Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“That sounds great, but I’m going to need a table out here in the dining room.”
Callie’s eyes narrowed as she looked him over. “You are wearing a collared shirt. And you shaved. Holy crap, Hale. You have a date. Did you meet a woman? Or a man? Does Van know?”
It just went to prove he and Van had been going through a real dry spell. He kind of liked that Callie didn’t assume. “She’s a woman and she’s in town for a few weeks. Van doesn’t know but I’m about to tell him.”
“You made a date for the two of you without letting him meet her? You are a brave man,” Callie said.
“No, he is smart man,” Alexei corrected as he walked by. “Woman will slip through his fingers if he does not act quickly. Look what happens with Lucy. Van was interested. He waits too long and now she is somewhere else. I blame him.”
They hadn’t replaced Lucy yet, and Alexei was obviously bitter about it. “I’m pretty sure Van could have asked her out and she still would have ended up with Michael and Ty. They just needed to get their shit together. The good news is Van and I already have it together. We’ve been doing this ménage thing for years.”
Short term. They’d only had one girlfriend they’d shared for more than a couple of nights, and it had been fairly casual. She’d been a “free spirit,” and when she’d found a spirit she liked more than the two of them, she’d been gone.
Somehow he didn’t think Elisa would be the same. They’d only had one conversation, but he could already tell she was solid.
He moved through the bar area to the kitchen, and there was Van coming in the back door, hauling a tray of dirty dishes.
“Hey,” Van said with a smile. “I thought you’d be at the cabin working on the bathroom. Did you manage to get into town today?”
Hale moved to the broken oven. “I did and I picked up this baby so you and Zane won’t have to run in between here and Stella’s.”
There was a visible look of relief on Van’s face. “Thanks, man. You have no idea how crabby Zane gets when that bread isn’t warm. I told him it’s impossible to walk two blocks in the snow and keep the bread at butter meltable temps.” Van dropped off the dishes at the big sinks where Micky Lang was busy scrubbing down before the dinner crowd.
Hale pulled the bad element. “This should get the oven working tonight.” He glanced over at his partner, taking in Van’s Trio shirt and jeans as he shed his coat and put it on the rack by the back door. “Do you have extra clothes in your locker?”
“Yes, why?” Van asked, one brow going up.
“Because we have a date tonight,” he announced. “I met this amazing woman this morning. She’s from North Carolina. She’s in town for the festival.”
A tiny lie, but he wanted Van to meet her before he dropped the whole ex-military-looking-for-her-father thing on him. All Van needed to know right now was she was completely fascinating and gorgeous, and they were going to have a great time getting to know her.
Van frowned. “But I met a woman today, too. I would rather we saw her. We have a date with her tomorrow night.”
Naturally it was feast or famine, but he only wanted to feast on one woman. He quickly slipped the new heating element in and turned the oven on to test it. “And I would rather we saw mine. This woman is special.”
“I think mine is special.” Van frowned his way. “Since when do you find our women?”
It was true. He normally didn’t talk much, was perfectly happy to allow Van to lead the way. But she’d been easy to talk to. He’d felt a connection with her right away. It rankled that Van was pushing him. Did it matter that he didn’t usually make the first move? “Since when am I not allowed to find our women?”
“I didn’t say that,” Van returned.
“He kind of did,” a deep voice whispered.
Hale turned and noticed the two big guys standing outside of the office. Zane Hollister and Nathan Wright had obviously been inside and come out at an inopportune time. Or maybe it was opportune since he knew at least Zane totally viewed the entire population of Bliss as his entertainment. The former DEA agent turned restaurant owner lived for gossip.
Hale had never been gossip before. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“I did not, and you should stay out of it, boss. I’m off the clock. Pilar is taking the evening shift in that shack you call a booth,” Van announced. “I hope she doesn’t freeze, and just so you know lots of people want coffee without booze.”