Only for Her by Cristin Harber Page B

really have to go.”
    “What’s your name? Emma, right?”
    “Oh my god. Seriously, you… don’t want this conversation. I’ll make it easy for you. Walk away. You’ll be thankful.”
    His eyes twinkle, and a challenge sparkles in his eyes. “Let me be the judge of that. Bunch of us are getting some beers tonight down at Seven’s. It’d be cool to hang out.”
    I try to walk faster, making me slightly out of breath, but it doesn’t seem to faze him. “Not twenty-one yet.”
    “They don’t care.”
    This I already know about Seven’s but not from experience. “I can’t.”
    “Gorgeous, you can.”
    The second gorgeous pisses me off, then his hand touches my back and curls around my shoulder to slow me down. I stop abruptly and turn toward his mega-watt smile. He thinks he knows the next move. A mixture of cocky and sexy radiates off him and makes me think he doesn’t have to try too hard. Hell, he looks so self-assured that I bet he wouldn’t be surprised if I dropped to my knees in public to get a taste of him. Jerk.
    My molars gnash, and I take a breath. Adding the same bit of sex to my voice that I use at Emerald’s, I ask, “What’s your name?”
    “Sam—”
    “Look, Sam. I was polite, but then you pushed. I said don’t touch, and you did. So now you get the full explanation that I tried to warn you about.” His mouth opens to say something, but I shake my head. “I work three jobs. Three . And only two pay. I’m busting my behind across campus to get to day care. To pick up my daughter . Whose daddy just died . I’m mourning him even though I haven’t seen him in years . I’m the walking, talking, breathing definition of baggage.”
    Sam’s jaw continues to hang. “Uh…”
    “Thanks for the invite. But when a chick tells you to back off, it might be that she’s not playing coy. It’s that she wants you to back the hell off . Get me?”
    “Shit. Sorry,” he mumbles.
    Yeah, I bet.
    “If you want…” But he trails off, and I’m walking away anyhow.
    I don’t want anything from anyone. I can and do support myself and my baby, though it’s almost killing me. Taking help is hard. I have my pride, but I’m also mired in my own version of punishment. Carelessness isn’t an excuse to take from others. I flat-out refuse cash from my family, though I do accept their time and help. They watch Cally a few times a week, but only so I can earn a living. Not so I can go have drinks with hot guys who want to sneak me into bars.
    My phone buzzes, caller ID reading Delightful Diner.
    I hit the green circle to take the call. “Hello?”
    “Hey, honey.” Jan, the lady who owns the place, only calls about shift changes. “Don’t need you in tonight. Things are too slow.”
    Shoot… “You sure? I can work whatever hours you need.”
    “I know, Emma. Sorry, honey. Don’t need any hours tonight.”
    I chew the inside of my cheek. “No problem. Call me if that changes. I’ll be there.”
    “Know you will, honey.”
    My stomach sinks. I really needed that shift. My phone buzzes again, and I check the screen, hoping it’s Jan again. Nope. Just my brother.
    “Hey, Ryan.”
    “You’re moving.”
    “Ha. No. I’m planning on moving soon.” But not when diner shifts keep getting canceled. “I just have to—”
    “Look, Emma, I had another call out to your complex today. Dad and I were talking—”
    I love Ryan, but that brand-new, shiny rookie badge is going to drive me insane. “My apartment is safe. You know that.”
    “It’s your neighbors who are sketch. A couple years ago, it was fine. Now? Shit changes.”
    “Not telling me anything I don’t already know,” I mumble and push open the door for day care, waving at the girl at the desk. “I have to go. Cally and I are running behind.”
    “Dad put first and last month’s down for you. You can afford everything in between. Sign the paperwork. You can move in immediately.”
    “What!” I spin away from the receptionist,