Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Jade Newton glanced over at her date and knew this was not going very well. From the moment he walked into the bar, he’d been trying to find some way to escape. If his constant glances down at his watch weren’t an indication, then the fact he was looking at every other woman gave it away. Also, he must have checked his cell phone a hundred times, and still hadn’t paid her much attention.
She wasn’t even disappointed or upset at this point.
Fifteen dates.
This was her sixteenth date and they had all ended the same. These dates hadn’t even been within one year. No, these dates had been during the last five years. None of the men saw her as attractive.
She was fine with that. Even when she was younger, her mother would often tell her she wasn’t pretty enough. Some people may think her parents were cruel, but they were setting her up for the real world. She was bland, plain, nothing to write home about. Nothing noteworthy.
Never in all her thirty years had someone whistled to gain her attention. No one had attempted to pick her up or ask for her phone number. No one had ever bumped into her and had it lead to anything.
She’d been on dating apps and gotten nowhere. Friends of friends had tried to set her up. She had attended plenty of weddings, watched friends getting married, and even heard the best man hope she wasn’t the maid of honor. Yeah, she had overheard plenty of them.
She couldn’t even say she had many friends anymore. Time, life, and changes had created a distance. Some friends had moved away. Others had busy lives, some had even moved to different countries.
She held her knife and fork above her food, but she wasn’t hungry. When she arrived at the bar, she was starving. Nothing like a bad date to lose the appetite.
“You know, I am so sorry about this, but I am going to have to take this to go,” Jade said.
There was no way she was going to have another guy stand her up. She saw the signs.
“What?” he asked.
His name was David, she didn’t even want to think of his last name. She doubted he even knew her name. Not that he’d paid much attention to her. There had been a small group of women enter the bar twenty minutes ago, and he hadn’t been able to stop staring at them.
“I have a thing and it is important. I’m going to get this to go.” She signaled the waiter and made the arrangements.
David, bless him, looked so confused. She ignored him, grabbed her purse, and paid the bill.
The waiter didn’t take long with her food. She didn’t know if it was because she was polite to him, but she also left him a tip to thank him.
“Ugh, are you sure? I mean, I could walk you home,” David said.
“No, thanks. Go and have fun.”
David frowned and at least he did look a little … startled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, we both know you’d rather be with those women over there. Go, have fun.” She didn’t bother to wait.
She already had her jacket on, her food, and she was out the door of the bar before anyone could stop her.
She took a deep breath, and then started to walk, heading in the direction of her apartment. Several times she attempted to hail a cab, but no one was stopping. Again, something she was used to.
It was dark, but she decided to keep to the streetlights for protection. She absolutely hated the dark. This was why she tried to avoid late-night dates. It was only a little after nine, but it was still too late on a Friday night.
She was not a party animal. So, besides being plain, she was also mega boring. This was something she was told multiple times.
Taking a deep breath, she walked down the street, avoiding the people coming her way. The city life was always busy, which was one of the reasons she loved to live here. Of course, it also came with a lot of problems. She was able to sleep through a busy life, though. The beeping of cars, yelling, knowing someone was there, brought her peace. She lived in a good neighborhood, not too much crime, but there were always rumors and gossip about the city. Mafia, Bratva, MC, gangsters, like in the movies.
So far, because she stayed in her lane, working hard and not making waves, or doing anything out of the ordinary, she’d lived a good life.
Her parents had died eight years ago. It had been hard, but she’d sold their home, dealt with their stuff, and left the small-town life to be swamped within the big city. She’d been in her small apartment for seven years.