Read Online Her Name Is Trouble: A small-town contemporary romance (The Daimsbury Chronicles Book 2) by Zee Monodee - Free Book Online
Authors: Zee Monodee
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will be expected to throw in his or her weight.”
Missy bit her lip. Why would her father be doing all of this? She needed to know—
No, she didn’t. Knowing him, this would simply be another idea he’d make the world believe he’d spearheaded; she’d be nothing more than the broodmare bearing the keys to the company being offered to Blake Townsend if she ever went back.
Luke’s cell phone rang, shattering the atmosphere. He scrambled out of the bed to go find his pants in the front room. After a terse conversation on the line, he pulled on the garment and addressed her.
“Cade Kingston just got in, and they need me to go through logistics for the shoot.”
She nodded.
“You run ahead.” A glance at the clock showed her ten a.m. “I need to go up to the restaurant, anyway. Lunch shift.”
After putting on his t-shirt and his shoes, he walked back to the bed and reached out to touch her cheek.
“Missy, listen—”
She knew what he’d say. They’d had one night, and that’s all it would amount to. She placed her hand over his where he cradled her jaw and smiled up at him. “Last night was perfect, but no strings attached, Luke.”
He seemed confused for a second, then he nodded and dropped his hand. After pressing a kiss to her forehead, he left.
Missy let herself fall back onto the bed and she clutched a pillow to her hard. So many revelations in the wake of Luke popping into her life. What was she to do now?
***
The rest of the day passed by in a blur for Luke, and only when he sat at a pub table nursing a bottle of Green’s Endeavour beer—gluten-free stuff that George Bennett had procured specially for him—did he pause long enough to think back on his night with Missy.
Something had taken over him when she’d confessed to the self-mutilation. His heart had bled for her sorrow, for the desperation and sadness he’d seen on her face. Then again this morning, when he’d looked into her eyes bare of any makeup. Strings had tugged inside him, and he’d wanted to open the book of his life in front of her and be more than just physically naked in her presence. Yes, he’d loved their night together, but more than just sexual relief, it had felt different with her.
Almost like coming home...
Was he going insane?
The noise level at the table where he sat with Cade and another friend, Terry Gilliam, went up a few notches as twin brothers Finn and Patrick Burley joined them. Trust the local hairdressers to be the life of every gathering—Finn could talk the hind leg off a donkey while Patrick mostly sat back and observed.
He made the presentations since Terry didn’t know the locals. A Londoner, he’d come to Daimsbury to be around Agneta Trammell, pregnant with his baby though the two had dated only sporadically a few months prior. Luke had met the England Three Lions’ football player in some charity circles.
Finn plopped himself down in the booth and chugged some beer. “So, Gilliam, that transfer to Ashton Rovers is a done deal or what?”
Terry proved a good sport; the buzz around this negotiation hung on everyone’s lips. “If the hamstring cooperates.”
“Damn, bloody luck, eh,” Finn continued. “You’d easily have made that international line up for today’s game otherwise.”
Terry pointed at the screen where the England game was starting with his beer bottle. “Sometimes, it’s good just to be a spectator.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke spotted Liz Wallace coming in. The pub lay packed and she wouldn’t find a seat. So he waved her over then turned to his mates.
“You blokes don’t mind an addition? I’d love for you to meet Liz.”
She’d joined them by then, a pink blush on her round cheeks. “Luke, I don’t think this is a good idea—”
“Nonsense,” Cade barked.
No one dared go against the Jamaican man with the long dreads when he became so vociferous.
Liz thus found herself sandwiched between Cade and Terry. Across the booth,
Missy bit her lip. Why would her father be doing all of this? She needed to know—
No, she didn’t. Knowing him, this would simply be another idea he’d make the world believe he’d spearheaded; she’d be nothing more than the broodmare bearing the keys to the company being offered to Blake Townsend if she ever went back.
Luke’s cell phone rang, shattering the atmosphere. He scrambled out of the bed to go find his pants in the front room. After a terse conversation on the line, he pulled on the garment and addressed her.
“Cade Kingston just got in, and they need me to go through logistics for the shoot.”
She nodded.
“You run ahead.” A glance at the clock showed her ten a.m. “I need to go up to the restaurant, anyway. Lunch shift.”
After putting on his t-shirt and his shoes, he walked back to the bed and reached out to touch her cheek.
“Missy, listen—”
She knew what he’d say. They’d had one night, and that’s all it would amount to. She placed her hand over his where he cradled her jaw and smiled up at him. “Last night was perfect, but no strings attached, Luke.”
He seemed confused for a second, then he nodded and dropped his hand. After pressing a kiss to her forehead, he left.
Missy let herself fall back onto the bed and she clutched a pillow to her hard. So many revelations in the wake of Luke popping into her life. What was she to do now?
***
The rest of the day passed by in a blur for Luke, and only when he sat at a pub table nursing a bottle of Green’s Endeavour beer—gluten-free stuff that George Bennett had procured specially for him—did he pause long enough to think back on his night with Missy.
Something had taken over him when she’d confessed to the self-mutilation. His heart had bled for her sorrow, for the desperation and sadness he’d seen on her face. Then again this morning, when he’d looked into her eyes bare of any makeup. Strings had tugged inside him, and he’d wanted to open the book of his life in front of her and be more than just physically naked in her presence. Yes, he’d loved their night together, but more than just sexual relief, it had felt different with her.
Almost like coming home...
Was he going insane?
The noise level at the table where he sat with Cade and another friend, Terry Gilliam, went up a few notches as twin brothers Finn and Patrick Burley joined them. Trust the local hairdressers to be the life of every gathering—Finn could talk the hind leg off a donkey while Patrick mostly sat back and observed.
He made the presentations since Terry didn’t know the locals. A Londoner, he’d come to Daimsbury to be around Agneta Trammell, pregnant with his baby though the two had dated only sporadically a few months prior. Luke had met the England Three Lions’ football player in some charity circles.
Finn plopped himself down in the booth and chugged some beer. “So, Gilliam, that transfer to Ashton Rovers is a done deal or what?”
Terry proved a good sport; the buzz around this negotiation hung on everyone’s lips. “If the hamstring cooperates.”
“Damn, bloody luck, eh,” Finn continued. “You’d easily have made that international line up for today’s game otherwise.”
Terry pointed at the screen where the England game was starting with his beer bottle. “Sometimes, it’s good just to be a spectator.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke spotted Liz Wallace coming in. The pub lay packed and she wouldn’t find a seat. So he waved her over then turned to his mates.
“You blokes don’t mind an addition? I’d love for you to meet Liz.”
She’d joined them by then, a pink blush on her round cheeks. “Luke, I don’t think this is a good idea—”
“Nonsense,” Cade barked.
No one dared go against the Jamaican man with the long dreads when he became so vociferous.
Liz thus found herself sandwiched between Cade and Terry. Across the booth,
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