Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“Deja, love, why is it ye never take me up on my offers to dinner?” Harold Wilson asks as I place the tray of beers on his table.
“Maybe because ya are a married man, Wilson. I would hate to have to bust Mrs. Wilson upside her head for coming in here trying to put her hands on me like she did Ailia,” I sing and gave him a smile.
“Aye, she’s got ye there,” Odell Griffin croons and laughs.
Seonaid Wilson is crazy about her man. Ailia Campbell learned the hard way to stay away from her husband. Seonaid walked right into the coffee shop where Ailia works and gave a good show to the village.
“Och, she does,” Travis McDonald adds.
I laugh and shake my head. I’ve known these guys for as long as I’ve worked here. Not only are they regulars, but they’ve become like friends and family. If I even look like something isn’t right, they’re the first to get up from their seats.
The big, scary-looking Scots have scared plenty of eejits away. They are also the jokesters of the pub. You can always count on them for a good laugh.
“Och, Ailia has a big mouth. Ye don’t strike me as the type to play and tell,” Harold says to me, ignoring his friends.
“Harold, do I strike ya as one to play at all?”
“The kind of playing I’m talking about … it would be a shame to let all that go to waste,” he says as he looks me over. He pauses and gets serious, then looks around the pub. “I haven’t seen ye dressed like this in a long time.
“Which one of these lads are ye giving ye heart to? I want to meet him. I have some questions for him,” he says like a protective big brother.
“There isn’t anyone. Can’t a lass dress up for herself?”
He snorts. “Ye may have done it for yerself, but it sure does feel like a gift for the rest of us. Aye, the day the divorce comes through, I’ll be at ye door like a proper gentleman,” he says with a sage nod.
“She’ll have that bat ready for ye too,” Travis says.
“Depending on the mood, it might be a pistol. Don’t bring yer arse to my door, Wilson. I don’t want to have to kick it. Ye boys need anything else? I need to get behind the bar.”
“We’re good, love. I’ll save ye the trip the next round and come for it myself,” Odell says.
“Thanks.”
I turn and go to head back behind the bar. Rolling my eyes at myself, I realize I could have passed on the heels tonight. My feet are starting to ache.
“DJ.”
The name is growled behind me. I don’t bother to turn; I already know it’s him. No one else besides his family calls me by that name. If I didn’t know it was him from the name, I would know from the possessive hold he has on me as he stands behind me with his hand splayed across my belly.
I look up at him and smile. “Hello, Cole. What can I get ya?”
Brooklyn
I walk into the pub I was told Deja works at and look around. It’s a decent place. The word is it’s owned by her uncles.
I’m still digging up information on them. I’m treading lightly so I don’t trigger any unwanted attention; my whereabouts can’t get back to my grandfather.
However, I need to know what’s been going on around DJ. Like I said, I’m not leaving until we talk. I need to head back home soon, so I need to make that happen fast.
However, from the moment I walk in, I want to shut this motherfucker down. I don’t know what DJ was thinking when she left the house this evening, but that shit is going to get someone hurt. There’s no fucking way this is how she comes to work.
The clear stripper heels are one thing. Then there’s the black bodysuit. Her back is on full display, showing off all that smooth, dark-brown skin. There is no denying that body with the fit of the fabric to her skin.
The tat down the center of her back is something I want to explore in more detail, but I hate that everyone else can see it as well. My slacks are so fucking tight right now.
“Hello, Cole. What can I get ya?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Ya knew I was coming here, didn’t ya? There’s no way ya come to work like this every night.”
“What would make ya say that?”
“Ya love to taunt me.”
She turns to fully face me as I lift a brow at her. That little smile drives me crazy. It always tells me she is goading me, and she knows she has me.
“Taunting ya? Are ya implying I thought about ya as I got ready for work? Still cocky as ever.