Cutting Loose

by Charity Hillis

  CUTTING LOOSE

  Once Upon a Desire

  By Charity Hillis

  CUTTING LOOSE

  By Charity Hillis

  Published by Charity Hillis

  Copyright 2015 Charity Hillis

  Cover Designed by Quixcy Designs, 2015

  This book is a work of fiction. Characters, locations, and events are products of the author’s mind, or have been used in a fictitious manner. The author acknowledges the right of all trademark holders for products mentioned in this work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

  License Statement:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Copyright

  A Note from the Author

  Coming Soon: Princess Suite

  CHAPTER ONE

  When Amy wandered into The Desert, she had no idea what to expect.

  Christmas lights were strung haphazardly across the ceiling, and peanuts crunched on the floor underneath her black stilettos. Wrinkling her nose, she crossed the dirty floor to a decked-out tiki bar at the other end of the room. A chalkboard sign over the bar proclaimed "Oasis", and Amy rolled her eyes. Could this place be any kitschier?

  "What can I get you?" The bartender, a woman of indeterminate age who looked like she'd lain out in the sun for one too many years, snapped her gum and grinned at Amy.

  "I'll have a Manhattan," she said, aware of how ironic it was to order the quintessential city drink in a dive somewhere in the middle of Vermont.

  The bartender didn't seem to notice the irony. "Any food, too?" She asked as she began mixing the drink right at the counter.

  Amy raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "I didn't know there was a kitchen."

  "There's not, but Pop's next door will always send over some fries or a pizza while you wait." The woman grinned, flashing a glimpse of her chewing gum. "Handy about setting up business in a small town; if you're nice and play by the rules, folks go out of their way to help out." She turned the martini shaker over a glass with an expert flick of her wrist and slid the drink across the counter to Amy.

  "And if they aren't nice?"

  The woman chuckled. "Won't last very long anywhere in Vermont, that's the truth."

  God, it sounds like my version of hell, Amy thought, taking a sip of her drink. She glanced at it in surprise; it was nearly perfect. A little too much vermouth, but otherwise, pretty good. Maybe it was stereotypical of her to have been expecting the drink to taste like cat piss, but nothing about The Desert made her think she'd be able to get a decent cocktail. Looks like this weekend won't be so bad after all.

  When Sharlene had emailed her out of the blue a few months ago, Amy had initially been pleased. They'd roomed together in college but lost touch over the intervening years, and it was a nice blast from the past to catch up with her old friend. And then when Sharlene announced her engagement, Amy had repressed a twinge of jealousy while offering her congratulations. It seemed like everyone she met was thinking about marriage if they weren’t already married, and the closer to forty Amy got, the more she started to resent things like wedding invitations and baby showers. But Sharlene had insisted she come to the wedding in May, and even though Amy wanted to find a way out of it, part of her was eager to see her old friend again. Even if I did have to drive to the back end of beyond for this wedding.

  "Ames!" A voice that hadn't changed despite the years echoed out across the murky room, and Amy looked up with a smile. She tugged on the bottom of her fitted leather jacket and grinned at Sharlene.

  "Only took us fifteen years for that reunion!" She joked, opening her arms for a hug.

  Sharlene barreled into her, squeezing her tight. "You haven't changed at all!"

  Amy laughed, forgetting to feel out of place in the dive. "You've always been a terrible liar."

  Sharlene smiled at her. "You're still my Ames. I'm so glad you could come!"

  "I wouldn't miss it for the world," Amy said, surprised to realize that she meant it.

  "I can't wait for you to meet the girls...and you'll flip when you see the groom!"

  Amy checked the neon clock over the door. "Speaking of girls, didn't you say this party was starting ten minutes ago?"

  Sharlene laughed. "Everyone moves a bit slower up here than you're probably used to. Still disgustingly punctual, huh?"

  Amy smoothed a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. "That's what makes me so successful!"

  "It's what makes you a nerd, that's what it is." Sharlene smiled, and Amy couldn't help grinning back.

  Before she could fire off a snappy comeback, squeals erupted from the door to the bar, and Sharlene turned, adding her own voice to the melee. Three women bee lined toward them, and someone was hugging Amy before she could prepare herself.

  "Oh, my gosh, you're Amy! Sharlene hasn't stopped bragging about you this week!" A short redhead with a frizzy pixie cut let go of Amy and grinned at her.

  "Um, thanks?" Amy shifted uncomfortably. Falling back into the familiar warmth with Sharlene was one thing, but a random stranger hugging her wasn’t usually on her agenda. She took a cautious step back, but the redhead didn't launch herself at Amy again.

  A tall brunette slapped the redhead's hand away. "God, Carol, scare her why don't you?"

  Carol rolled her eyes. "She's fine."

  Trying to recover the situation, Amy held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

  Sharlene laughed and threw her arm around Amy's shoulder. “No need to put on the big city act with them. This is Carol, Joanne,” she nodded at the brunette and then tipped her head toward a curvy woman with raven hair, “and Roxy. By the end of the night, they’ll be just like your sisters.”

