Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
I really needed to find a real job though. I’d been pouring all of my spare time into sewing, and as much as I loved it, I had to be realistic. Everything was going to change in six months, and I needed to be financially prepared for that. Luckily for me, Matt said he might be able to help me out. He’d organized for me to talk to the owner of the dive bar where his waitress friend worked. They had an open position for a server which wasn’t ideal, but it was a place to start. I was heading there this afternoon.
“You want me to drive you?” Nicole asked as I glanced at myself in the mirror.
Even with the flared waist of my dress, you could still see a little baby bump if you looked close enough. I chewed on my lip, and Nicole grinned.
“You look fine, Brighton. They won’t even notice.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Now get your butt in the car, or we’re going to be late.”
I followed her out of the apartment and to her car. It still felt weird every time I got into it like I was breaking one of Ryland’s rules. I understood why he had that rule now. He was afraid of me getting into a crash.
Again, with the irony.
Nicole cruised down the street and punched the automatic door locks when we hit a red light. I didn’t blame her in this neighborhood, and it only added to my stress about what I was going to do. This wasn’t somewhere I wanted to raise a baby, but what choice did I have? Things weren’t any better back at Norma’s, and there was no way I’d let my baby grow up around that.
I needed to get my shit together, and quick.
“So Matt set this up?” Nicole asked, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as she waited for the light to change.
“Yeah, it was really nice of him. I hope I get it.”
“Me too.” She gave me a weak smile. “But how did he even know about this job?”
There was something weird in her voice, and I started fidgeting with my cardigan. I didn’t want to upset her, but I didn’t want to lie either.
“He knows one of the waitresses there.”
She nodded, as though I only confirmed what she already knew. Her entire posture changed, and she got that faraway look in her eyes.
“We should meet up with him this week,” I suggested. “I know he’d love to see you.”
It took Nicole a minute to realize I was talking to her. “What?” she blinked. “Oh, yeah, sure. We could do that.”
Twenty minutes later, we walked into the bar.
Nicole went and ordered a drink while I asked for the owner. He was an older gentleman by the name of David, and he put me at ease right away.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Brighton.” He gestured to the bar. “We can do a quick interview before the lunch crowd hits.”
I took a seat, and David brought over a piece of paper with some questions scrawled across it. Luckily for me, they were all easy to answer, and I lied through my teeth. I told him I’d waitressed before, which wasn’t my finest moment, but I really needed this job. After five minutes, he set the paper down and gave me a grin.
“Well, Matt was right. I think you’ll do just fine. When can you start?”
I tried to contain my glee as I smiled back at him. “Whenever you need me to.”
“Okay, how about tomorrow night then? Six o’clock.”
I stood up and shook his hand. “Thanks, David. Thank you so much.”
***
That night I texted Matt to tell him how grateful I was.
And then, as I curled into bed, I performed my evening ritual of reading through the texts Ryland sent me throughout the day. I still hadn’t found the courage to change my phone number. It was the last connection I had to him, and there was still a piece of me that just couldn’t let that go. But I would only ever allow myself to look at his texts once, and it was always at night before I went to sleep.
I scrolled through the screen and tried to keep my emotional armor on while I read his usual messages.
Baby girl.
Please talk to me.
I’m thinking of you right now.
I won’t tell you what, but just know
that if you were here,
You’d be sore as hell tomorrow.
I love you, Brighton.
I’m not giving up on us.
I closed my eyes and released a shaky breath. Every day, it was the same version of texts. He told me how much he missed me. Begged me to talk to him. And then, professed how much he loved me. He wasn’t shy about saying that at all now. But we still hadn’t really spoken about what happened.