Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 42859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
“Give me more details.”
Vinny coughed, and Gabe glared at him. The fucker never knew how to hide a laugh.
“She’s thirty years old. Has really nice red hair, green eyes. Never been married. Isn’t in a relationship. She’s really sweet and is just looking for a job with housing. Her current apartment has been sold for a renovation, but because of the cost, she can’t afford to keep it. She is also the hot, curvy woman who works at the diner three times a week.”
“Curvy Red?” Gabe asked.
He rarely went into town, but when he did, he always chose to eat at the diner, and he’d recognized the curvy red waitress at the bar. Who hadn’t?
His gaze had been drawn to her uniform, which was a size too small for her lush frame. Damn it.
Every time he was served by Curvy Red, he’d been hard as fucking rock. He didn’t want any distractions, but if she failed a trial run, he’d finally get Vinny and Archie off his back, and that was well worth it.
“Call her in.”
****
Archie was excited.
They had tried keeping a housekeeper a couple of times, but it had always ended in disaster. One had promised to be a good cook and had given them all food poisoning. Another tried to feed them nothing but vegetables and later told them they didn’t know how to cook at all. Then there was the one who had tried to rob from them, and they ended up getting the sheriff involved, and that had been the final straw for Gabe. After that, no more housekeepers, and they’d all lived on a diet of diner food, and steak and potatoes.
He hated steak.
And potatoes.
He also hated watching Curvy Red at the diner, wanting to ask her out but never having the nerve. He was forty years old yet still felt like a skinny, awkward teen when he was around her. Most of his childhood memories were of getting beat up and trampled on as the school runt—until he grew up and began lifting weights. He never seemed to stop growing once he hit his early twenties, and now he was bigger, taller, and stronger than all the boys he’d once grown up with. Still, those fucking insecurities ran deep, and he couldn’t muster up the nerve to ask out Curvy Red.
When he saw her application, he’d immediately called her and started to ask questions.
Opening the door to her now, he offered her a smile. She held on to her bag like a lifeline, and he noticed her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Was he that imposing?
It was strange what he noticed about this sweet woman. She was thirty years old, and from what he could tell, never had a boyfriend. The apartment building where she lived was a piece of shit. He knew as he’d grown up around there. Diapers, used condoms, and even syringes littered the floors. It wasn’t a good place to live, but it was cheap. Since she was being evicted, he assumed the building was being knocked down and rebuilt into overpriced condos. It would be no surprise. The town wanted to bring new investments and opportunities to the community, calling it gentrification.
What did surprise him was that Annalise came from a good family. Her mother was a churchgoer, and they lived on a good estate. Her sisters were also quite wealthy, marrying into money.
Annalise was like the black sheep of the family. He didn’t get it. But he certainly wasn’t going to question her taking a job with them. He felt like he’d won the fucking lottery.
“Hi, I’m early, right? I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s six in the morning. I’m shocked. I expected you at nine.”
“Well, I asked a couple of guys that work for you and they said you’re always up early to handle jobs on the ranch, and I figured I would work to your schedule.” She bent down, and he noticed the brown paper bags.
“What’s all this?” he asked.
“I didn’t know what kind of food you’d want, and well, I want to make you guys a good breakfast. I got everything I could think of for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said. He couldn’t guarantee Gabe would even give her the job. He was the one who handled all of their finances. Archie still couldn’t figure out how they were able to buy this place, refurbish it all, and hire men to help.
The guy was a miracle worker. He was also five years old than him and Vinny.
Archie also had an inkling that Gabe liked Annalise. Whenever they went to eat at the diner, he was always watching her. Her body was quite distracting.
He hoped having someone Gabe was attracted to might sweeten the deal.
The only problem he saw was that he liked Annalise as well, and with his great powers of observation, he would put money on it Vinny had a thing for her as well. Not good. All three of them having a thing for the same woman. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.