  Amy doubted that; it had been a long time since she’d had any girlfriends she thought of as sisters. Not since college, really, she realized, but she forced herself to smile despite her hesitation. “Does that mean it’s time to get the party moving?”

  Roxy laughed. “I like this girl already. Come on, ladies, let’s make Sharlene’s last night of freedom one to remember.”

  “Second to last,” Sharlene reminded them as she led the way to a pair of sticky tables near a stage that Amy hadn’t noticed. Pushing the tables together, Sharlene grinned at her. “I’m not dumb enough to have my bachelorette party the night before the wedding like that girl in college…what was her name?”

  “Carly,” Amy supplied, wincing at the memory. “Dumb enough to get married with a wicked hangover.”

  “Well, we’ll all be able to sleep this one off tomorrow.” Carol plopped down at the table and looked around expectantly, as if she wa
s waiting for a drink to materialize in front of her.

  “I’ve got the first round,” Joanne called over her shoulder as she headed up to the tiki bar. For a moment, Amy wondered if she should offer to help her carry the drinks, but Sharlene patted the rough wooden chair next to her and smiled.

  “We’ve got way too much catching up to do this weekend, girl. What have you been up to the last decade or so?”

  Amy sat down gingerly, wondering what kind of residue might be lingering on the chair. “Just work, really.” It might have sounded like a brush off, but it was the truth. Amy had made her career the center of her world years ago, and that dedication and drive had finally paid off; she’d just been made a junior partner at her banking firm, but she didn’t think Sharlene or the others would really care about the minutiae of her work. Sadly, however, that drive and dedication had also left her with precious little social life, and she always ran out of small talk rather quickly, unless she was with other bankers.

  “Never thought you’d become a Wall Street banker!” Sharlene shook her head. “I always thought you’d be an artist, remember?”

  Amy shrugged, uncomfortably aware that Carol and Roxy were listening intently. She still dabbled with her art; in fact, she’d made Sharlene a beautiful pendant with a new method of wire weaving she was experimenting with, but it didn’t seem like the right time to give it to her. “It pays the bills,” Amy finally said, deciding not to mention the jewelry until she was alone with Sharlene. Her job more than paid the bills, and after all the horrible publicity the industry got during the recession, Amy was sure they all knew it, but she desperately didn’t want to talk about herself. “What about you?” She asked, turning to Carol and Roxy. “What do you both do?”

  “I’m a hairdresser,” Carol offered, “and Roxy runs the Pine Tree Inn.”

  Roxy grinned. “I’m guessing that’s where you’re staying, since it’s the only hotel for miles.”

  Amy nodded. “I haven’t checked in yet; I wanted to make sure I was on time for the party, so I drove straight here.”

  Joanne returned with a tray of open amber beer bottles. She passed them around, and then lifted hers toward Sharlene. “Here’s to you, sweetheart. May your wedding day be perfect!”

  “And may the night be even better,” Carol added with a wink.

  Sharlene giggled, and everyone clinked bottles. Amy took a tentative sip of beer and tried to hide her disgusted expression. Still tastes awful; I guess some things never change. She hadn’t had beer since college, and she wondered if it would be rude of her to order another Manhattan, but before she could decide, the shrill sound of microphone feedback filled the bar, and a few patrons swore.

  “Sorry about that, folks,” a deep, mellow voice said, and Amy’s eyes swiveled to the stage.

  “Where’d he come from?” She asked appreciatively, taking in tight jeans, a vintage T-shirt, and five o’clock shadow.

  Sharlene laughed. “Same place as Roxy. That’s her brother.”

  Amy flushed. “Oh. Sorry.” Her eyes swung back to the stage despite herself.

  Roxy took a swig of her beer and grinned good-naturedly. “Don’t be. Sean’s the hottest piece of man-candy around, and don’t he know it!”

  “Second hottest, thank you very much.” Sharlene said proudly. “Or have you all forgotten Jeremiah?”

  Amy’s eyes strayed to the stage again, but she pulled them away to look at Sharlene. “Do I get to see a picture?”

  Sharlene pulled out her phone with a wide smile. “There we are at the vineyard where he proposed,” she tapped the screen, “and here’s him at the beach.” She sighed. “Just look at those abs!”

  An acoustic guitar on an amp filled the room, cutting off Amy’s reply, and she glanced back at the stage. Roxy’s brother looked even sexier with the instrument slung over his shoulder, his eyes closed in concentration as he strummed the opening bars of “Cats in the Cradle”. The only thing that isn’t perfect about him is that ridiculous T-shirt, Amy thought, taking a sip of her drink before remembering she was still holding the beer. She made a face and finally pulled her eyes away from the musician.

  Carol was watching her, and when Amy met her eyes, the redhead winked. “Nothing wrong with looking!”

  “Aren’t you dating anybody back in the city?” Joanne leaned forward, curiously.

