Page 98

“Her car? I don’t know. Maybe she’s crashing at Alanna’s.”

Abagail narrowed her gaze as she stared out the window. “Have you ever been to Alanna’s?”

“No. Why would I?”

“Because you were engaged to her for years?” Abagail couldn’t believe him. Was he even more self-centered than she’d originally given him credit for?

“I wasn’t dating her sister.”

“Christ, you’re an idiot.” Abagail growled and shook her head wildly. “Tell me how the interview goes.”

Before Warren could say anything else, she ended the call and silenced her phone. She didn’t want to talk to him again even if she wanted to keep her phone active for Nicola to call her back. Except she knew that Nicola wouldn’t.

She sent a text to Cal, telling him to get the car ready to take her to her bar in a few hours. She’d stake out the place until she saw Nicola leaving her shift, even if she had to spend hours sitting in the car and waiting for that. She didn’t want to disrupt her while she was working, or get her fired again, so she would be patient and wait.

But tonight was the night.

It had to be.

thirty-five

“You good to finish sweeping the floors?” Tommie asked as she untied the apron around her waist.

“Sure. I can do that.” Nicola had stayed late, trying to be the last one there. Ever since her week staying on Tommie’s couch was up, she’d been back to trying to crash wherever she could find someplace comfortable and warm. The bar’s small break room in the back was a welcome change from her car, although not always as comfortable. Nicola pressed her hand into the side of her back, the part that hadn’t stopped aching in two days.

“Cool. Lock up when you’re done!” Tommie grinned at her and snagged the deposit bag. “I’m bringing this to the bank.”

“Got it.” Would Nicola ever be trusted to do that? Maybe if she’d been there longer than a year she would be. But up until that point, they had no reason to actually trust her. Maybe someday she would stay at a job long enough to actually try her hand at more than basic responsibility.

Every place she’d worked told her that she was a great employee, minus the fact that she was inconsistent with her hours and often had to leave randomly because of Alanna. Then again, it had been a while since that had been the problem. Hadn’t it? Alanna had been mostly stable lately.

Maybe this could work. Maybe Nicola could actually get an apartment and settle down and live her own life. She finished sweeping the floor and took out the trash. She locked up the bar, double checked everything, and then settled into the comfy chair that was in the corner of the break room. At least this room had heat, since it was still a bit chilly outside, and she hated that she couldn’t keep her car running all night.

She pulled the small blanket she’d stashed in her locker over her legs and chest and curled up in a ball. She’d be out before the first person came in, and she’d just come right back after showering at the gym and pretend like nothing was amiss. Just like she’d done a million times over already.

“Um… hello?” Tommie’s voice resounded through the room.

Nicola’s heart thundered loudly.

“What are you doing here?”

There was no escape this time. Nicola was caught red-handed. She’d been in this situation before, and she knew exactly what was going to happen next. She was going to be out on her ass, faster than she could sayI’m sorry.

“I uh…” Words weren’t coming.

“Are you sleeping here?” Tommie’s voice screeched as she stared at Nicola in shock.

“Yeah?” Nicola said as a question, not entirely sure what else to say. Lying would be out of the question, and maybe if she told the truth, it’d give her the upper hand in trying to get out of this.

“Nicola…” Tommie put her hands on her hips. “You can’t stay here, and quite frankly, I’m not sure what to do about this. I’m going to have to talk to the boss.”

“I can’t lose this job,” Nicola murmured.

“You should have thought about that before you decided to sleep here. Have you been doing this since you left my place?”

Nicola nodded slowly, clenching her fists into the blanket. “I was just going to do it until it warmed up a bit. It’s still cold outside, and I just wanted to be warm.”

Tommie sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair. “Get out, Nicola.”