Read Online The Impostor, A Love Story by Tiffany Carmouche - Free Book Online

restaurant. When he
received the bill, I glanced over out of curiosity to get an idea
what an evening like this would cost.
    Three-thousand, two-hundred dollars !
The champagne alone was five-hundred dollars a bottle. I hoped he
didn’t see me almost have a heart attack. I tried to act like I
hadn’t seen anything. How does a guy in his late twenties have over
three-thousand dollars for a meal? Ramen noodles were ten cents a
serving.
    “I have to go out of town on business for a
few days but would love to take you ladies out again when I return.
Maybe out on the horses.”
    “Give me a call when you get back, and we can
plan something,” Emily answered.
    “That’ll be wonderful.”
    As we were leaving the restaurant and he
stood waiting for his car, we started to worry that he had over an
hour drive and he had been drinking.
    “I don’t want to be rude or anything, but you
really shouldn’t drive all the way back to Wasilla tonight,” Emily
blurted out.
    “Are you inviting me over?”
    “No, but you should probably stay someplace
here in town just to be safe.” If he had three-thousand dollars for
a meal, he could get a cab and pay for a hotel room so he wouldn’t
have to drive drunk. Not that he staggered, but we were all a
little tipsy. We had four five-hundred-dollar bottles of champagne
after all.
    “Thank you for your concern. I’m staying in
town. I have a place here too.”
    Who is this guy ?
    “We will take a cab so you don’t have to go
out of your way. We had such a great time.” Emily leaned over and
kissed him on the cheek.
    “We did. Thank you for everything,” I agreed
and gave him a hug.
    “Are you ladies sure? I can get someone to
drive you.”
    “There is a cab right here,” she pointed.
“Thank you again.”
    Maybe I watched too many horror movies, but I
really didn’t want anyone knowing where we were staying. We took
the cab back to our motel with our little kitchenette.
    It was too late to call Jess. I picked her
picture off the dresser and gave it a kiss and then changed into a
nightshirt.
    I pulled the covers around me and turned on
my stomach to face Emily.
    “He is pretty amazing, isn’t he?”
    “He is, but he’s not really my type.”
    “Good looking, rich, funny . . . he’s not
like that idiot back home!”
    “What is wrong with me? I guess I’m a little
nervous.”
    “You deserve someone who treats you like this
guy does, Em. Besides, I see how you drool over him. Don’t lie. You
get flushed every time he looks at you.”
    “He is so sweet, and he’s got the cutest
dimples.” She started to turn red again. We each sprawled out on
our own bed discussing his attributes.
    “What about you? I saw you almost kiss
Brad.”
    “That was nothing, Em. He was just trying to
save me from that creep.”
    “Are you sure? I don’t know . . . it looked a
little like there was a connection.”
    “He’s just a great guy, a good friend, and
my boss . It really was nothing!”
    We both had already given our heart away to
guys who didn’t deserve it. We each had been crushed and didn’t
ever want to hurt like that again. As we chatted, we slowly drifted
off to sleep.

Chapter Eight
     
    “ To meaningful sex,” Dylan
toasted,
    winking at me again.
    ~The Impostor
     
    Walking in, we squinted—the bright afternoon
sun constricted our pupils, so our eyes had trouble adjusting to
the dark atmosphere of the bar at first. I made my way to the back
and tied on my apron and began taking orders. I saw Steve in the
corner of the room standing next to the heavyset man with fiery red
hair.
    “Hi, it’s Steve, isn’t it?” They had just
been seated.
    “Yes, it is. Good memory.” I saw the “big
tipper” sign he had plastered across his forehead.
    “Has anyone served you yet?”
    “No, we just got here.” I secretly hoped to
make another good tip from him. In his voice, I could hear a
southern drawl, but I couldn’t quite place it.
    “Do you know Officer Statton?”