All To Myself by Annemarie Hartnett Read Free Book Online Page B

she’d gone from wanting to keep him at bay to screwing around with him. The more she felt the lure of enjoying a summer fling with Noah Hyland, the less inclined she was to stick to her resolve to keep things from getting complicated.
    Tomorrow night, he’d asked, and she’d said maybe.
    Maybe?
    Probably?
    Definitely.
    She was going to sleep with him. She knew it as she scrubbed herself in the tiny shower. The fact that she shouldn’t seemed more like a suggestion than a fact.
    She shouldn’t , but she would.
    She would, and she would pretend that the end of summer wasn’t even a possibility.
     

Chapter Four
     
    Rory was late for work twice the next day, first to Garden View, though her apologies to Dawna were met with a dismissive wave of the hand, and then at The White Tip. She’d overslept that morning, and the afternoon flub had been because of road construction. She had jinxed herself by teasing Noah with it the day before. When she arrived at work, a scum of red dust and sweat had settled over her.
    She managed to evade Francie for fifteen minutes to get her wits about her, but when her sister appeared at the bar there was nowhere to hide.
    “Is this going to be a regular thing, Rory?”
    “There was construction. No one was getting through.”
    “And yet everyone managed to make it in time except for you.”
    Rory couldn’t help herself. “If I trade my bike in for a boat, will that make you happy?”
    “I can always find someone else to work the bar.”
    “Francie, I get it. I was late and you’re unhappy. Can we talk about this later?” she pleaded as a waiter, Tom, appeared with a large drink order. He took one look at Francie and turned on his heel. Whether it was to spare Rory the embarrassment of being dressed down in front of someone or if he didn’t want to stick around and be told his shirt wasn’t pressed enough, she had no idea.
    If only her sister would disappear as quickly.
    “Wednesday is going to be a big day for you, and for the entire dining room staff. Mr. Hyland’s son is going to be observing the service.”
    Rory held back her laugh. “I was under the impression that Noah was just going to be mixing drinks with me.”
    “ Noah doesn’t need to be stuck behind the bar when he can be learning about how to keep a five-star dining room running smoothly.”
    “Francie, you might want to run this past your boss, because I’m pretty sure Mr. Hyland wants his son to work, not observe.”
    Francie tilted her head and raised her barely-there brows. “Perhaps you would like to run the dining room.”
    “Sorry. My mistake. It’s just that he’s been doing all the dirty work for the last few days--”
    “As I was saying before you decided to argue with me,” Francie went on, angry pink splotches forming on her cheeks, “Young Mr. Hyland will be observing the dining service, and I’m sure he won’t hesitate to report any issues to his father. You will be on time, and you will keep the attitude in check. Am I clear?”
    “Crystal.” Rory just wished Francie would take her skinny ass away from the bar and possibly go back to whatever alien race had abducted and impregnated their mother almost thirty years ago.
    But Francie lingered, moving behind the bar to criticize its cleanliness and order. Rory just ignored her as she filled glasses with beer and wine. She enjoyed the obnoxious grinding of the blender as she mixed up a couple of daiquiris.
    Tom didn’t return until after Francie had moved along. He made a disgusted sound. “That woman is deranged.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    “When I came in yesterday she told me I needed to groom my eyebrows. Can you believe that? She suggested I get some clear mascara to keep them ‘shapely and aesthetically pleasing.’ I should have went back to the gas station this year.”
    She loaded his drink tray with a shrug. “Only a few more weeks.”
    “If she asks me to wax something, I’m quitting. I swear to God, I’m