands in a feigned display of innocence. “What? You told me he’d been hassling you. I had an opportunity to fix it. And get a free meal in the process.”
    “I don’t need you to fight my battles, Dylan.”
    “I know that,” he said softly. “But I hate guys who pull shit like that. Who act like bullies toward people—toward women—they think are beneath them. I just thought I’d give him a little lesson in perspective.”
    I printed out the receipt, jammed it in the billfold, and slammed it shut. “And I think all you taught him is to be careful about who he pulls his shit around. He might be kinder to me because he knows I’m Bio-E and so Canton Chem will suck up to me, but what’s to keep him from being a jerk to other waitresses—say, my friend Sylvia?”
    Dylan stared at me for a second. “Maybe. But it’s a start. He shouldn’t have hit on you.”
    “Hmph.”
    “He has a girlfriend.”
    I looked away. “That doesn’t stop some guys.” And look who was talking. Had I pegged Dylan wrong? Had Annabel been right, that he was really just trying to be kind to me when he’d offered to let me stay at his place? When he’d invited me out to the game? Had he been planning nothing more insidious than trying to hook me up with an internship at Canton Chem?
    “Plus, he has no idea what a heartbreaker you are.”
    Still safely facing the register, I laughed.
    “Plus…he doesn’t deserve you.”
    I turned back to him. The look in his eyes was raw, unrestrained, and brimming over with longing. I drew back in shock.
    “Tess…” He reached for me, then stopped himself. “I’ll—take the bill back. You can see to your other tables.” He grabbed the case out of my hands and vanished.
    I pressed my hand to my chest. Under my palm, my heart pounded like I’d run a mile. What was that? What was that? One second he was telling me it was inappropriate for guys with girlfriends to hit on other women, and the next second he looked like he wanted to tear my clothes off right there by the cash register.
    At least he’d gone away. If he hadn’t, I might have let him tear my clothes off.
    The next time I passed table twenty-eight, it was empty. Along with the tip Kathleen Hamilton, VP of Human Resources at Canton Chem, had written in with the credit card slip, I found a twenty. On the top was scrawled, Sorry -TJH.
    Okay, I didn’t need Dylan to fight my battles. But I couldn’t argue with the results.
    ***
    On Sunday, Dylan showed up at Verde again, around two, right as the brunch crowd was dispersing. I was working the bar again, mixing Bloody Marys and mimosas all morning. I finally thought I’d get a break, and then I saw the hostess setting a place at the bar. Moments later, Dylan sat down.
    I folded my arms. “Are you my first regular?”
    “Looks like it.” He grinned and opened the menu. He was in Sunday casuals—jeans, a Canton T-shirt, and those damn glasses. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was wearing them just for me. “What’s good here?”
    “Well, you just missed the brunch prix-fixe, so I’m afraid it’s going to be a lot of sandwiches and salads.”
    He eyed me over the top of the menu. “What do you like?”
    “The BFG.” I pointed. “It’s bacon, fig, and goat cheese. Perfect for you.”
    He snapped the menu shut. “Aww. You remembered.”
    I remember everything , I very nearly said but stopped myself just in time. I wasn’t going to add to the