Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“I did. I wish I had weekends off, but I work most of them, especially with overtime.”
“That has to be hard.”
“It is, but I love my job.”
“That’s always a good thing,” I say, then thank my lucky stars when our waitress appears with a glass of wine for me and a tumbler half-filled with ice and some dark liquid for him.
“So tell me about yourself,” he says when the waitress walks away, and I take a sip of wine before I set my glass down and meet his gaze. As much as I don’t want to do this, the whole small-talk-and-find-out-about-each-other business, I know that I need to do what Cybil said and try because who knows: this guy could be my perfect match.
“I just moved here from Oregon a couple of weeks ago.”
“Really? I love Oregon; it’s beautiful there.”
“It is.”
“So what brought you to Montana?”
“My best friend, who is like my sister, moved here a while ago after she met her husband.”
“So you moved to be closer to her?”
“No.” I take another sip of wine. “I moved here because my life back home kind of imploded. I had a bookstore, and it went under, and then the guy I was seeing screwed me over, so it was either stay there and try to start over or do the starting over somewhere else.” I spit it all out, which isn’t something I would normally do, but then again, I might as well get it over with from now so he knows what a mess my life has been.
“Sorry.”
“Stuff happens, right?”
“Right,” he agrees softly, then adds, “I think everything happens for a reason, so you’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
“That’s a good way to look at life,” I tell him with a smile, feeling myself relax as the wine starts to warm my stomach.
“Have you two decided what you want to order?” our waitress asks, coming up to the table. I look at the menu in front of me, realizing that I haven’t even touched it.
“I’m ready if you are,” Ken says, so I nod, figuring that we are at an Italian restaurant, so spaghetti has to be on the menu. After giving her my order, I listen to him give her some kind of complicated dish, then watch him pull out his phone when it rings. “Sorry, it’s work; I have to take it.” He scoots out of the booth with his phone in his hand.
“No problem. I’ll be here,” I tell him, then watch him wait until he’s outside the restaurant before he puts his phone to his ear.
With him gone, I look to the bar, where Maverick was sitting with his date. He’s not there anymore. Refusing to let my mind wander to what he’s doing, I scoot out of the booth with my bag. I should have a couple of minutes before Ken gets back, so I make my way to the restroom. After taking care of my business and washing my hands, I start walking back through the restaurant but pause when I see that Ken is back at our table with Maverick sitting where I was just a few minutes ago.
Like any smart woman, I look from them to the door, calculating how long it would take for me to get from here to there and what the chances are that either of them will spot me if I try to run.
“Jade.” At my name I turn and find the woman Maverick is here on a date with standing a couple of feet away with a wide smile on her face. God, up close she is seriously pretty.
“Umm.” I feel my brows draw together because it’s obvious by her smile that she thinks she knows me, but I have no idea who she is.
“Margret,” she says as she points at herself. “I recognized you from all the pictures Cybil has of you and her. I’m Blake’s sister.” She gives me a crooked smile before stepping forward to give me a hug. “Sorry, I’ve heard so much about you, so I feel like I know you, even though I haven’t met you until now.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Cybil loves you; she talks about you and your daughter all the time,” I say as I tuck away the jealousy I feel, jealousy that has everything to do with her being here with Maverick. I mean, it would make sense that he hasn’t told anyone that he’s dating his friend’s sister.
“I’ve been meaning to stop by the house to meet you, but I’ve been crazy busy between work and life,” she says as I adjust my bag on my shoulder. “Is Cybil here?” She looks around, and I shake my head no.
“She’s at home with Tanner and Claire,” I tell her, then point across the room to where Ken is still sitting with Maverick. “I’m actually here on a date.” I see her look the way I pointed, then watch her brows drag together for a moment before her eyes meet mine and some kind of strange look fills them.