Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Harper watched his expression harden and knew he didn’t care for her words. The crowd interrupted them with demands for an encore and she quickly keyed in a tune that required two male voices. Waving Beau up to take her place, she fled from the stage to rejoin Maisie and Amber. Ignoring the feel of Colt’s gaze on her, she chatted with her friends as the masculine tones blended together. Beau’s voice was good. Colt’s voice was incomparable.
Rio
Rio wiped the sticky countertop and avoided the feminine hands that reached out to touch him. He knew women found him attractive, but he wanted something special from a relationship. Catching Amber’s knowing look, he shook his head at her. She’d amused him as a perky kid when he’d started at the bar in his late teens. As Amber had grown up, that enjoyment of interacting with a fun-loving kid had morphed into watching her become an amazing adult.
Now at thirty-one, he kept his distance from her. Because he’d been in her life so long, she naturally flirted with him as she tried out her feminine wiles. Maintaining their buddy relationship, Rio hadn’t had trouble remembering that she was a kid. Until recently.
As her eighteenth birthday approached, Rio wanted her to enjoy her final high school year as he never could—to be a kid for as long as possible. Leaning on the bar, Rio relaxed his guard and allowed himself to watch the pleasure on Amber’s face as she listened to Colt and Harper’s incredible duet.
“She’s off limits, Rio,” Jack Murphy growled in his ear before continuing, “Don’t touch Sparky. She’s going to college to become a nurse and live an incredible life out there.” His boss nodded at the front door. “I don’t care if she is eighteen next month. Stay away from her or you’ll be out on your ear.”
“Got it, boss. Amber and I are buddies. Nothing more,” Rio assured him with an easy smile he’d practiced for years.
“You’re smart for a guy who walked in here with the ink still wet on his bartending license. I wrestled with hiring an eighteen-year-old, but the ladies love you. I still don’t see how you can pinpoint accounting issues by simply glancing at invoices. You’re a boon to Murphy’s, but…”
“I won’t forget—Amber’s off limits,” Rio finished the statement for him.
“That table over there needs another pitcher of margaritas,” Jack said, patting him on the back.
“On it, boss.”
He allowed himself to watch Amber congratulate her friends as they stepped off the stage. Rio knew Amber had something planned for her eighteenth birthday. He better figure out some way to disrupt her plans. If not, she’d never understand.
CHAPTER 2
Amber bounced through the kitchen door with a smile plastered on her face. She’d had a great birthday at school, celebrating with her friends. Harper had even brought Amber’s favorite molten chocolate cupcakes to school for lunch.
“Hi, baby! You look happy!” Amber’s mom, Gretchen, greeted her as she swapped out laundry.
“I am. Only one more thing could make my day even better.”
“Your dad isn’t going to buy you that red, hopped-up sports car,” Gretchen warned.
“I know. Besides, I’d want a purple one. That would be much prettier.”
“Not that one, either,” Gretchen told her with a waggle of her index finger. “But there might be a letter on the island for you.”
“No way!” Amber raced to pluck the official-looking letter from the granite countertop. She grabbed the letter opener from the drawer and carefully sliced open the top.
Extracting the letter inside, Amber silently read the embossed letters at the top. This had been her reach school. The one she’d been sure she would never be chosen to attend. Quickly, she read the missive aloud for her mother, who now stood next to her with an arm wrapped around Amber’s waist.
“You made it in! Congratulations. Your father is going to be so proud. You should drive to the bar and show him,” Gretchen suggested.
“On my way!”
Amber grabbed her keys from the hook by the door and drove her sensible compact to Murphy’s. This was a slow time in the afternoon. The lunch crowd would have cleared out except for a few diehards and the happy hour celebrants would still be at work.
Walking in the front door, Amber spotted Rio slicing lemons and limes into wedges for the bar. She stopped in her tracks. The university nursing program was in Durham, North Carolina. She’d be states away from Rio.
His head lifted and she darted out of view before he could see her. Suddenly, the dream nursing school seemed like an impediment rather than something to be excited about. Her heart pounded inside her chest. How would she choose? The university or Rio?
“Sparky!” Amber’s father’s gravelly voice made her jump. “I wondered where you were. Your mom just texted to see if you’d told me. She sounded excited. What’s up?”