Crazy Sexy Love (A Dirty Dicks Novel)
Page 26
“Yes, I’m sure. I don’t need you to remind me of all the gorgeous men I’ve let slip away. But just because I prefer to date guys with nine-to-five desk jobs doesn’t mean I have a perfect little box.”
I’ve never been one to discriminate. I like men of all shapes, colors, and sizes as long as they have a job on my approved-occupation list.
“Fine, you don’t have a box.”
“Thank you. Now, I have to go because I’m almost to the restaurant.”
“Wait. You’re meeting him there? He didn’t come pick you up? Asshole. Just wait until I—”
“Whoa there, Fido. Calm down. He offered to pick me up, but I felt more comfortable meeting him since it’s our first date and all. You know him, but I don’t, and I’ll feel much safer knowing my car is in the parking lot if something goes wrong.”
“Good call. Although I don’t think anything will go wrong. Where are you guys eating?”
Oh boy. “Dirty Dicks.”
“What?” she screeches. I cringe, her voice piercing through the speakers. “Are you kidding me? He’s taking you to Dirty Dicks?”
“What’s wrong with Dirty Dicks?”
Not only does our best friend, Cooper, own the local tavern, he’s also the twin brother of Mo’s boyfriend, Rhett. The four of us were inseparable growing up, and while Mo and Rhett eventually ended up together romantically, Cooper and I did not. I couldn’t be happier for the lovebirds, except for the fact that now they think I need to be just as deliriously in love as they are.
“It’s a bar.”
“It’s a restaurant.” My argument is weak, but Mo is ruthless, and I’ll take what I can get.
“It’s a tavern, Claire. There will be drunk people everywhere, a DJ set up in the corner, and ten different sports playing across the TVs. That is not a good location for a first date. He should’ve taken you somewhere romantic, with low lighting and a corner booth.”
“I picked Dirty Dicks.”
There’s a pause. A long pause.
I look at my phone to make sure the call didn’t disconnect, and then Mo speaks.
“Of course you did,” she says, flatly.
I blow out a harsh breath as I pull into the parking lot. Putting the car in park, I shut off the engine and rest my head against the headrest. “I don’t like those stuffy restaurants for a first date. They hold too many expectations when I all I want to do is have fun and talk.”
“Coop will be there,” she says, probably trying to deter me.
“I figured he would be.”
“Probably Rhett and Trevor too. Maybe Rhett’s buddy Lincoln.”
My skin prickles at the thought of seeing Trevor. My only hope is he’s not there with a woman. It sure would suck to be stuck on a boring date and watch him having fun from afar.
See? I already know Joseph is going to be boring. Damn it. I should’ve backed out when I had the chance.
“Good. I’ll know there are four strapping men to protect me if something goes awry.”
“Jesus, Claire. He’s an accountant. What could possibly go awry?”
“You’d be surprised,” I mumble, remembering my date with Chad O’Reilly and his obsession with smelling my hair. I thought things were going well until I found him picking loose strands off of my coat and shoving them in his pocket. The memory makes me cringe, and I pray to any god that will listen that Joseph isn’t like Chad.
“Just promise me you’ll try. Give him a real shot.”
“Fine. I will. As long as you make me a promise.”
There’s another pause.
“What?” she asks.
“If things don’t work out with Joseph, I want you to back off. No more blind dates, and no more bugging me about my love life.”
Mo huffs. “I don’t bug you about your love life, and If I do it’s only because I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy, Mo. I love teaching first grade and volunteering at Bright Start, and I love helping you at Animal Haven. What I don’t love is constantly stressing over the fact that I’m almost thirty and single, and you make that stress worse.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice much softer than before. “I’m not trying to stress you out.”
“I know you’re not, and I appreciate your valiant effort, but promise me, no more.”
“I promise.”
“Thank you. Now, speaking of Animal Haven, do you need my help tomorrow morning?”
Animal Haven is a local no-kill shelter Monroe inherited from her father, and since I don’t have much of a social life outside of work and Mo, I volunteer a lot of my free time there. Plus, who doesn’t love animals?
“Well, I guess that will depend on how tonight goes, won’t it?” she says with a little too much pep. “If things go well with Joseph and you know…you end up taking him home, then don’t worry about coming in. I can handle it.”
“You’re a slut.”
She barks out a short laugh because everyone in town knows that before Mo and Rhett found their way back to each other, she was never a slut. Far from it. In fact, some of us wondered if she’d ever date again.
“Only for Rhett,” she purrs.
Lovesick fool. “I’ll be in tomorrow morning as planned.”
“Fine. I’ll be there. I might even stay the night tonight. I’ve got a horse getting ready to deliver, and I need to be there when she does.”
“If you need me sooner, let me know.”
“I won’t need you sooner. Go, enjoy your date, have fun, and I want all the details.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I end the call, stuff my phone in my purse along with my keys, and step out of my car.
Here goes nothing.
Buy Crazy Hot Love here
First and foremost, I have to thank my husband, Tom. The endless amount of support and encouragement you give me while writing is truly amazing. Thank you for making sure the house stayed clean, the laundry got done, and the kids were fed. Thank you for taking over nighttime duty so that I could stay up late and write. Your love and support is what gets me through the day and I’m so incredibly thankful for you.
Mom and dad. Thank you for always supporting me and encouraging me to follow my dreams. And thank you for watching my kids when I’m desperate to hit a deadlines. I love you both more than you’ll ever know.
Keshia Langston, Kristen Proby and Rebecca Shea… ‘Thank you’ seems so insignificant. You’ve encouraged me, supported me, and laughed with me. Your kind words and friendship has been the highlight of many of my days. Thank you for always being there, no matter the question or concern. Each of you mean so much to me and I love you <3.
Jessica Royer Ocken, my amazing editor. Thank you for being patient with me, and for taking my often scrambled prose and transforming it into something beautiful. Your opinion means the world to me, and I am so grateful that you edited this book. You’re stuck with me forever.
A big huge thank you to Kari March for creating such a beautiful cover. You know my vision better than I do.
Stacey Ryan Blake, aka the best damn formatter in the world, thank you for making the inside of my books look beautiful. And, thank you for putting up with all of my last minutes changes. You’re amazing and you’re never getting rid of me ;)
Alison Evans-Maxwell, thank you so much for proofing this book. Your hard work is appreciated more than you’ll ever know.
To the staff with Give Me Books… THANK YOU for taking me on and cheering for my books. I appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that you put into each and every project. Your love of the book world shows and I’m proud to be part of it.
Last and certainly not least, thank you to every single one of my readers and all of the bloggers. Thank you for taking the time to read my books and share them. I hope you swooned over Rhett as much as I did. Your support means so much to me and without you and I wouldn’t be doing what I love.
Photo by Perrywinkle Photography
K.L. Grayson resides in a small tow
n outside of St. Louis, MO. She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man. Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer. She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order.
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