Read Online Destiny by chance: A Contemporary Romance Fiction Novel by Margaret Ferguson - Free Book Online Page B

out of there.
    When Bill returned with the sodas, Lisa smiled.  “Is Owen around?”
    “Owen!” Bill yelled over his shoulder; then he looked at the women.  “Sorry,” he said more quietly.  “Intercom’s broken.”
    Lisa nodded, looking over Bill’s shoulder.
    A nice looking man, wearing a dress shirt and pressed slacks, looked around the corner and smiled.  “Hey, Lisa!” 
    Owen walked toward them, wiping his hands on a dishrag.  Destiny thought he was a little over-dressed for being in such a dive.  He smiled at the women before he simply pushed Bill, full-armed, out of the way.  A perplexed Bill fell into the wall.  It was quite comical.  Destiny had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.  Lisa showed no restraint and laughed out loud.
    Bill recovered after a moment and resumed his duties.  “Anything else?”
    Lisa looked up at the menu board, then shook her head.  “No offense but nothing really looks good.”
    “None taken.” Bill took Lisa’s money, his eyes on Destiny.
    Owen furrowed his brow.  “I take offense.  I wrote the menu.”  He smiled at the women, turning his full attention to Destiny.  “So, you’re the little lady that Lisa’s been talking about all these months?”
    Destiny shrugged.  He was as nice looking as Lisa had described.  However, she kept finding herself casting an occasional glance at Bill as Owen spoke.  He looked like he’d been in a prize fight; a swollen nose, dark bruising under his eyes.  Despite his injury, he had kind eyes and a friendly smile.  Owen walked around the bar counter to get a closer look at Destiny.
    “Lisa didn’t exaggerate when she said you were adorable.”
    Destiny blushed again, not sure how to respond.
    Owen motioned for her to step away from the counter so that they wouldn’t be blocking the line of impatient bingo players anxious to get back to their game.  “Why haven’t I seen you in here before?”
    Destiny looked down as she walked.  She shrugged again.  “Friday night is usually my night to unwind,” she said, hoping it was enough.
    “Nothing like unwinding with a bunch of old farts that have nothing better to do.” When she didn’t say anything else, he added, “Well, I’m glad you finally came.  I think you’ll see that these guys just want a little company.  It’s their chance to get out.  They get a free, healthy meal.  It’s kind of like a reverse Meals on Wheels.”  Owen smiled.  “Get it?  Reverse Meals on Wheels?  They come to us?”
    Destiny nodded at his lame attempt at humor.  “Got it.”  She drew in a deep breath and looked around for Lisa, realizing she had conveniently disappeared.  “It was really nice meeting you, Owen,” she smiled and held up her hands with the cups in them.  “I really need to get these to Ralph and Harry.”
    Owen seemed disappointed, but he pasted a smile on his face.  He held out his hand, looked down at hers and realized her hands were full so moved his hand to her elbow and shook it. “I’ll check in on you after awhile,” he winked.
    “See you around.”  Destiny grinned, then turned and grimaced as she quickly walked away.
    Lisa appeared from nowhere and took her arm as they walked to their table together.
    “Don’t ever do that to me again,” Destiny said flatly. 
    “You didn’t like him?”
    “He was nice enough,” Destiny conceded.  “But I told you before, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to date again.”  She drew in a deep breath.  “ Ever .”
    Lisa pulled her to a stop.  “Sweetie, I don’t care if you ever date again.  Ever ,” she stressed.  “Honest.  I just want you to meet people.”
    “I meet people.” 
    “Where?  Where do you meet people?”
    Destiny hesitated.  “The grocery store,” she replied, fumbling.  “The mall.”
    Lisa scoffed.  “When was the last time you went to a mall?”
    Destiny felt cornered.  “Umm, just last week?”
    Lisa took the cups of soda from her and