Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Then Jenner’s career took off and everything began to change. Sampson and Abe quit their jobs to work for him. They’d moved into this huge mansion in a gated community. Jenner had also insisted on hiring a cleaner and a gardener.
Everyone had been so happy about the move. Especially now they were in a safer community.
And yet Immy often found herself longing for the days when they’d lived in that horrid apartment.
Standing, she left the office and walked toward the house. But when she walked in, it was so quiet and cold. She didn’t think she could stay here.
She should go and take a nap. That would be the sensible thing to do.
But she was tired of being sensible.
She was going to go have a drink instead.
Immy arrived at the small, rundown bar about twenty minutes later. She’d discovered this place about six months ago.
It wasn’t trendy. It didn’t serve a hundred different types of cocktails. It wasn’t the place to be seen, like where Jenner would go.
Maybe Lauren was right.
They weren’t suited. She wasn’t going to fit in with his life and the last thing she ever wanted was to stand between him and his dreams.
Perhaps if he’d shown a sign of wanting her . . .
Move on, Immy.
But God it hurt.
She sat in her usual bar stool.
“Go sit somewhere else.”
The voice came from the man next to her. It was rough, almost broken. As though he’d damaged it at some stage in his life. She turned to glance at him. He was hunched over his drink, his long hair down to his shoulders and liberally sprinkled with gray. He wore an old coat and he had to be hot. He looked rough and unkempt.
“I like sitting here,” she told him. “It’s my usual spot.”
She got the feeling she’d surprised him although he didn’t move.
“You been here before?”
“Yeah. Lots.” Slight exaggeration.
“Not the sort of place for a girl like you. Go somewhere else.”
Gosh. Bossy.
“I will not. I like it here. I come here to drink and think.”
“No one likes it here. And no one comes here to drink or think.” He held up his glass. “This stuff tastes like shit.”
She giggled.
“Immy! Your usual?” Amos, the barkeeper, walked over to her with a frown. She wasn’t offended. Amos was always frowning.
“Yes, please, Amos. You’re looking good today.”
Amos grunted. “Got no sleep last night because of my noisy neighbor. Then this morning, she bangs on my door, wanting to borrow coffee. Brat needs a fucking spanking.”
“Right. That sounds like exactly what she needs,” she agreed as he put a diet soda with a slice of lime in front of her.
Amos just grunted as he walked away.
“You’re drinking soda?” the old man next to her asked.
“I’m not supposed to drink alcohol. I know, I’m at a bar drinking soda. It makes no sense. But I like the atmosphere. Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She took a large sip of her drink.
He slid some money onto the bar when Amos walked over. “For my drink. And hers.”
“Aww, that’s kind.”
“Not kind.”
“You got it. It’s our secret. What’s your name?”
“None of your business.”
“Strange name, I might shorten it to NOYB. You like that?”
“Nope.” He turned to glare down at her. Wow, he had dark eyes.
“Your eyes are unique,” she told him. “I guess you know that.”
“Been told it’s like looking into the depths of hell.”
“Wowsers. That’s really intense.”
“Scared?” he asked.
“Of what?” she asked.
“You’re unusual.”
“Is it a bad thing?” she asked.
“Dunno. Sometimes it’s bad to stand out in a crowd. Sometimes, it’s the only way you feel alive.”
“I like you, NOYB,” she declared, kicking her feet back and forth. “You gonna be here a lot?”
She’d come here feeling down after Lauren’s ‘chat.’ But now that she’d made a new friend, she was feeling better.
“Dev.”
“Huh?” she asked.
“My name is Dev. And no, don’t plan on coming here again.”
She sighed. “Too bad.”
He grunted. “Why do you look sad?”
“No reason.”
“Bad life?” he asked.
“No, I’ve got a great life. A wonderful family. A good job. Nice place to live. Plenty of food. Good healthcare.”
“What’s the problem then?”
Nothing. Absolutely nothing in her life was a problem. It was time to stop feeling sorry for herself when her life was charmed.
“Nothing is the problem.” She smiled wide. “It’s just that I have to change my mindset from wanting something I can’t have to being grateful about everything I do have.”
It was going to hurt. She’d loved him for so long. First, as a friend, then as something more. But she’d never want to harm him or get in his way. And she certainly didn’t want to ruin the relationship that they had now.
“Everyone wants something they can’t have. It’s the human way.”
“Well, I’m going to stop or learn to hide it better. I don’t know. But I lead a charmed life and I should be grateful for it, not sad about what I don’t have.”