Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
So, I pick up my cell and call Old Town Pizza.
“OTP, this is Heather.”
I smile at the sound of the owner’s voice. “Hi, Heather. I’d like to place an order for delivery, please.”
“You betcha. Hold on; let me grab a pen. Is this Erin?”
I blink in surprise. “Yes, how did you know that?”
“I have a knack for names, but it also came up on the caller ID.”
I laugh in response. “You had me really impressed there for a minute. Okay, I’d like a medium pepperoni and pineapple on hand-tossed crust, and let’s also do some hot wings. With ranch.”
“Got it,” she says slowly. “What about any breadsticks?”
“I’m tempted, but no thanks. This will do me. I’m above Roger’s garage.”
“Okay, honey, this will be on its way to you in about thirty minutes.”
“Perfect. I’ll just pay with cash when it gets here, if that’s okay.”
“Fine by me. Thanks, Erin. I’ll see you at the coffee shop soon.”
She clicks off, and I smile as I set my phone down. There are so many places in Seattle that I order from or eat at all the time, but they don’t know me by name like this. And it’s not just Heather. It happens all over town.
And I kind of love it.
With a renewed spring in my step, I decide to take a quick shower and get comfy while I wait for my delivery. And it’s just the right amount of time because, as I walk out of my bedroom, there’s a knock at the door.
Fully expecting to find a teenager delivering pizza, I’m thrown for a loop when I find a very angry Millie on the other side of the door.
“Hey, come in.”
“Thanks.” She moves past me and starts to pace my small living room. “I’m just so pissed off, and I need to vent, but I can’t do that in an empty apartment.”
“Obviously not. What’s going on?” Suddenly, there’s another knock on the door, and I hold my finger up. “Hold that thought. That’s food.”
I swing the door open, and this time, it’s a lanky, awkward teenage boy standing on my stoop, loaded down with boxes.
“Hey, Miss Erin,” he says and clears his throat as he blushes bright red. “Heather threw in the breadsticks, even though they’re not part of your order.”
“She didn’t have to do that.” I pass the cash to him and accept the boxes. “But tell her thanks. You can keep the change. Have a good night.”
“Thanks, you, too.”
I close the door and bring the boxes directly into the living room and set them on the coffee table.
“Okay, we have pizza, hot wings, breadsticks, and wine. We are totally set up for a major vent sesh.”
Millie sighs. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just shown up to your place like this, out of the blue, when you’re about to eat dinner.”
“Why not?” I frown up at her as I open the bottle of wine. “I have a million cousins and a younger sister. This is what we do, Mill. Now, let’s eat and talk.”
“I really am hungry,” she admits and bites her lip. “Are you sure you have enough?”
“I can’t eat this whole pizza, that chicken, and an order of breadsticks by myself. You’ll be doing me a favor by helping me eat this.”
“Well, I am all about being there for my friends.” She sits on the floor by the coffee table, takes a hot wing, and bites into it. “Okay, this is good. I’ll have energy for all the bitching I’m about to do.”
“I can’t wait. Give it to me.” I pass her some napkins and dig into the pizza, then sigh in happiness.
Old Town Pizza rivals any pizza I’ve had in Seattle.
“Okay, so I was hanging out at The Wolf Den, just having a glass of wine at the bar and chatting with Belinda, the bartender. I didn’t want to be by myself at home tonight, so I thought I’d be social, you know?”
“Sure.” I take another bite. “That’s a fun bar. I like it in there.”
“Same. So, I’m just minding my own business, sipping my wine, and because it’s a freaking tourist week, in come these complete idiots who are here to hike for the week. They’re pissy because it’s still too early in the season to actually hike much, since the snow hasn’t melted all the way in the mountains, and they didn’t bother to actually do some research to see if this is a good time for outdoorsy stuff.”
“So, they’re morons.”
“Total morons,” she agrees with a vigorous nod. “Like, if you’re going on vacation somewhere, wouldn’t you do some research to see if what you want to do is even a thing at that time of year? Anyway, I’m just sitting there, not engaging with them at all. I might have rolled my eyes at one point because holy shit, were they ever whiny, but I was keeping my opinions to myself. And I have to tell you, I was proud of that because I could have really unloaded on them.”