Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
I highly doubted she had a bad side, but if she did, lord help the person who got on it.
“How’s work treating you?” I asked Brad once I sat down and ordered lunch.
“Going well,” he said.
“What is it you do again?” I asked, sipping my iced tea.
Brad laughed, shaking his head. “It’s not that complicated. I’m an investor.”
“For like a dozen different things,” I said. “How am I supposed to remember all that? Let alone understand it.”
“I mainly invest in real estate,” he said. “Flipping houses, estates, corporations, whatever I think is a good deal.”
“That I got,” I said. “But wasn’t there a company or something you recently bought?”
He nodded. “I buy and sell companies sometimes too.”
“What about products?” I asked because I honestly couldn’t remember. We’d grown close over the last few weeks, but the way he made money would likely always be a little fuzzy to me. I mean, he didn’t do any one thing so it was hard to grasp sometimes.
“I’ve had people reach out,” he said, tearing into his chicken after the waitress set down our food. “But I haven’t found that special line of product that I think could be a real money maker.”
“And it’s always about the money, right?” I asked.
“Not always,” he said. “I mean, yes, I have to see something as profitable or there’s no point investing in it. But, if I found something I really believed in, something I wanted to back because I believed in the business, then I would take on a little risk to do it.”
“Makes sense,” I said, smiling before taking another bite of salmon. “So work is good then,” I said, circling back to the beginning of our conversation.
He laughed again. “Yes,” he said. “And so is yours, I can see.” He motioned with his fork to my uniform.
“It really is,” I said. “I love it here.”
Like, really, really loved it here. I could easily see myself being content to do just this forever. When I was young, all I wanted to do was travel and study different cultures, but I’d done quite a lot of that and now I felt content to just be. Besides, there was always the future for any more historical research endeavors I wanted to do, and I definitely would work on some charities with Sephie—we’d already talked about focusing efforts for those in need in Charleston—but that wasn’t what drove me.
This place did.
This new life did.
I was happy to come to work at Lyla’s, and I was happy to volunteer with Jim.
And I was even happier to go to bed with him every night.
So happy I could see myself asking him if he might want to—
One day at a time.
Right.
I stopped my fantastical thoughts in their tracks, knowing it was way too soon to even begin going down that path. I’d rushed into marriages before and they never ended well. That mainly had to do with my choice of men and the partying we’d done, but still.
“What are you up to the rest of the day?” I asked Brad after we’d finished our meals and it was almost time for my shift.
“I’ve managed to coax my best friend for a night out,” he said, following me up to the counter where Lyla had just set out her tray of try-me desserts for dinner service.
“Oh, who is the mystery BFF?” I asked.
“That’d be me,” a female said behind me, and I spun around to see…
“Luna!” I said, smiling at the owner of Luna’s Boutique.
“How are you, Anne?” she asked, offering me a kind smile when she stopped next to Brad.
“Wait,” he said. “How do you two know each other?”
“I made her sister’s wedding dress,” Luna said, then tilted her head at him. “Why?” she asked, nudging him. “You afraid I’ve told her all your dirty little secrets?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Brad has secrets?” I laughed.
Luna nodded exaggeratedly. “Big time,” she said.
Brad jerked her into a side hug, shaking his head as he looked down at her. “If you tell, I tell,” he said, cocking an eyebrow at her. “Remember that.”
“You’re a menace,” she said, shoving him off, but there was a laughter in her eyes that was pretty hard to miss. “Are we heading out?”
“In just a second,” Brad said. “I’ve got to try these samples.”
Luna rolled her eyes as Brad ogled the plate of treats, trying to pick out the best one.
“How long have you known this one?” I asked, nodding to Brad.
“All my life,” she said, shrugging.
“She’s been stuck with me since we were ten,” Brad explained.
I furrowed my brow, trying to remember if I’d ever seen her at any of the charity functions but coming up blank. I’d feel like a jerk if I’d somehow forgotten her—
“Family friends,” he continued, still scanning the plate of samples. “Not the kind that went to your father’s functions—”