Her Love Came Too Late novel · Chapter 5 of 24
Chapter 5: Stalker at the Diner
At one in the morning the only light on Carson Street was the red neon of the Starlite Diner.
Elliott sat in the last booth with the drafting case beside him and a cup of coffee going cold.
Briana was on shift, and he had not wanted to bring a stranger's phone camera to her door.
The waitress had refilled his cup twice without speaking.
The bell over the door rang, and Hannah came in.
She was in uniform tonight, with a heavy jacket over it and her radio turned low at her shoulder.
She stopped when she saw him.
"I'm on my break," she said. "I come here every night at one. I swear I didn't know."
"I believe you."
"Can I sit?"
He moved the case over, and she slid into the booth across from him.
The waitress brought her coffee without being asked.
"Black, no sugar," Hannah said to Elliott. "I'm very boring."
"I'd have guessed tea."
"Tea is for people who've made peace with something."
He laughed, and it pulled at his stitches, and he put his hand up to his eye.
She leaned over the table and took his wrist.
"You're bleeding through the strip."
"I'm fine."
"You're not a very convincing liar, Mr. Hartley."
"Elliott."
"Elliott." She said it slowly, once.
She peeled the edge of the bandage back with two careful fingers and pressed it down again.
Her thumb rested for a moment against the side of his face, then moved to the knuckles of his hand, where he had scraped them on the brick that night.
She did not let go of his hand.
Keep reading free with an account. Start Her Love Came Too Late from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 4 · All chapters · Chapter 6 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend