Ready or Not by Melissa Brayden Read Free Book Online Page B

just been busy.
    “So where’d you learn to tend bar?” the blond friend, Brooklyn, asked. “Because I’ve never seen anyone more in command of that place than when you showed up back there. It’s fun to watch you work.”
    “It’s impressive. She’s right,” Sam added.
    Hunter nodded. “And it gets her more attention than anyone in the place. Half those girls show up for the hot bar back. Speaking of which, excuse me for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
    Hope shook her head. “Not true. But to answer your question,” she said, addressing Brooklyn. “I started small, learning everything I could as I went. My first job was behind the bar at this little dive in Queens before I moved to a dive downtown, and then a bit of a nicer place uptown. I put in my time and learned all the tricks before steadily working my way up.”
    “And then you were hired at Showplace?” Mallory asked, joining their group. “Is that what happens next in the story?”
    And there was the white dress again with sexy curves peeking out, her skin flawless and with the addition of a tan. Hope bit back the thought and realized she’d lost the question. “I’m sorry?”
    “You were hired at Showplace after that?” Mallory said.
    “Right. No. No, sorry. Not exactly—”
    But Hope didn’t have time to finish her answer, as a waiter emerged from the house with a tray of shots and the bottle of rum she’d given Mallory. Hunter stood on the top step, looking down on the deck of partygoers and called for everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, gentlemen and ladies and whoever the hell else you are, we are lucky enough to have a true connoisseur of spirits with us tonight. My friend, Hope, is a kick-ass bartender from Soho, and she’s brought us a special sample from a gem of a distillery in the Caribbean. So grab a shot of rum as it goes by and let’s toast to a fantastic night and maybe get a little drunk together.”
    And just like that, the guests broke into applause, and a few glances were tossed her way, which made Hope a little self-conscious. She wasn’t one for the spotlight, so she smiled and nodded, feeling the blush touch her cheeks until she lowered her head in escape. “You so didn’t have to do that,” she said to Hunter, who rejoined them, distributing shots to their group.
    “Yes, I did. You’re awesome and so is your rum. I know because I tried some inside.” She bounced her eyebrows and slid her arm around Samantha.
    As the others downed the rum, which wasn’t exactly cheap, Mallory sipped from her glass as if it were some kind of unfortunate insecticide. “It’s very good,” she said to Hope in a less than convincing tone. What was with this girl anyway? She didn’t cut loose very easily. That much was clear.
    “You could just toss it back, you know,” Hope said. “For the full experience.”
    Mallory raised her gaze. “Yeah, I’m not really a ‘toss it back’ kinda girl.”
    “A shame,” Hope said and downed her own shot. “You must miss out on a lot.”
    “Not really,” Mallory fired back. “There’s more than one way to have fun.”
    “Yeah? How do you like to have a good time?” Mallory was pretentious, that much she was learning, but she was also kind of fun to mess with because of it. Her friends on the other hand were watching the exchange as if it were a difficult tennis match.
    “I’m kind of a private person, if you don’t mind.”
    Hope set her empty shot glass on a passing waiter’s tray and held up both hands. “I don’t mind at all.”
    Samantha, who looked a little traumatized, jumped in to save the day. “So when did you discover this little distillery? I happen to love this stuff.”
    “Last year,” Hope told her. “I’d heard rumors about the place and wanted to find out for myself, so I took a little business excursion.”
    “I didn’t know bartenders took business trips,” Mallory said, a perfect smile in place. She was still sipping the