  Amy shrugged. “Not right now.” Not for the past three years, she thought with a pang of loneliness. “There’s just not enough time,” she added in what she hoped was a casual tone.

  “Well, you never know what will happen at a wedding!” Carol giggled, and Amy glanced at Roxy nervously.

  The woman just smiled. “He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

  “He won’t need to take care of anything,” Amy protested loudly over the music. “I was just looking.”

  Sharlene winked. “Window shopping usually leads to buying.”

  Not in this case, Amy thought, resisting the urge to look at the stage again. A lazy musician isn’t what I’m looking for, no matter how hot he is. She didn’t want to piss the women off, though, so she just smiled and forced herself to take another swallow of beer, but she was acutely aware of the guy on the stage behind her.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sean sort of hated playing at The Desert, but at least it paid some of the bills. Still, it was hard to cultivate any kind of rocker image at the bar where is sister and her friends usually spent Saturday nights.

  Not that Sean was going for a rocker image; he played an old acoustic guitar, for Christ’s sake, but it was the principal of the thing. He had no doubt that if he could get a more regular gig somewhere that Roxy wasn’t that he’d have plenty of girls to take home. That’s what rockers do, right? Sean never said no to a pretty face, but all the single girls around town seemed to be looking for a diamond and a whole lot of promises Sean wasn’t ready to make, so he stuck to his solo act and tried to pretend he was on stage anywhere but there.

  Still, the pay wasn’t bad, and even if the bar was just a local haunt, Sean still had enough friends left in town that there were usually a few guys around to have a beer with after his set. And sometimes, women would hit The Desert as they were passing through, and whenever he spotted a new face, Sean made the most of the opportunity, however brief.

  But the pretty blond with the uptight hairdo and the expensive clothes he’s just noticed was sitting at a table with his sister.

  Damn, Sean thought as he wrapped up his first song. He watched the women as he played, and he was gratified to notice the blond’s eyes kept straying to his face. She might be worth the risk, he thought to himself as he watched her chatting with his sister and her friends.

  He figured the mystery girl must be Sharlene’s old college pal; she’d been telling everybody who’d listen that her big-city banker friend was coming to the wedding, and Sean had already decided he didn’t want anything to do with the uptight Wall Street woman…until he saw her.

  Before he could decide if he wanted to make a move or not, the women paid their tab and headed out into the night. Sean sighed, but he didn’t follow them; he stayed on the stage until the joint closed, just like he was paid to do, and at the end of the night, the manager handed him a thick envelope and smiled.

  “I know you’re off this weekend for the wedding, but after that, we’re back on your normal schedule, right?”

  Sean snapped his guitar case shut and pocketed the envelope of money. “Same time, same place.”

  Joey grinned. “One of these days, you’re going to tell me you’re booked and I’ve got to find myself a new entertainer.”

  Sean had pretty much given up looking for gigs, and besides, boring or not, The Desert was a sure thing. It had been a long time since he took any real risks, but Joey was from out of town, so he didn’t know that. Sean forced a smile. “For now, I’m all yours!”

  As he walked home in the dark, Sean tipped his head back and stared at the crystal stars overhead. It was a si
ght that should have made anyone catch his breath, but Sean had been staring at that same night sky for thirty-odd years, and he couldn’t remember a time he’d ever liked the view. It used to be city lights I wanted, he thought, but now I just don’t know. He paused, the phrase lingering in his head. He felt the rhythm of the words, and realized that it was almost a song lyric. Instead of scribbling it down on a scrap of paper that he found in his pocket, the way he used to do, Sean shook his head and forced his thoughts away from spontaneous poetry and back onto the city girl at the bar. He smiled slowly as he thought of ways to make her drop her inhibitions. Maybe I’ll have a little fun this weekend, after all.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Cold, clear sunlight was streaming across the bed when Amy woke up, and she groaned as the light hit her eyes. “Who forgot to shut the damn curtains?” She grumbled, pulling a pillow over her face and rolling away from the light. She’d been too tired when she finally made it the inn last night to bother, but she hadn’t really thought it would matter; wasn’t Vermont supposed to be dark and gloomy all year?

  Finally, she removed the pillow and opened one eye. The room was clean and bright, if a bit quaint: knotty pine floors filled the entire inn, and the honey colored wood made Amy’s sparse room feel warmer than she’d expected. Her fingers traced the thin white quilt that was pulled up to her chin, and when she glanced down, she noticed a pattern of geometric green and blue pine trees covering the fabric. Is everything pine-themed? She knew that was the name of the inn and all, but it seemed like Roxy had taken the theme a little too far.

  Stretching her arms over her head and flexing her toes, Amy decided that since she was awake, she might as well make the most of it. She padded across the room to her huge caramel leather purse and pulled out her tablet. Curling up in the stiff old wingback chair under the window, Amy cleared out a few work emails and followed up on a couple of client questions, ccing her assistant with a grin she couldn’t hide. Never thought I’d have an assistant! Being made partner certainly had more perks than just the salary.