Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“Look! Here comes one now!”
I glance up, my heart rate kicking up for a quick second before realizing it’s Ugly walking this way, not Boomer.
Tonight is the first night he’s been in here in months, and of course, he came with an entourage instead of alone like he was prone to do before I fucked up and asked him to join me after I got off work.
He walked through the front door over an hour ago, and I haven’t noticed him looking my way once since he arrived.
“Jesus,” I say teasingly as Ugly presses his palms to the bar. “You look as good walking toward me as you look walking away.”
Ugly gives me a charming grin, a wide smile on his face.
“Get your own!” Maude snaps at me, her sneer revealing lipstick on her teeth.
The woman seriously thinks she has a shot with anyone under the qualifying age for AARP.
I hold my hands up in false surrender.
“He’s all yours,” I tell her, winking at Ugly.
The man turns his attention to her, his smile never faltering. You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats women, children, and the elderly. I haven’t seen a single Cerberus member slip up in any way in the years I’ve been working here. At first, I looked for it, kept my eyes on them because honestly, no one is perfect. Everyone has a bad day every now and then, but I’ve never witnessed any level of disrespect that wasn’t earned.
I know the guys taught a lesson out back to a man who drugged a woman at the bar. I know they’ve shunned some of the women who frequent the bar hoping to catch a Cerberus man because they disrespected someone close to the group. But I’ve never seen them ever be rude where that response wasn’t earned by the other party being disrespectful first.
Kincaid, the club president, is very selective about who he allows to join the group, and so far, he’s won every single pick.
“A couple more pitchers of beer?” I ask Ugly.
He nods, his eyes still on Maude who looks half in love and a hundred percent drunk as she gleams up at the man.
“Good evening, Maude. May I buy you a drink?”
She giggles like a schoolgirl, if that schoolgirl wasn’t fifty years deep into a two-pack-a-day habit.
“Two pitchers and a hot cup of coffee for my friend,” Ugly says in a way so charming Maude doesn’t even drop her smile at the news that she’s done drinking for the night.
I busy myself with the beer and coffee as Ugly continues to chat up the elderly woman at the bar.
Maude thanks me for the coffee when I hand her the cup, and the joy is clear on her face at the attention she’s gotten from such a handsome man.
“I think she has a crush on you,” I tell him in a low tone, knowing she’s hard of hearing.
“I think you’re right,” he says with a grin as he pulls his wallet out.
“Makes me wonder if I still have a chance with such stiff competition,” I tease, my eyes darting over his shoulder, noticing that Boomer is still in conversation with Harley and Alyssa, his eyes bright as he talks and smiles.
The man is utterly devastating no matter the mood he’s in, but seeing him happy after seeing him so lost at Target a few weeks ago brings such relief.
Ugly leans in closer. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Maude has more of a chance.”
I huff a laugh when Ugly winks at me before slipping his hands through the handles of the beer pitchers and walks away.
Ugly is as straight as an arrow, but it makes it no less fun to flirt with him.
“Hey,” I yell when he gets a few feet away. “Boomer is looking a little low.”
I hand over a bottle of water, forcing Ugly to set one of the pitchers down to tuck it under his arm before grabbing the handle and walking away again.
Boomer doesn’t look in my direction when the bottle of water is handed over, and I know there’s a good chance that Ugly didn’t tell him it was from me. There’s also a very real chance that I messed up more than I realized when I clasped his hand the last time I saw him.
The man looked broken, and I know it had at least something to do with Aro getting hurt in the line of duty. Those outside of Cerberus don’t know many of the details. The members keep almost all of their stuff close to home, but Kincaid and Jake are close. Jake and I are close, and that means sometimes I hear things that wouldn’t otherwise be spoken about in the presence of mixed company.
I only touched him to offer support, but maybe it was taking things a little too far. Maybe I misjudged him, thinking that he liked it when I flirted with him. Maybe he’s fed up with me altogether.