“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 to her carefully. 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 and looked 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 nervously at Roxy.
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.
###
CUTTING LOOSE
By Charity Hillis
Coming Fall 2015
Table of Contents
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
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Copyright
A Note from the Author
Coming Soon: Cutting Loose
Midnight Run Page 13