Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 132892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Carrie snorted.
“That girl needs to get the hell out of here. Her mom’s just using her for cheap childcare. She had a scholarship to Central, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. But it’s her choice.”
Carrie humphed, obviously itching to say more. Instead, she changed the subject.
“Want me to stop by at lunchtime? I feel like we haven’t thoroughly discussed the Cooper situation—we need a full postmortem, don’t you think?”
“No, not even a little bit.”
“Great. I’ll be there at noon. You want your usual sandwich?”
“Can you get a salad instead?” I asked, giving in to the inevitable. “I’m feeling a little pudgy next to Talia the Twig. Not that it matters, but . . . it matters.”
“You’re not fat, dork. You’re lush. You have a great figure—even Darren notices it.”
I shuddered.
“That’s gross. He’s like my brother.”
“No shit. Apparently he saw you bending over to grab something at the grocery store a while back and totally checked you out—it’s that ass of yours. Guys love it. Anyway, he was perving on you and then you stood up and he realized who it was. Poor baby called me from the parking lot, freaking out. Wouldn’t fuck me for two days, just kept muttering about being ‘unclean.’”
I laughed, setting my bag down on the counter. Talking to Carrie always made me feel better.
“I think I remember that, actually. Couple months ago. I tried to wave him down but he jetted right past me, wouldn’t even look me in the eye. I guess now we know why. You do realize I’ll never let him live this down, right?”
“Definitely,” she said, sighing happily. “That’s why I told you. He’s been uppity lately, could use a little harassment. Will you be all right packaging the candy for the courier?”
“Yeah, bigger shipment than usual,” I told her. “There’s some sort of client-appreciation thing happening at that law firm. They ordered a ton of individual gift boxes. Don’t know the full details, don’t care. Just know that they pay cash up front.”
“Well that’s good, I guess,” she said. “They trying to suck up to Brandon? I’ll bet he hasn’t told people about the divorce. He wants you back—you’d be good for his campaign.”
“Ha!” I said, giggling. “He’d change his mind if he knew about that sex tape . . . Speaking of, I told Cooper about it.”
“What?” she asked, obviously stunned.
“I told Cooper,” I repeated. “He’s a good listener and it just sort of slipped out. He’d probably hear about it sooner or later anyway. Get this—he seemed to think it was kind of funny.”
“Well it is kind of funny,” she admitted. “I mean, if it wasn’t such a time bomb hanging over you, I’d be giving you shit over it every day. I just hope it never goes viral. You don’t need that kind of headache.”
I walked into the kitchen, setting my purse on one of the counters.
“You know, it was kind of liberating to tell him about it,” I admitted. “It sucked, but it’s not like it ended my life. It was kind of nice, not feeling like I had something to hide.”
“Tinker, you have nothing to be ashamed of,” she said. “You had sex with a consenting adult in your own hotel room. The asshole in this situation is Heather Brinks, may she rot in hell. Or maybe the bathroom in Walmart. That’d be a good punishment, too.”
“You’re right, although it doesn’t always feel that way,” I said, sighing. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever feel normal again. Like me, instead of being sad . . .”
“Wish I had an answer,” Carrie replied, her voice serious. “Some day there will be a new normal.”
“There has to be,” I replied, then gave myself a mental shake. “Hey, I need to get going—I have those special orders to fill.”
“You sure it won’t backfire on you, letting the lawyer dudes assume you and Brandon are together?”
“Well, we’re still legally married and own a house and stuff,” I said reasonably. “He’s the one doing all the arguing and stalling. If he’s going to play bullshit games, then why shouldn’t I take advantage for the sake of my business?”
“Now, that’s what I like to hear,” Carrie said, sounding pleased. “Work it. I’ll see you in a couple hours. Love and kisses.”
“Love and kisses.”
• • •
Two hours later, I’d packaged up almost half of the pumpkin caramels for my weekly delivery. Randi wasn’t back from her appointment yet, which wasn’t ideal, but it also wasn’t the end of the world. I could package and watch the store at the same time. Wasn’t like a ton of people came in here anyway, and anyone showing up on a Monday would be local. I really should just shut the place down . . . By eleven I’d entered the zone and almost missed the bell jingling out front when someone came in.