Which is a strange enough reaction that I slump forward, elbows on my knees. I blow out a sharp breath and grip my hair, hoping the sting will clear my head.
The truth is, my brain’s basically mush at this point. Has been for a couple of weeks now. Sleep deprivation will do that to you.
That and a case of blue balls I can’t seem to wank away.
I need to get laid. Badly.
Normally, not a problem.
But my body’s only wanting one person. Believe me, I’ve tried. I own a goddamn bar, for fuck’s sake. But since that party with Galway New York, when a certain shy book nerd slipped under my skin, it’s been pointless.
Which is insane on so many levels. My reputation as a player isn’t just smoke and mirrors. I play the field. Constantly. And I love it.
Well, except until recently.
Focus.
I grab my cell again and pull up the Lyft app so it’ll be handy.
Fan. I need a new fan. And no time to wait for an electrician. Two years ago, cashing out my share in a San Francisco tech startup, kissing it all goodbye, and using the Florida liquor license I’d won in a poker game to open a bar felt fucking fantastic. Freeing. Too many memories there. Fresh ones to make here in Sarasota. And a chance to fulfill a dream of mine.
Now that dream smells like stale hops, and my palms are sticky from whatever coats the floor in the back of the bar.
I blink dry, scratchy eyes and wipe my palms with a towel. Like any hands-on bar owner, I have vendors on speed dial. I punch the icon for the appliance store over on Orange, leaving a sticky smear on my screen.
“Pete, Aiden here,” I say by way of greeting, but I don’t have time for niceties, and I’m super-positive most restaurant and bar owners are assholes on a regular basis.
“What’s up?” Pete’s no-nonsense voice is calming. I tried to get him to play on our hurling team, but he said, being in his forties, he was “getting too old for that shit.”
“Need a new condenser fan.”
“We close in twelve.”
Adrenaline finally—hallelujah—kicks in, clearing away my mental fog. “Can you wait for me? I can switch the fan out myself, but—”
“You gotta open tonight, and you need that fan,” he finishes. “I’ll wait, but don’t lollygag. My little girl has a summer camp thing tonight, and I need to be there.”
Relief chases the adrenaline. “Thanks. On my way.” I’m already standing, palming my keys, and hoofing it to the back door when it dawns on me. I make a fist against the metal door and stare up at the ceiling. “Fuck!”
“What?” Stuart, who’d been squatting looking at the fan, jumps upright. “Did he not have the part?”
I look at him over my shoulder. How much more can I fuck myself over? “I loaned my goddamn car to Randy.”
No sooner are the words out of my mouth than Stuart’s tossing me his keys. Maybe this guy’ll work out. Besides honesty, knowledge, and experience, the other asset I value in a bar manager is the ability to keep one’s cool in a crisis.
Because there’s always a crisis, right? And you don’t need a manager freaking out, or worse, creating them when there aren’t any. You’d be surprised by the number of pot-stirrers in the restaurant industry.
“Be right back.” I toss his keys in the air and catch them. I point to the mess on the floor. “While I’m gone, have that fan unscrewed and out.”
Stuart nods. “You got it, boss.”
I shove open the door. And kiss my flight goodbye.
Dammit. I fish out my cell to start searching for alternate ways to get to Atlanta.
Want to find out what happens with Aiden and Jane? Click here to view more about it and order!
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Earning It!
I hope you enjoyed Luke and Pepper! If you join my mailing list for the latest news, I'll send you deleted scenes from Must Love Breeches as a thank you! If you realllly loved it, and want to help pimp my books and get free content and be the first to hear of news, you can join my Facebook fan group!
Want some visuals? While drafting and revising, I created a Pinterest board to help visualize and brainstorm.
Please feel free to reach out to me. I love to hear from readers about what they loved (or didn't) about my books, so drop me a line if you'd like at [email protected] or find me on my website or on twitter at @angelaquarles, or on my Facebook page.
And now a big favor. Readers like you make it possible for writers to do what they love, spin tales! Thank you for your support. If you enjoyed Earning It, I hope you'll take a moment to share your enthusiasm with other readers by posting a review. Discoverability for new authors like me is a challenge and every review helps connect a reader to a book they might enjoy. I appreciate any review, positive or negative, so if you have a moment to post one, even just a line or two about what you thought of the story, on Goodreads or your favorite review site, I’d be grateful! The more reviews a book receives, the more other readers are willing to take a chance on a new author. It also helps a reader decide whether a book is for them or not. Regardless, I thank you for reading! If you do leave a review, send me an email at [email protected] so I can personally thank you, or tweet me @angelaquarles.
Other things you can do to help:
Please help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, book clubs, and discussion groups.
Share what you thought of this book on:
Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Google+
Thank you!
Also by Angela Quarles
As You Wish
an erotic geek romantic comedy
Steam Me Up, Rawley
a steampunk romance
Must Love Breeches
Book One in the Must Love series
Must Love Chainmail
Book Two in the Must Love series
Must Love Kilts
Book Three in the Must Love series
Must Love More Kilts
Book Four in the Must Love series
Risking It
Book Two in my romantic comedy series, Stolen Moments
Coming Feb 2018
Trusting It
Book Three in my romantic comedy series, Stolen Moments
Join my mailing list to be among the first to hear of its release!
