How Sweet It Is by Melissa Brayden Read Free Book Online Page B

it.”
    “Oh, of course. Go right ahead. I can wait. Don’t mind waiting.” So she was a babbling fool, but Heather was attractive and charming and well-spoken. Who wouldn’t have been?
    It was then that Heather pressed a button on her phone and switched into take-charge mode. “Hi, Sal, yeah, I need in on the Celtics/Knicks action. I’ll take the Celtics for a dime.” Pause. She looked furious. “Just extend my credit, you asshole! I’m good for it. Don’t do this to me, Sal.” Pause. “Forget it. I’ll call Jimmy. Oh, and, Sal? Fuck you .” She placed the phone back in her purse, turned back to Molly, and assumed the same serene smile from several moments prior. “Anyway. Yes, next week will be about tying up loose ends at the office.”
    Molly tried to pick up the conversation, really she did, but the person she’d just watched take that call was pretty much terrifying and not at all who she’d just had dinner with. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to get off topic”—she gestured tentatively to the phone—“but is everything all right?”
    Heather sighed. “It will be in a minute. Do you mind if I just…” She picked up her phone and pointed before proceeding to dial.
    Molly raised her eyebrows and slowly went back to her chicken, doing her damndest to ignore the incredibly loud warning sirens going off in her head.
    “Sammy, it’s Heather. I need the Celtics for a dime. You know what, on second thought, make it three.” Pause. “You’re the greatest. Just put it on my tab. I can settle with you in a week or so. I should have some cash coming in if all goes well with the playoffs on Sunday. Ciao.” She leaned into Molly and practically purred. “Now where were we?
    Molly shook her head slowly in wonder. “I couldn’t tell you if I wanted to. Are you into…gambling?”
    Heather held her thumb and forefinger close together. “A minor hobby. Excuse me, sir?” she asked a passing busboy. “Can you get me the Lakers score?”
    He leaned in discreetly. “Two minutes ago they were down by twelve.”
    “Damn it!” she screamed at the room in general, inciting several glares from nearby tables. She grabbed for her phone and dialed angrily. “Bobby, can you get me the halftime betting lines? Now, asshole!” Molly wanted to die. To crawl under the table and die. Instead, she signaled the waiter for the check.
    As she signed the credit card slip for both of their meals, Heather leaned in flirtatiously. “So explain to me how a woman as attractive and seemingly intelligent as you is still single?”
    Molly sighed and set down the pen. “You know what? Single’s not so bad.”
    Later that night, as Molly replayed the details of the date that had gone so terribly wrong, she wondered if it was some sort of sign that it was a bad idea. And for whatever reason, there was comfort in that. Her life wasn’t so bad, she reminded herself. She had her routine, her small group of friends and her family. That should be enough.
    She checked the time. It was late and she was opening the next morning, but she knew what she wanted to do before bed. She snuggled under a blanket on the couch and reached for the remote. Images of their trip to Jamaica, hers and Cassie’s, flickered across her television, and she sighed into the comfort the home video provided. It was her go-to and she stole moments with it whenever she could.
    “Why are you looking at me like that?” Molly asked from behind the camera. Cassie sat on a beach towel in the sand.
    “Because you’re adorable when you’re concentrating on working that thing.” The breeze caught her blond hair and lifted it. “Put that thing down and come in the water with me. We can stay where it’s shallow if you want.”
    “Wait. Say where we are and what we’re doing first.”
    Cassie smiled and looked straight into the camera. Because she couldn’t help herself, Molly paused the video and stared at the frozen image. The room was silent as Cassie smiled