Book Read Free

Love, Redefined: A Contemporary Romance Novel (Love Lessons Book 1)

Page 20

by Brynn North


  I stomped over to the fitting room, where the woman left a three-foot pile of rejected clothing that was going to take me at least an hour to sort through and hang back up. Two hours, if it got busy again, which seeing that Christmas was only three weeks away, was more than likely to happen any minute now.

  “Luciiiii,” I said in a sing-song voice as I channeled my inner John Lennon, hoping that singing might put me in a holiday mood. It did not work. Maybe I needed to switch to something more festive, like the Bieb’s Christmas album, though I had a hunch Luci would run straight out of the store if I did that. “I have three finals, a term paper, and an entire portfolio of recommendation letters and project examples to get ready for in the next month. Not to mention a job in a retail store. At Christmastime. Spit it out because I don’t have time for bullshit.”

  Luci turned around so fast I almost got secondhand whiplash. I didn’t trust the sly expression on her face and I narrowed my eyes at her.

  “You need recommendation letters and project examples?” Luci echoed, dropping the scarf she held. “For your PhD application?”

  “Yes…why?” My voice trailed off, and I blinked. Luci knew what I needed for my application. Always had. I had been working on finishing my master’s degree and aimed to get into the school’s PhD program for as long as we had known each other. I cast an eye on Mount Discard and, giving up, headed to my phone. To get through the rest of the pile, I was going to require some serious help of the caffeinated variety. I pulled up the app for Starbucks and started punching in my order. “What do you want?”

  “Well, I need help with—”

  “No, to drink.” I held up the phone and waved it at her. “But now I’m intrigued. And in a bad way.”

  “You’re ordering from the bar? I didn’t even know you could do that,” Luci gasped. “Oh my God. Did you really develop a drinking problem? Is school getting you down that bad?” Luci was already on her phone, and by the way she was frantically punching at the glass, I suspected she was searching Yelp reviews for the best rehab in the city.

  “Quit being so dramatic,” I demanded. “I’m ordering coffee. Not coffee martinis.”

  Luci’s face immediately brightened, and she dropped her phone back in her purse. I knew it. “You’re getting us Starbucks? Nice. I want a peppermint mocha.”

  “Don’t thank me too much. You gotta pick it up and the crowds will be crazy. But I have better things to do.” I nodded to the pile of clothes waiting for me as I finished up our order. I added an extra big tip, feeling sorry for the throngs of mall shoppers the baristas had to deal with. “Now spit it out.”

  “IneedyourhelpatEastVillage.” Luci said it in a rush. I had to strain to decipher her word vomit.

  “Wait, did you say you needed help?”

  Luci volunteered at the East Village Senior Living Center and loved it. While I applauded her efforts, I didn’t have a second to spare to do any volunteering. Something that Luci should know. I was bogged down with school and work the way it was. I let out a short sigh, thinking of some of my fellow students my age. Unlike most of them, I plotted out every dime and hour I had, needing to stay on top of my game to keep my scholarship and pay my bills. Hell, I couldn’t even imagine having some mysterious benefactor referred to as “dad” who paid things like rent or tuition. Usually, it was I fending off my mother’s requests for ‘just a few bucks’ to tide her over until the next payday, which rarely came since she was too busy getting fired to maintain a stable job. I often wished I had one extra paycheck. One cushion to help me not be so nervous at the end of every month when the bills were due.

  Luci started pacing, and I started wishing that the coffee could be delivered via drone. Intravenously would be even better.

  “Yes. I need help organizing Santa for Seniors this year. I want to make it bigger and better than last year’s part. I’d love to see a season-long event, since winter is so depressing, especially for older folks. I’m thinking of an outreach program to help out in the community and that type of thing throughout the season. It’ll take a lot of work.”

  I was already backing up toward Mount Discard, hands held in front of me. “Oh, no. I admire what you’re doing, but could me out. I don’t have the time. Too much to do.” I gestured to the pile behind me. “Starting with this.” I felt bad for older folks in senior centers and all, with limited things to do, but I didn’t have space to help.

  “That’s unfortunate,” Luci said craftily, and for the second time since she stepped inside the door to the boutique, my suspicious rose. “Because the center director loved the idea and told me since it’s such an extensive project that there would be a stipend in it for someone to develop it. A thousand bucks, I think. I don’t really need the money, now that I moved in with Alex, and you’d probably do a better job anyway, being that you’re a soon-to-be psychologist doc and all. I wonder if the director would even give you a good letter of recommendation. You never know…and I guess we never will.”

  With a saucy wink, Luci ran out the door to pick up our drinks. For the second time in less than half an hour, I stared at someone leaving my store through the glass.

  “Shit.”

 

 

 


‹ Prev