Page 17 of Twisted Hearts

I’d bartended for a few months at a dumpy, mostly college-aged bar just for the hell of it because watching bartenders sling drinks had always seemed kind of fun, especially when they twirled and flipped bottles into the air. I’d lasted three months before my dad told me if I didn’t stop embarrassing him and our family and quit immediately, he’d pull my tuition. Looking back, that bartending job was my sole rebellion against the life I had, my sole excursion into the kind of life I’d always wanted—one based on my own merits and earnings.

“I have some,” I admitted.

Yeah, maybe I needed to get over myself. A job, a roof over my head so I didn’t have to watch the meager amount of money I had stashed dwindle away? I’d be an absolute fool to look this gift horse in the mouth, even if I despised the reasons why I needed it.

Hope lit a spark in my chest.

I coulddothis, and if it didn’t work out, I could do something different, dammit. I was college educated, intelligent. What I hadn’t been before yesterday was independent.

But if I could do all this, I could be that, too.

“Connor and my husband are on the team, so they’re family, which makes Malcolm part of our family. And we look after our own.”

It’d been so long since I’d been looked after in a way that didn’t mean favors were owed back, and I wasn’t sure what to say.

Could it really be this easy? A job, a place to live—all of it falling together in less than a day?

“I just have one question…”

“What’s that?” She looked pleased as punch, like my acceptance was already signed in blood and notarized.

“When do we see the apartment?”

6

Adrianna

“Like I said at breakfast, it’s really not much, but I bought all new furniture when I first moved in, and I’ve updated a few things since.”

I stood in the small entryway of the apartment Shannon had brought me to, grinning like a maniac on uppers, fighting the urge to do a backflip and dance to my heart’s content.

The apartment was small, like she’d said, but it was nicely decorated and the kitchen was stocked, along with bathroom towels and bed linens and the cute, queen-sized bed.

Everything was falling into place so much easier than I’d ever imagined, and I’d wondered on the way to Shannon’s store and apartment why I hadn’t done this years ago.

Although back then, I hadn’t had the foresight to stash away cash for months or had anyone to help me. I hadn’t had Jillian, nor had I known how bad things would get.

So I wasn’t feeling like a complete idiot, just a tiny bit of a fool.

After breakfast, Klaus and Jillian had to check out of the hotel. I asked Klaus if I could keep my room for one more night in case this didn’t work out with Shannon, figuring I was on a roll with asking for favors and might as well go for one more.

Because they were both incredible people, they did it without blinking an eye. So, they were on their way back to Charlotte with my rental, driving separately, and they would return the Escape at a location two and a half hours away from where I was.

I was now officially on my own.

My smile widened and tears burned my eyes.

Happy ones.

I’d take them over the miserable stream of tears I’d have created if I’d stayed and married Daniel any day of the week.

Swiping beneath my eyes, uncaring if I smeared makeup across my face, I looked to Shannon where she was perched near the arched doorway to the bedroom. “It’s perfect, absolutely perfect—but are you sure I can’t pay you rent? I have money saved, but it’d have to be in cash.”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. You want to pay for utilities or something else eventually, go for it, but you need to get on your feet. I know what that’s like, so take all the time you need.”

“You…you’re being super sweet.”

“Girls need to stick together. That’s all.” She came to me, her kind smile almost making me cry even harder, and pulled me into her arms. “Someday, when we get to know each other more—if you want that—I’ll tell you everything about where I came from and you’ll understand. But for today, just let me help you. I promise it’s my honor to do that for you.”

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