Read Online Addicted to Him by Lauren Dodd - Free Book Online Page B

in a neighborhood that doesn’t look quite as pristine as the rest of the town.
    I peek out the window at the small brick building with the red metal roof sitting smack in the middle of the parking lot. Tons of cars are coming and going with people standing in line in the front and coming out a rear door with greasy paper bags of food also.
    “Let’s go, gang,” Dad says but Lisa is already practically to the red rear door. I catch up with Dad, my stomach growling at the smells permeating from the little building. A giant neon sign of a dancing ice cream cone stands atop the roof beckoning customers from all over the city. I love little hole in the wall restaurants like this. Wade and I always watch the food road trip shows together and I can’t wait to tell him about this.
    “What do you recommend?” I ask, walking over the threshold of the restaurant as Dad holds the door open.
    “Everything,” he teases, ushering me inside.
    The rear order area is only ten feet by ten feet and there are already six people squished inside. Dad and I make our way over to Lisa who is chin up to a paint-chipped counter watching burgers be fried on a giant grill. I speed read the menu, knowing this isn’t the kind of place where you dilly dally around with your order.
    The sounding of boiling hot oil kissing the ice crystals of frozen French fries catches my attention and I watch a girl about my age lower a metal basket of fries into the oil. After a few minutes, she takes them out, dumps them in a metal bin and shakes salt over them. I’m practically drooling.
    “What can I get you, folks?” a baby-faced kid asks us. I recognize the T-shirt he’s wearing as the ones that Seth and his brother and sister had on. They must like this place, too. Dancing cheeseburger T-shirts in every color of the rainbow hang above the menu for sale.
    “I want the mad cow burger with a large order of butter fries and a jumbo butterscotch malt,” Lisa demands and, for a second, I think she might jump the counter to make it herself if the kid doesn’t get a move on.
    “I’ll have the same,” I say, trying not to gross out by the name of the burger. If Lisa eats it, it must be pretty dang good.
    “I’ll have a double mad cow with chili fries and a peanut butter shake. But I don’t want any of it unless Seth is cooking,” Dad announces.
    A thought crosses my mind about how strange is it that the same unusual name would cross my path twice in one day. Then, the beautiful blond stranger from the library turns around and everything starts to go in slow motion.
    “Martin and Lisa, my favorite customers,” he shouts over the sizzling burgers and whirring mixers churning up milkshakes.
    I can’t stop staring. He moves expertly, flipping burgers at just the right time while razzing Dad about the latest Red Sox loss. He doesn’t even remember me. Not that I should be surprised but I guess maybe I would have liked to have made a small impression.
    “Isn’t he a dreamboat?” Lisa whispers in my ear. I turn my head, my cheeks blushing, embarrassed that she busted me checking him out.
    Dad gets distracted by a young girl giving him the total. He busies himself digging in his wallet for cash. Seth meets my eyes and winks. I feel lightheaded and just stand there like an idiot. His crooked smile pulls up on one side and I feel certain that I might as well have my feelings tattooed across my forehead. There is something hypnotic about this guy. I want to lean across the counter and smooth his curls behind his ears. I want to feel his lips on mine and his hands running all over my body.
    I watch him grab a brown paper bag and a black Sharpie and jot something down. I’m dazzled by everything he does and I don’t even care if he knows I’m watching every move he makes. I’ve never had this strong of a physical reaction to a guy, even before the Phil stuff. But something about Seth makes me feel like I could overcome all of that. Something tells me that