Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Do you think I have a death wish?” I whispered. “Karim and I will do the cooking. You and Tyler can be customer-facing.”
She grinned and fist-bumped me. “Perf. Should be done with the six-top in the next few minutes. I’ll grab the permit.”
I let out a breath as she bounced off to check on her last table again. If I could just stay away from the fire chief, maybe I could get past this ridiculous little crush on the guy.
Several hours later, Ella showed up for a drink after work with our cousin Hazel, who also happened to be her boss.
“Where’s Avery?” I asked Hazel, setting down a glass of the Chianti she liked and a beer for my sister.
“Working late at the gallery. I told her I’d grab her pickle pizza on my way out.”
I made a note to tell the kitchen, and then I pulled out a chair and joined them for a few minutes. “How are things going at work? Did the update roll out smoothly?”
My cousin’s tech company was her baby. At least, it had been up till now. But she and her wife were expecting a human baby, which meant Untrace was getting ready to be demoted. Hazel and Ella, along with the rest of the company’s employees, had been working hard on rolling out a big update this past spring, and it was finally over.
Hazel smiled. “For the most part. I’m just glad it’s done. I have plans to take Avery down to the Red Lodge Inn tomorrow night for a nice dinner and overnight. She has a prenatal massage booked the next morning before we head back.” She eyed me. “What about you? Doing anything besides work these days? Anything fun?”
I shook my head. “Newp. Nothing fun at all. In fact, I think the last fun thing I did was come over and help you finish painting and set up the crib.”
“Alex, that was six weeks ago!”
Ella swallowed another sip of beer. “He thinks his job is fun,” she said, like she was making fun of me. Like I was infantile.
“It is fun,” I argued.
“What about dating?” Hazel asked.
I groaned. “Don’t start. You sound like my father.”
“Uncle Blue takes after Aunt Tilly,” Hazel said with a grin.
Ella nodded. “Truer words.”
Hazel met my eyes. “Your dad’s not wrong, though. He, of all people, understands the difference having someone in your corner makes.”
“I have plenty of people in my corner,” I said, gesturing at the two of them.
“There’s a cute guy at SERA named Monroe.” Ella bounced her eyebrows. “He’s a rescue pilot, and Tommy said he thought the guy was checking out your ass the night they all came to Timber.”
My face heated unexpectedly. “Which one was Monroe? What does he look like?”
“Tall, wavy brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail, kind of like Uncle Jude.”
Hazel crinkled her forehead. “Wait, I know him. Yeah. Super sweet guy. He bought one of Avery’s paintings last year. He’s been with Trace and SERA for a while. I’m surprised you haven’t met him before.”
Ella pinned me with a knowing look. “The Grape’s been working so hard, he hasn’t allowed himself to see anyone that way. I say that ends now. It’s time you went on a date. Started meeting guys and having a life outside of work.”
“I meet guys,” I said, ignoring her use of my childhood nickname. “I meet plenty of guys.”
Ella bit back a smile and nodded, pretending to be serious. “Right. What was the last guy’s name?”
“J… John.” I forced myself not to wince. “John… Jones…ie.” I’d added on the last bit when I’d realized how generic-sounding my made-up name was.
Hazel’s eyebrows shot up, and she huffed out a laugh. “Is that right? John Jonesie.”
I nodded, committing to the bit. “That’s right. He’s in… sales.”
Hazel sat forward and leaned her chin on her fist. “And where does John Jonesie live?”
“In, um… Montana.”
Ella tilted her head. “Convenient. Since you also live in… Montana. What does he sell, exactly?”
I glanced around the restaurant, catching sight of the new napkin caddy and remembering Kincaid’s comments about the fire. “Insurance.”
Hazel picked up her phone and texted someone. I assumed she was texting her wife until she glanced up at me. “Don’t worry, I asked Tilly for help setting you up. You know… in case things go pear-shaped with good ole John Jonesie.”
A hush came over the table as her horrible, ugly betrayal settled between us. “You’d better be bluffing,” I growled, imagining the shitstorm that would come from having our belligerent, nosy great-great-aunt foisted upon me and my nonexistent love life.
Hazel was the oldest of all of us grandkids, so she was pretty much the boss of everyone. Getting openly annoyed with her was walking a razor edge I’d never skated close to before.
“I’ll make you a deal, Alex,” she said, taking a final sip of her wine and standing up. “You let me set you up with Monroe, and I’ll tell Tilly to stand down.”