Her Forbidden Hero Read Online Free Page A

black-and-white-uniform requirement, she figured it was better to learn the tricks of the trade so she could start waiting her own tables and making her own tips sooner. Besides, sleep was overrated, especially when you weren’t sure where you were sleeping.
    “Thanks for letting me shadow you tonight, Kim. Hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience,” Alyssa said to the friendly older waitress she’d been assigned to for the night.
    “No problem, sweetie. You were a help. It was busier than normal for a Thursday. People are out enjoying the nice weather, I expect.”
    “Yeah. And that band was awesome,” Alyssa said. She’d never heard them before, but they’d had a fantastic energy and presence onstage.
    “They cycle through here every couple months. It’s always great to see them.” Kim paused at a table and withdrew something from her apron. “Here. This is for you.”
    Alyssa stared at the folded bills in Kim’s hand. “Oh, no. That’s yours.”
    The woman grasped her palm and pressed the money into her fingers. “Like I said. You were a help. You brought drinks, delivered orders, and cleared plates. So it’s only fair. Besides, whenever you start a new job there’s always a little lag before you get your first check. And I figure, when you’re young, every bit helps.” Kim winked.
    Alyssa blinked away the moisture suddenly filling her eyes, bowled over by Kim’s kindness. But, see? Things always worked out. Now, she only had to figure out how to get through the week until her first paycheck. She’d make it work somehow. “Thank you,” she said.
    “Don’t you worry about it.”
    The rest of the waitstaff had another hour of closing down to do, but Kim shooed Alyssa away after learning how long she’d been there. Alyssa made her way to the locker room, which was really a lounge with a row of small lockers for people to store their belongings during their shifts. Marco had loaned her a lock so she didn’t have to worry about her purse, and she’d been so glad. Losing the little money she had would be devastating. How sad was that?
    Still, she calculated her day’s earnings in her head and knew she’d soon be in a much better place. And then there was what Kim had given her. In the privacy of the locker room, she counted—forty bucks! Feeling like she’d just won the lottery, she did a little jig right there in front of her locker.
    And then the back of her neck flushed hot.
    Don’t let it be Marco. Don’t let it be Marco.
    He stood just inside the doorway to the lounge, watching her in a way that made her stomach flutter. “Were you just doing a happy dance?”
    She smothered a groan and stuffed the money into her purse. “Maybe.”
    “And?” He crossed to the locker two down from hers and worked at the combination on his lock.
    This close, the scars marking his arm stood out in stark relief. She hated that he’d been hurt in equal measure to how relieved she felt that he was okay. “Someone did something nice for me, that’s all. It made me happy.”
    Marco faced her and rested a shoulder against the locker. “It doesn’t take much, does it? To make you happy.” He reached out, as if to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, but pulled back. “It never did.”
    At the almost touch, Alyssa’s pulse raced until she felt a little lightheaded. She nearly whimpered from the desire to feel the gentle sweep of his flesh against hers and willed him to break through the sad, troubled expression on his face and touch her. Everything in her wanted to close the distance between them, push up on tiptoes, and prove that the reality of kissing Marco was miles better than years of imagining it.
    “So, uh…” He cleared his throat. “Good day?”
    “Um, yeah. Definitely.” She struggled to breathe normally. How could just the idea of him touching her drive her crazy? She busied herself with grabbing her purse and closing her locker. “Here.” She held out the lock. “I can get my