Read Online Catch of a Lifetime: A Cricket Creek Novel by Luann McLane - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Luann McLane
Ads: Link
judgment, but come on. . . . Except for a sleek silver Audi, a white van with grammar’s bakery paintedon the side, and a shiny red corvette, the rest of the parking lot was pretty much filled with pickup trucks and motorcycles. Not exactly her kind of place.
Bella looked down at her now-dusty sandals and sighed.
When Madison had said
casual attire
, Bella had chosen the plain black sheath and added a deep red shrug for a pop of color. The studded sling-backs added a bit of a funky flair and height to her mere five-foot-three-inch stature. By looking at the neon Budweiser beer sign, Bella guessed that she was way over-the-top for Sully’s Tavern, but she was already late, so digging through her suitcase for jeans wasn’t an option.
“Damn,” she grumbled, and swallowed hard. She was clearly overdressed and out of her element. It wasn’t that she was intimidated or scared. Bella was pretty much fearless when it came to handling herself, and even when she was afraid, she could put on a pretty good show of pretending otherwise. But she was tired from the five-hour drive from Chicago that had turned into more than six, due to getting lost twice, even with the GPS her mother had forced her to use. Ironically, it was her mother’s fault for calling her every single hour to ask how she was doing, causing her to miss a turn twice, causing the snooty, know-it-all GPS voice to implore, “If possible, make a legal U-turn.”
Oh, and how was she doing?
Well, she was doing crappy!
Discovering her sous-chef boyfriend was cheating right under her nose with a waitress at Chicago Blue had resulted in a dessert-tray food fight that had gotten Bella fired. Not that she cared. A cherry tart smashed in the face of her cheating ex held a certain amount of satisfying irony. Plus, the nut-job head chef who replaced Jessica Robinson had turned the menu into an overpriced, pretentious hot mess that created a very real hell’s kitchen. They could have seriously been a reality show. Oh, and since she lived with Dastardly Ex-boyfriend David, she was now officially jobless and homeless. Wasn’t that just peachy?
“Fun times,” Bella muttered under her breath while staring at the front door of Sully’s Tavern. Her mother, who’d never liked David anyway, said this was the perfect opportunity for Bella to use her marketing degree to help her mother take her online jewelry business, Designs by Diamante, to the next level and open a real brick-and-mortar store, but Bella was afraid that in this tough economy, the timing might be off.
“Well, hell.” She had thought of nothing other than her troubles for the past six hours, but she inhaled a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Lively dance music spilled out into the parking lot, and the neon Budweiser sign seemed to be winking at her in silent invitation. Plus, she dearly wanted to see Madison and meet this Jason Craig cowboy, or whatever he was, that she was engaged to. And, oh, how she missed strong and steady Jessica, who was like a mom and friend rolled into one sweet package. While Bella loved her mother, Nicolina Diamante tended to get emotional when Bella needed someone to just simply understand. Jessica Robinson was an amazingly levelheaded listener.
Although they hadn’t talked much in the past few months, Facebook had allowed Bella to keep in touch with Madison, and she had followed the progress of Wine and Diner and the construction of the baseball complex. In truth, she would never in a million years have thought her friends would have ended up back in this small town to stay, but she had learned a hard lesson lately that life could take some unexpected twists and turns. She sighed again and stiffened her spine. Yes, she was going to have to buck up and head on into the party. And Madison had mentioned that the owner made a kick-ass martini, something she could really use right about now. But when she looked up at the rustic exterior, she had some serious doubts, and
Bella looked down at her now-dusty sandals and sighed.
When Madison had said
casual attire
, Bella had chosen the plain black sheath and added a deep red shrug for a pop of color. The studded sling-backs added a bit of a funky flair and height to her mere five-foot-three-inch stature. By looking at the neon Budweiser beer sign, Bella guessed that she was way over-the-top for Sully’s Tavern, but she was already late, so digging through her suitcase for jeans wasn’t an option.
“Damn,” she grumbled, and swallowed hard. She was clearly overdressed and out of her element. It wasn’t that she was intimidated or scared. Bella was pretty much fearless when it came to handling herself, and even when she was afraid, she could put on a pretty good show of pretending otherwise. But she was tired from the five-hour drive from Chicago that had turned into more than six, due to getting lost twice, even with the GPS her mother had forced her to use. Ironically, it was her mother’s fault for calling her every single hour to ask how she was doing, causing her to miss a turn twice, causing the snooty, know-it-all GPS voice to implore, “If possible, make a legal U-turn.”
Oh, and how was she doing?
Well, she was doing crappy!
Discovering her sous-chef boyfriend was cheating right under her nose with a waitress at Chicago Blue had resulted in a dessert-tray food fight that had gotten Bella fired. Not that she cared. A cherry tart smashed in the face of her cheating ex held a certain amount of satisfying irony. Plus, the nut-job head chef who replaced Jessica Robinson had turned the menu into an overpriced, pretentious hot mess that created a very real hell’s kitchen. They could have seriously been a reality show. Oh, and since she lived with Dastardly Ex-boyfriend David, she was now officially jobless and homeless. Wasn’t that just peachy?
“Fun times,” Bella muttered under her breath while staring at the front door of Sully’s Tavern. Her mother, who’d never liked David anyway, said this was the perfect opportunity for Bella to use her marketing degree to help her mother take her online jewelry business, Designs by Diamante, to the next level and open a real brick-and-mortar store, but Bella was afraid that in this tough economy, the timing might be off.
“Well, hell.” She had thought of nothing other than her troubles for the past six hours, but she inhaled a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Lively dance music spilled out into the parking lot, and the neon Budweiser sign seemed to be winking at her in silent invitation. Plus, she dearly wanted to see Madison and meet this Jason Craig cowboy, or whatever he was, that she was engaged to. And, oh, how she missed strong and steady Jessica, who was like a mom and friend rolled into one sweet package. While Bella loved her mother, Nicolina Diamante tended to get emotional when Bella needed someone to just simply understand. Jessica Robinson was an amazingly levelheaded listener.
Although they hadn’t talked much in the past few months, Facebook had allowed Bella to keep in touch with Madison, and she had followed the progress of Wine and Diner and the construction of the baseball complex. In truth, she would never in a million years have thought her friends would have ended up back in this small town to stay, but she had learned a hard lesson lately that life could take some unexpected twists and turns. She sighed again and stiffened her spine. Yes, she was going to have to buck up and head on into the party. And Madison had mentioned that the owner made a kick-ass martini, something she could really use right about now. But when she looked up at the rustic exterior, she had some serious doubts, and
Similar Books
