Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 103356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Dirty Delights.
Okay. Interesting name. Didn’t have to mean that anything dirty or dodgy went on inside.
And really . . . what choice did she have? There were several businesses in Haven, which was surprising considering it wasn’t a large town, but only one bar.
She couldn’t get a job at the nice restaurant. But maybe she could find a job at the diner. However, waitressing at a bar was really her only experience. Plus, she felt like the owner of a bar was less likely to ask questions. Or want pesky things like a social security number.
You can do this.
You guys need the money.
Especially now since she’d spent most of their remaining money on coolant for their RV.
Please let it work.
It had taken her longer than she’d thought to walk into town and buy the coolant. So now she had to make the walk back when it was getting decidedly warmer.
She wasn’t dressed to go job hunting. Her jeans were old and worn and she’d had to secure them with a belt, or they’d fall right off her. But it wasn’t like she had any other clothes that fit her any better. Buying clothes for herself was the last thing on her list to do.
“While you’re here, you might as well go in,” she muttered to herself.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Jumping, she glanced over to see a beautiful blond woman smiling at her. She had a double stroller that held two gorgeous baby girls. God, Lilac would love to be able to afford a stroller for Kye.
Maybe if the universe would stop punishing her, then she could.
“Um, yeah, I was just going in here.”
“I don’t think it’s open yet.” The woman gave her a curious look as she pushed the stroller back and forth.
“Right, of course. Silly me. I was, um, hoping there might be a job available.”
“Oh!” The woman looked surprised, but quickly hid it. “You live here?”
“Well, um, I thought I’d stop here for a while. Is that not okay?”
The other woman shook her head with a laugh. “Of course, sorry. Small town. Everyone knows everyone else, you know? I just assumed you were passing through. Sorry.”
“It’s all right. I’ll, um, come back later when it’s open.”
“Actually, Devon is probably in there. Let’s find out.”
“Oh, you don’t have to . . .” she trailed off as the other woman reached up and knocked on the front door.
They waited, but nothing happened.
“Thanks for helping, I’ll come—”
The door to the bar opened and an attractive, muscular man stepped out. He frowned down at Lilac and she felt her insides shrivel.
Yeah. She should have come back when the bar was open. In more appropriate clothing. Now he was annoyed with her.
Not a good start.
Then, his gaze moved to the blonde woman and his whole demeanor changed. His face softened and he smiled.
“Savannah! What are you doing here?” His gaze dropped to the babies sleeping in the stroller. “And you brought two of my favorite people with you.”
Okay, that was kind of sweet. And not at all what she’d been expecting from the grouchy-looking man.
Savannah smiled up at him. “Hey, Devon.”
“What are you doing here this morning, darlin’?” he asked.
Crap. That darlin’ reminded her of her Tanner.
Stop thinking about him. He’s not yours.
Devon gave Lilac an assessing look.
At least he’d stopped frowning at her. So that was a bonus.
“Sorry to interrupt. It’s just that, uh, drat, I didn’t catch your name,” Savannah said to her.
“It’s Lilac. Lilac Masters.” It wasn’t her real last name, of course. Opal had gotten them all fake IDs and she’d chosen her last name for her.
“Lilac is looking for a job and we thought you might have one open,” Savannah said.
Lilac glanced over at the other woman, wondering why she was trying to help her. Why she cared. What was her ulterior motive? She had to have one, right?
“Is that so? Well, Lilac, you better come in, then.”
Awesome.
This was such a stupid idea. What if she went in there and this guy hurt her? No one would know she was in there except this woman, who was a stranger.
But she couldn’t back out or she might miss out on a job. So, she shot Savannah a tight smile.
“Thanks for the help.”
The other woman gave her a cheery smile and wave. “No worries. I better get going. Logan will be waiting for me. Bye!”
She followed Devon into the bar. It was quiet and slightly dark. But surprisingly, there was no smell of stale beer. No mustiness. Or body odor.
Whenever she entered a bar, those were the main smells. Sometimes cigarette smoke too.
In fact, there was a pleasant smell of gingerbread. How odd.
“You okay?” Devon asked her as she paused, looking around.
“It doesn’t stink.”
“Uh, thanks.”
She grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound rude. It’s just that all the bars I’ve worked in have had a definite odor to them even when no one was in them. Maybe especially when no one was in them.”