Her Forbidden Hero Read Online Free

competition of one-upmanship that had everyone chuckling and eyeing her in a new way—including him.
    Who was this confident, quick-witted woman?
    The Alyssa he knew was shy, reserved, often timid and uncertain—exactly what she’d had to be to survive in her father’s house. Pride flowed through him that she’d achieved this transformation once she’d escaped the abuse, but his gut also twisted. He’d seen a little of that old Alyssa out by the bar when he snapped at her.
    Part of him wanted to pull her out of the room to apologize. Part of him said this was exactly why he was no good for her right now. For anyone.
    Just one more piece of evidence he wasn’t any goddamn hero.
    He pushed his plate away.
    Alyssa wiped her mouth and dropped her napkin to her empty plate. “Well, Chef, I have to give credit where it’s due. Everything was great, and I’m stuffed.”
    Van grinned. “Pete has me put out a spread like this most days, so we’ll do it again soon.”
    “I’ve never met free food I didn’t like, especially when it’s this good. So, I’ll be here as much as Pete puts me on the schedule. You’ll be sick of me in no time.”
    “I doubt that,” Eric said in a quiet voice. He flinched the moment the words left his mouth, like he hadn’t meant to speak out loud. Marco cut his gaze to the other man and found himself again fighting the goddamn frustrating urge to lean to the right and drape his arm over Alyssa’s shoulders.
    Pete stood. “Little lady, you can have as many shifts as you want. Like I said, I’m short-handed.”
    Everyone else rose from the table, and Alyssa pitched right in cleaning up, asking to be shown where the dirty dishes went.
    “Come on, we’ll make this the first stop on that ten-cent tour I promised. It’s all very glamorous.”
    Chuckling, Alyssa grabbed a stack of plates and utensils. “Great to meet you, guys. See you later.” She threw a small smile at Marco.
    A chorus of good-byes sounded out as she left. Pete’s voice chattered down the hall as he bent Alyssa’s ear about the business.
    Van rounded to Eric’s side of the table with a big shit-eating grin on his face, and smacked him on the shoulder. “Down, boy.”
    Eric threw Van’s arm off and scowled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Van laughed. “Play it that way if you want, but maybe next time you should keep your tongue in your face.”
    The two of them scuffled and fake-punched their way out the door, laughing and taunting as they went. Marco sat heavily against the edge of the table as that damn ache planted itself behind his ear once again.

Chapter Three
     
    In the course of a few hours, Alyssa felt like she’d taken a giant step toward making her dreams come true. She’d landed a job where the pay was good, the work was interesting and busy enough to make the time pass quickly, and all the people she’d met so far were nice. The only thing that kept the day from being a total win was Marco’s hot-and-cold mood changes.
    What the hell had happened to him? He’d been patronizing, snappish, and standoffish. None of those were traits she’d ever associated with the guy, and it made her sad to think something could’ve changed him so. There were still moments, though, when she saw the old Marco. The real Marco—she refused to believe anything else. She could’ve sworn he’d been happy when he first saw her, and he’d clearly been trying to make amends for his moodiness as he’d escorted her to lunch. Maybe it was just his surprise after such a long time apart?
    Luckily, the rush of the dinner service and fun atmosphere that night’s local band created kept her from sitting idly and pondering on it. Just as the doors were to open for the six o’clock service, Pete had suggested she head home, citing the fact she’d been there since the morning, but she volunteered to stay. And since she had a pair of black jeans in her car that allowed her to comply with the