Author's Note
I had a lot of fun writing this story—not only writing a contemporary, but also writing about this little known sport (in our neck of the world). I used to play Gaelic football in the late 90s when I lived in Atlanta, and enjoyed all the friends I made, both Irish and American, and all the craic we had! Gaelic football is another Irish sport played with a round ball like a volleyball and looks like a strange mix of soccer, rugby, basketball, and volleyball. It’s governed also by the GAA. We were only starting to have a hurling team when I stopped playing, and they hadn’t yet formed a camogie team (the name for the women’s version of hurling), but I did get to see it played when we went to the different championship games. Since then, it’s become much more popular for new clubs to form in America for hurling than it is for Gaelic football.
I grew up in Sarasota, and so I enjoyed highlighting my old hometown. The Purple Chow is fictitious, but is a play on the nickname for the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, which locals call The Purple Cow. It has the honor of being the world's only purple seashell-shaped theater.
The Mocha Cabana where Luke and Pepper had their coffee date was named by Kate Warren, one of my “assassins”—my fan group Angela’s Time-Traveling Steampunk Regency Assassins.
While I was editing this story, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced their decision to close down “The Greatest Show on Earth.” John Ringling and the circus were a big part of Sarasota’s history. I grew up near the Ringling Museum, a neighborhood that once had—no lie—pink sidewalks. One of my best friends growing up was a granddaughter of Cannonball Zacchinni, one of the broth
ers who were human cannonballs. In a future book in this series I hope to highlight more of the circus history of Sarasota.
I took liberty with Gainesville having a semi-pro ice hockey team because I needed Phil in the same town with Pepper where she was getting her medical degree. Right now, there are only semi-pro teams in Estero, Orlando, and Pensacola. I could have had him commute from Orlando, but he’s too much of a douche to go to that much trouble for someone else.
Acknowledgements
I’d first like to thank Olivia Devon for messaging me one day back in October of 2015 asking me if I’d like to be a part of the boxed set SOME LIKE IT GEEK with her and other amazing writers whom I admire. I think I pretty much immediately said yes? This story is a result (originally titled TO SCORE OR NOT TO SCORE).
I’d like to thank the following folks who read early versions and helped me make this a better story! Jami Gold, Shaila Patel, Zoe York, Olivia Devon, Madelynne Ellis, Jinx Kammer, and Anne Marsh. You guys helped me to not only craft a better story, but also helped in the cheerleading department too. Thank you!
I’d also like to thank several of my readers who also read early versions and gave me helpful feedback: Tauline, Megan, and Courtney, thank you!
My editors Gwen Hayes, Jessa Slade, Erynn Newman, and Julie Glover had my back again, which I appreciate so much.
I’d also like to thank Johnny O’Sullivan, who was my former Gaelic football coach. He was so helpful in reading over relevant scenes and making sure I accurately portrayed his native sport. I owe ya one, Johnny!
And to Dr. Harcourt, a local sports med doc, who let me observe him and his staff at the University of South Alabama. He gave me a great run-down of sports medicine and helped me figure out which injuries Pepper, Luke and the rest would sustain. His staff was helpful too.
I also want to thank the members of my facebook fan group—Angela's Time-Traveling Steampunk Regency Assassins—for their help and support! And to Kate who won the contest for naming the coffee shop :)
To Pam, Diane, and the rest of the crew at the Government Street location of Starbucks who keep me supplied in food and tea when I camp out there to write/revise; I get so much work done there and it helps me stay off social media. I wrote and revised most of this book there.
I’d also like to thank my facebook and twitter friends who are always willing to answer questions I pose, whether it’s about writing, or character ideas, or an opinion sought.
And finally to my family, who have always believed in me and make it possible for me to pursue writing.
About the Author
Photo by Keyhole Photography
Angela Quarles is a RWA RITA® Winner and USA Today bestselling author of time travel, steampunk, and now contemporary romance. Her steampunk, Steam Me Up, Rawley, was named Best Self-Published Romance of 2015 by Library Journal and Must Love Chainmail won the 2016 RITA® Award in the paranormal category, the first indie to win in that category. Angela loves history, folklore, and family history. She decided to take this love of history and her active imagination and write stories of romance and adventure for others to enjoy. When not writing, she's either working at the local indie bookstore or enjoying the usual stuff like gardening, reading, hanging out, eating, drinking, chasing squirrels out of the walls, and creating the occasional knitted scarf.
She has a B.A. in Anthropology and International Studies with a minor in German from Emory University, and a Masters in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University. She was an exchange student to Finland in high school and studied abroad in Vienna one summer in college.
Find Angela Quarles Online:
www.angelaquarles.com
@angelaquarles
Facebook.com/authorangelaquarles
Mailing list: www.angelaquarles.com/join-my-mailing-list
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental, except where it is a matter of historical record.
EARNING IT
Copyright © 2017 Angela Trigg
Developmental editing by Jessa Slade
Line editing by Erynn Newman
Copy editing by Julie Glover
Unsealed Room Press
Mobile, Alabama
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Digital Edition 1.1.100
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Author's Note
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Earning It Page 15