Love or Luxury Read Online Free Page B

her hand? He could kiss fate on the lips for this nice twist.
    His eyes darted to her lips. He could kiss those lips, too.
    Maybe she wasn't a girl from the Meadow after all. Maybe she'd only been visiting with someone. Or she has a second job in the Meadow. Many people had to take multiple jobs in this economy.
    Of course, she had been driving a Beamer. But not a new one—only new enough, and in good enough condition to appear new.
    She didn't fit the mold in any of the scenarios running through his mind. So who was this girl?
    She was interesting.
    If only he could sit around and chat with her all day. But by the expressions on her customers' faces, they needed her attention, too. And he didn't feel much like sharing her.
    After the almost-accident, she'd come off as such a typical Meadow girl he'd basically written her off as a spoiled rich bitch. Yet, all morning he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her or that crazy red hair of hers.
    Maybe he'd judged her too quickly in the heat of the moment at the crosswalk. Maybe there was something more to this girl, and he'd love to find out what it was. There had to be if she was working in this diner.
    "Are you from the Meadow?" he asked. May as well just find out if he stood any shot with her or not.
    "I am."
    "But you work at a diner in the city?"
    "I do." She eyed him cautiously, almost as if she dared him to pry further. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to pay the rent."
    So she wasn't a typical rich bitch from the Meadow. Maybe she'd been a student at the university and had decided to stick around after graduation. He knew lots of people who'd done that. Meadow Ridge was a hard place to leave once one got accustomed to that way of life.
    "Can I get you anything else?" she asked.
    "As much as I'd like to order a slice of pie so I have the excuse to talk to you for longer, I have to hit the road if I'm going to make it on time to my next appointment." He got up from the bar stool and threw a few bills onto his check. It was more than enough to cover the price. Hopefully, even enough to earn him a smile and a friendly hello the next time he stopped in for a burger.
    He'd definitely be stopping in again. Soon.
    "Another time maybe," she said, holding his gaze for a moment before moving out from behind the counter and scooping up his money. As she walked past him toward the register, her arm brushed against his chest, and a little twinge of something sparked inside him.
    Was it electricity like on one of those crappy old black and white movies his mom used to make him watch where the couple meets and it's love at first sight then they get married and live happily ever after? No. He didn't believe in a love like that or marriage, for that matter.
    Maybe what he'd felt was regret for almost killing her earlier. Or maybe it was sadness at the thought of having to leave without so much as knowing her name.
    He had to at least have a name to go with the face that had rooted itself into his mind today, forcibly occupying his every thought.
    He took her arm, gently stopping her. She turned to peer at him, clearly just as surprised to find his hand on her arm as he was. Maybe she'd felt that same surge of electricity or whatever it was. Her mouth opened like she wanted to say something, but didn't.
    "Want to go out sometime?" he asked. Where the hell did that come from? He went from wanting to ask her name to asking her out?
    "Sure." She nodded.
    "Friday night?" he asked before he chickened out.
    "Sure." She nodded again, her unblinking eyes penetrating into him. Damn they were gorgeous.
    "I'll pick you up at your place, just tell me where to go."
    She glanced down to her hands, biting her lower lip for a moment before answering him.
    "My apartment is, um, complicated to get to. How about where we first met instead?"
    "Sounds good. This time, I promise not to almost run you down."
    "Okay," she said simply. She looked about as confused as he was at this new turn of