Her Name Is Trouble: A small-town contemporary romance (The Daimsbury Chronicles Book 2)

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Book: Her Name Is Trouble: A small-town contemporary romance (The Daimsbury Chronicles Book 2) by Zee Monodee Read Free Book Online
Authors: Zee Monodee
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Finn started with the offensive.
    “So you’re the new doc,” he said. “What made you decide to come to this backseat of nowhere place?”
    Liz seemed to paste on a smile. “I...I grew up here.”
    “No! Seriously?” Finn pounced on the admission, as expected. “Let me think... Wait, now that you mention it... I know you! Liz Gusberti, right?”
    She nodded.
    Finn got up and climbed with his knees onto the table to go to her and kiss her cheeks in welcome. Then he returned to his seat while a bemused Liz stared back at him.
    “Tell you something. That Dr. Burns scared the living crap out of me. Always thought she had a broom up her arse. Anyone know why she left?”
    “She went to Tibet, it see—you have got to be facking kidding me!” Liz exclaimed. “That sure ain’t an offside, you moron!” she yelled at the screen that had zoomed on the referee for the game.
    Stunned silence graced the table, before the men relaxed and joined right in with the commentary about the game.
    Luke smiled; Liz had just become one of the lads with her outburst. He’d done good to bring her in.
    While the others debated the merits of each pass on the pitch, he nursed his beer and let his thoughts wander back to Missy.
    She’d cut herself to feel, she said... He’d yearned to make her feel in a different way, in a manner that wouldn’t hurt her, and that had been when he’d kissed her.
    He had to admit being with her had felt more than good. No evading this fact. Missy had given herself to him, opened up and shown who she was, with everything bared. How much honesty and trust did it take for someone to do that? Not to forget the life she had lived. She’d admitted to having been homeless and without food for days. Her fortitude and strength of character amazed as much as it humbled him. That young woman had wrapped steel around her inner fragility, and just knowing her made him want to be a better person, to be honest about all he was...
    No more hiding. He was who he was, and definitely not the suave and sophisticated, man-slutty image he projected off his pictures.
    So Luke took a deep breath. “Guys, I have something to say.”
    They might all laugh at him, but he was done with living behind secrets. These people here were his closest friends; he had to cut it with them.
    The table fell silent and hung on to his next words. Could he do this?
    “I...I still watch SpongeBob ,” he blurted.
    Stunned looks greeted him. That’s it. They’d think him a weirdo. He was twenty-eight, for God’s sake. Well beyond the age to have a fixation for cartoons.
    Finn shook his head. Bad sign...until the hairdresser started singing the first notes of a tune any SpongeBob fan would know—the Goofy Goober song.
    Luke laughed, then he joined in. As their voices grew in crescendo when even Patrick joined them after an elbow nudge from his twin, the din of chatter in the pub lowered. Perfect—they’d outed themselves as freaks.
    But who cared? A twenty-something young woman had lost everything she had at one point but had still managed to make something of her life, all on her own. They all needed to remain true to themselves.
    Someone inside the pub joined into the song, and before long, the whole room rang with squeaky voices trying to emulate the yellow talking sponge’s high pitch.
    As they brought the tune to a close, Luke threw his head back and laughed.
    This was home...and it had taken someone who’d transplanted here to show him that.
    Missy. There was more to her than what he’d seen already, and he couldn’t wait to find out the rest. Strings attached, this time...

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    Missy stood on her doorstep that Saturday morning, on her way to work, when a Ford Focus stopped in front of the shop and a short, chubby woman with cropped blonde hair came out of the car.
    Evelyn Morelli waved at her as she made her way to the wooden gate and into the small garden leading to Missy’s door. In her hand, she held the

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