Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
But there was no rule I knew of for what to wear to a very fancy restaurant for an early dinner with a strange man who’d bought the place out just for this date.
I settled on something that screamed ‘daytime’ but also ‘elegance.’
It was a 1930s-style sage green tulle dress, embroidered with delicate flowers that fell to calf-length, had a sweetheart neckline, wide straps, and nipped in at the waist.
I left my hair down but didn’t curl it like I did for work, went easy on the makeup, and slipped into kitten heels.
“That’s going to have to do,” I told my reflection. “It’s cute, right?” I asked, turning toward the bed where my cat lounged, watching me with her one blue eye.
I’d come across her in my first week in Atlantic City. The night before, I’d been awoken by the sound of cats shrieking as they fought. When I went to go on a run the next morning, I saw a pile of white fluff in the alley next to my apartment building.
Then there she was.
Eye messed up, half her ear missing.
I spent every dime I had getting her to a vet to get patched up and have her damaged eye removed. She’d been a pampered inside cat ever since. She even knew to stay silent and still inside my closet when the super came in to do any repairs, since I wasn’t technically allowed to have a pet.
Alley stared at me for a second, unimpressed, then started to clean her paw.
“Well, what do you know?” I said, making my way out of the bedroom and walking into the kitchen, setting up her food dish and topping off her water fountain. “You hold down the fort, okay?” I called to her as I grabbed my bag and phone and rushed downstairs to meet my rideshare.
I’d had a car when I first moved to the area. But when the engine blew, I hadn’t had the money to fix it. So I’d been hoofing it most places ever since. And ordering delivery groceries since there wasn’t a single full-service grocery store inside AC.
But I didn’t want to walk all the way to the restaurant in heels. So I spent a little of my tip money on getting a ride.
Also, it saved me a few of the minutes I wasted fretting over my clothes.
I pulled up with only one moment to spare.
And there was Milo.
In a charcoal gray suit, looking just as sexy in the daylight as he had in a dark, smoky lounge the night before.
“I was hoping you’d get my note,” he said. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. I hope this is dressy enough,” I said, looking at the small square brick building with the black roof and awnings.
“It’s perfect. Have you ever been here before?”
“I haven’t. It’s hard to get a reservation.” Even if I had the money. “Have you?”
“To eat? No. Just to arrange this meeting.”
With that, he led me inside.
It was an understated kind of upscale restaurant with exposed brick walls, black built-in cabinets with wine, dark wood chairs and tables draped in white linen.
We were led to the centermost table by a server in a white shirt with black slacks and a black vest. He handed us each a menu and asked Milo about wine.
“Do you want something else?” Milo asked me, likely remembering my words from the night before.
“Red sounds good,” I said with a soft smile. When Milo finished ordering, I shrugged. “I don’t like my boss thinking I drink,” I admitted.
“I get that. He and his friends are… a lot.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it,” I agreed, offering the server a smile as he came back with the wine, pouring Milo a taste, then giving us each a full pour.
“How long have you been singing there?”
“Just shy of a year.”
“Have you always been a singer?”
“Yes. My mom put me in beauty pageants as a girl. Singing was my talent. But beauty pageants eventually led to modeling. So singing was just something I did in the shower or car for years.”
“But you loved it.”
“It was all I ever wanted to do. I knew that modeling had an expiration date. And it was getting closer every year. I wanted to give my dream a try.”
“In Atlantic City.”
“I know,” I said, shaking my head. “I think I was a little scared of failure. I wanted to try my luck in a smaller pond.”
“You’re better than you think you are. What’s the plan when you see that?”
“Maybe a different city. New York. Vegas. If that doesn’t work out, there’s always… teaching singing. Enough about me. What do you do?”
“Business. Not nearly as interesting as singing.”
We each flipped open our menus, and I tried not to panic that it was the kind of fancy where the prices weren’t even listed.
Milo ordered the sausage carbonara.