Romance: Edge of Desire by Kelli Sloan Read Free Book Online Page B

to him?
    Knowing Bradley Adams, I don’t think that he will give up that easily.
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 18
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
    For the next two weeks when I am at work, Brad shows up every day. 
    And the routine is always the same. He walks in, everybody stares at him, I walk up to his table, we don’t speak, I pretend to write ‘coffee’ on my order pad, and then I place a coffee in front of him and he leaves ten minutes later.
    Just like that.
    Every time.
    Brad has created quite a buzz around this small country town – but I’m sure Brad is used to creating a buzz where-ever he goes. Every woman in the town is swooning over the man who arrives every day in his nice new fancy car, wears a different outfit each day, and never talks to anyone.
    Rumor is he is staying two towns away from here, in the largest town in these parts. I guess that’s because it has the only decent hotel around here. Still, it is at least an hours drive each day to come to the diner.
    And I’ve tasted the coffee here.
    He definitely isn’t coming for that.
    Finally, I gain the courage to say something to him.
    “Why are you here?” I state firmly as I stand next to him, ready to take his order.
    “I hear that it is the best coffee in town,” he grins as he looks up at me with those beautiful green eyes.
    I remain firm, “I’m sure that’s not why you are here.”
    “Can we talk?” he asks softly.
    I sigh.
    He has shown enough dedication to show up here everyday for the past two weeks. That has to be worth something, right? No player would go to those lengths just to sleep with a girl, right? If player doesn’t get what he wants – he walks away.
    Brad hasn’t done that.
    He has persisted with me.
    I owe him the courtesy of a few minutes.
    “Rex,” I call out. “I’m taking my break. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
    Rex instantly shows up at the counter with his largest knife.
    “No Rex,” I smile. “It’s ok. We are just going for a chat.”
    Rex’s eyes stay locked onto Brad. Despite Brad’s supreme confidence, I am sure that even he is a little nervous at the sight of a large, hairy, angry man holding a well-used knife.
    I lead Brad out of the diner and into the parkland next door. Sitting on the bench, I turn to him, “You have ten minutes. If I’m not back in that diner by then, Rex will come looking for you.”
    Brad smiles, “Now nobody wants that to happen.”
    “Why are you here Brad?”
    Brad sits down on the park bench next to me, and leans forward, looking at the ground. It takes at least one minute before he says anything.
    “It’s funny, but I have rehearsed this line over and over again. I knew exactly what I was going to say to you. And I knew that if I showed up at the diner everyday, then I would eventually get the chance to talk to you. But now that I am here, next to you, I have forgotten the lines I wanted to say. I have forgotten that perfectly scripted statement.”
    “I don’t want to hear a ‘statement’. I want to hear what’s in your heart, Brad. I don’t want some rehearsed lines; I want the truth. I want to know what you are doing here.”
    He turns his head and looks at me directly in the eyes. Not around me, or through me, but into my eyes. His statement is firm, “I’m here for you.”
    My heart skips a beat.
    “You don’t know me,” I shake my head and pull my gaze away from his.
    “Yes, Harper. I do. And I want to know you even better.”
    “Why?” I turn back to him.
    “With you next to me, everything is worth it. Everything is worth doing. With you around me, the world comes alive and I have never felt that before.”
    “I thought you were driven by power.”
    “I was,” Brad’s eyes drop back to the pavement. “I loved power. I loved success. It meant everything to me. But from the moment I first saw you in the coffee shop, my world changed. Everything took on a new meaning. When I walked away from our first conversation, I was on a