WhiskeyBottleLover by Robin Leigh Miller Read Free Book Online

His experience with wishes showed the greedy
side of people.
    “What will your first wish be?” He hated asking. It meant
stepping closer to being locked up in the bottle again. Still, she had a life
to live and he needed to move forward in his search to find the right person to
wish him free.
    “I don’t know. I never wished for anything.”
    Hayes laughed. “Sure you have. Everyone wishes for
somethin’. New clothes, a bigger house, more money, love.”
    “Nope. I learned very young if you wanted something, you did
what you had to do to get it. I can’t recall a time when I actually sat down
and wished for something.”
    “Not even a family to call your own?”
    Without missing a beat, she responded, “Nope. I do a good
job taking care of myself. I don’t need anyone. As for a house, I like this
one. It’s simple, cozy and suits me. Clothes have never been my thing and money
is only a state of mind as far as I’m concerned. As for love, never experienced
it so like you said, you can’t miss what you never had.”
    Well, hell. He never ran into anyone this content with their
life. “You have to make three wishes, Chance.”
    “I’ll think about it.” She leaned back in her chair and put
her slim hand over her flat tummy. “I’m stuffed. Thank you for the cake. I
haven’t indulged like that in a long time.”
    “You’re welcome.” This had to be the first time anyone
showed appreciation for something he’d done.
    Chance rose from the table, took her glass of wine, wandered
into the living room and sat on the couch. Hayes took care of the dishes and
covered the cake so they could enjoy it later. Unsure what to do next, he
strolled into the other room.
    “Mind if I join you?”
    “What happens if I don’t make a wish?” she asked, motioning
for him to sit. “I mean, what if let you out and simply walk away? What happens
to you?”
    The knowledge rushed from his invisible shackles, filling
his brain with the consequences. He would fade into oblivion and she would be
forced to take his place. His miserable existence would end but hers would
simply begin. “Nothin’ pleasant for either of us,” he muttered.
    “Tell me, I want to know.”
    Curious as to how she would react, he answered, “I would
fade into oblivion, poof, gone.”
    Chance frowned. “That sucks.”
    “For me, yeah. I may not enjoy this life but the hope of
bein’ free keeps me goin’.”
    “You can be freed?”
    Did he detect a hint of excitement in her voice? “Yep.”
    “How?”
    Hayes shook his head. “Don’t matter, Chance. It’ll never
happen so I don’t think about it.” Lying left a sour taste in his mouth,
especially with her, but he’d gone the route of high hopes and the crash, well,
he didn’t like how it felt. “Ya know, if you have things to do I won’t take
offense if you do them. Pretend like I’m not here, that is until you’ve decided
on your wishes.”
    She sat her wineglass down and ran her hands through her
hair. He liked the way it fell in a silky cascade, the way the light shimmered
off the auburn highlights, a truly beautiful woman with many assets. In his
time she’d be married to the wealthiest man, living a good life and wanting for
nothing. Yet here she lived alone and quite content with her life.
    “You keep staring at me and it’s making me fidgety,” she
muttered.
    “My apologies. I can’t help but marvel at the way women have
changed over the years.” He especially liked the way the clothing had evolved.
Women in this time wore tight-fitting shirts and trousers that accentuated
their bodies. Chance had a very pleasing body. How long had it been since he
held a soft woman against his hard, haggard one? Too damn many years. Best not
dwell on that, it would only frustrate him further.
    Needing to remove himself from her presence for a bit, Hayes
stood, stretched his legs and shoved his hands down into the pockets of his
jeans. “Think I’ll do a little explorin’ for a while.