Shades of Atlantis Read Online Free

frame on my bedside table. In it, a young woman was sitting cross-legged on the grass. One arm hugged a young toddler standing close to her side, and both woman and child gazed down at the sleeping baby cradled in her other arm. The woman’s long dark hair hung down, concealing most of her face. It was the only picture I had of my mother, since she usually preferred to be the photographer. The same photo and frame sat on Ben’s bedside table. I blew a kiss to the photo as I started to rise.

    The springs of my metal-framed bed creaked when I lifted my weight from the mattress. I tugged the quilt off the bed and wrapped it around my shoulders before trudging across the floor and slumping down on the seat at my desk. Pulling the quilt further around my body and positioning it so it wouldn’t slip, I slid my green laptop over to the edge and spread the applications over the remainder of the desk. I tightly squeezed my eyes, floated my hand over the pages, and then dropped it, picking up the first three I touched, like playing Go Fish with colleges. I groaned and picked up a pen. Clicking it at my ear repeatedly, I began reading.
    ***
    I pulled up outside the restaurant just before my shift at six. It was cold out, but the first snow hadn’t fallen yet, and the air was crisp and dry. As I walked toward the door, I took a few deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm my thundering heart. I had decided over the course of the day that Amanda was right and I really didn’t need to make a big deal out of what happened last night. It really wasn’t part of my normal behavior to have my head turned by a good-looking guy, as Amanda had said. So, I convinced myself it must have been a one-off, atypical surge of my teenage hormones. My shift was starting just as Jen’s was finishing up, meaning no moral support.

    After I entered the dining room, I watched Caleb from the side of the counter that stored the cutlery, napkins, and other serving utensils. He was busying himself showing a group of customers to their seats. A higher proportion of women in groups seemed to eat here since word of the charming new owners spread. The particular group of six women he was attending to now were all in their late twenties and early thirties and all giggling like children at something he said.

    “Hey, Triona ,” Jen said brightly as she rushed toward me. “Did you see Jonathan outside?”

    The moment she uttered my name, I felt Caleb’s eyes on me. Butterflies gathered in my stomach, and I steadied my gaze on the knives and forks I was sorting into containers.

    “No, he must not be h—here yet,” I stuttered.

    Jen leaned into me so our heads were almost touching. “Amanda filled me in,” she teased. “Nice going.”

    I tried to seem breezy. “I probably exaggerated a bit this morning. It doesn’t seem such a big deal now.” Even I could hear the tremor in my voice, so it was too much to wish for that Jen wouldn’t notice. She playfully nudged my elbow and nodded in Caleb’s direction.

    “Oh yeah? Then why is he looking at you like that?”

    I continued to sort the cutlery refusing to lift my eyes; the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. “Don’t be silly,” I choked out.
     
    Jen was still standing close me, and I hoped she couldn’t hear my heart pounding.

    “I think you’ve got an admirer,” she commented, sounding surprised.
     
    I was a little insulted. It was one thing for me to doubt myself, but another when my friends started to agree with me. Was it so remarkable that he could see something in me he liked? It could happen, maybe…possibly.

    Despite myself, I looked up from under my eyelashes in Caleb’s direction. He was still at the table with the small group of women all gazing up at him, hanging on his every word. His lips continued to move in conversation with them, but his stunning blue eyes were burning into me. I felt a shiver run through my body and caught my breath. I dragged my eyes back