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the street, head down, and hands shoved in his pockets. He’d gone for a walk, hoping to clear his head. He couldn’t make his mind focus on any one topic long enough for him to figure out a solution, so his thoughts swirled with concerns he didn’t have answers for.
    He’d have to rearrange some of his orders for the month, to pay his power bill. There was no way around it. But what about next month? Or the month after?
    And then, there was Tori. Who, given everything else, should be at the bottom of his worry list. She was at the forefront of his mind—the incredible night with her, her voice, her pleas, and the fact that with one little verbal slip she’d been gone. He hadn’t seen her for over a week, and she ignored his texts.
    He could stop by her house, but if she was working—and there was a ninety-nine percent chance of that—it would be easy for her to tell him she didn’t have time. He shouldn’t have pushed her the other day, but she said she was okay with the no-strings sex. A bitter laugh rolled through him. He should’ve known better. She was so closed off. Why would this be any different?
    Is it possible this doesn’t all fall on her? The question nagged him. All right, so maybe mentioning Riley hadn’t been the best idea. It wasn’t as if he compared the two, though. And Riley had been the furthest thought from his mind when Tori sat naked in his lap.
    The memory played through his head, temporarily distracting him. Middle of the street—not the best place for a hard-on. He needed to figure out how to get Tori to talk to him again. Maybe start with an apology? And he needed to stop talking to himself.
    A familiar voice caught his attention. Great. Now he was hearing Tori. He looked anyway, and there she was, a little ways down the street, outside her future sister-in-law’s diner. On the phone. Go figure.
    Whoever she was talking to—guessing wasn’t difficult; it would be someone from work—had her pacing, gaze on the ground and upper lip pulled in a sneer.
    Even engulfed in a heavy cloud of irritation, she looked incredible. She’d tied her long hair back into a bun and held it in place with a pen. The squares on her Tetris T-shirt seemed strategically placed, to draw the eye to her chest.
    She hung up, a scowl marring her face, and then headed inside without seeing him.
    This was an opportunity to clear the air. And next month’s power bill hadn’t come yet, so he had a little more time to find a solution to that particular problem. He pushed into Gwen’s diner. Even in a crowded dining room, it only took a second to spot Tori at a table in a back corner, checking her phone every few seconds.
    He dropped onto the bench across from her. “Come here often?”
    She let out a tiny squeak and looked up. “Holy shit. You scared me.”
    “Sorry.” He tried to mean it. He hadn’t wanted to startle her, and he had to force his hand to stay by his side instead of brushing over her red cheeks. “We haven’t talked in a while, so I wanted to say hi .”
    “I know. I’ve been—”
    “Busy. Right.” He’d expected that. “But you’ve got a few minutes now?”
    “I had to drop off fabric samples for Gwen’s dress, and she’s making me sit and eat, but I have to get back to work soon.”
    Of course she did. He didn’t want to push her into an uncomfortable situation, but they had to have this conversation.
    “She’s doing me a favor, so lunch is on me,” Gwen said from behind him. “You want to toss anything on her ticket?”
    He wasn’t so broke he couldn’t afford to feed himself. He didn’t need charity. It’s a genuine offer. It didn’t matter. The logic couldn’t squash the whisper of envy that Gwen could afford to do things like give away free meals, while he struggled to pay utilities. “Water. I don’t know if I’m staying.”
    “One cheeseburger, extra cheddar.” Gwen spun away.
    Apparently, he was predictable. Another day he might put up a valiant front