Page 9 of Love That Sass

“I bet you are, but I am here now. You know, I got a big house with plenty of room for a little girl, a yard, too. I was thinking we could keep each other from being lonely. So, what do you say?”

“Okay.”

“Well, okay, then,” Pop said and smiled, offering a hand.

The two of them had been inseparable since that moment. He’d been a deacon at the small church on Main Street, and Gwen had attended services with him. But all her religious studies had done nothing to curb Gwendolyn’s wild side. In high school, she’d been a tad rebellious, sneaking off to the Big Apple to take in the sights and museums. Yeah, she might have danced her butt off a bit, too.

In college, she did more of the same. Majoring in art, she had hoped to work in a museum or gallery. She just loved the multi-cultural climate and the bright lights and artistic richness of city life. Then her heart got stomped on by a boyfriend and she’d run back home.

That was almost eight years ago. Gwendolyn had done her best to stay optimistic and true to her promise ever since. It was easy. She’d simply sworn off men.

“Hey, you coming in?”

Gwen looked up to see Lucy standing by the bar’s front door, hands on her belly. She wore a pair of black leggings with a tight shirt pulled over her stomach and a loose flannel she’d left open on top of that. She looked comfortable and cute as a button, Gwen thought, and secretly wished she had the nerve to wear tight clothes when she was pregnant someday.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” she said, jogging, so the expecting mother did not have to wait in the fall breeze.

“I gotta say I am happy you came. I wasn’t sure you would be back,” Lucy said as she showed her the way to the employee breakroom.

There were a few lockers against one wall, and Lucy gestured to one Gwen could use. She thanked her and hung up her thin jean jacket and purse.

“So, where do we start?”

“Well, first we have some paperwork, but I am starving. How about lunch?”

“Lunch?”

Gwen’s stomach was rumbling at the mere mention of food, and she could have died of embarrassment. Ever since Pop got sick, and she found she needed more and more time off to care for him, she’d been living paycheck to paycheck.

Food was a luxury these days, curvy body or not. Her eating habits had become heavily dependent on what she could afford. She didn’t regret spending all her cash on her grandfather’s care, after all, she would not have him forever.

“Um, I’m sorry I am on a budget—”

“What? Oh, no. It’s on the house. Derrick, he’s my man and the big boss, anyway, he insists all the staff be acquainted with the menu, and I have a hankering for a double bacon brisket burger with brie, caramelized onions, and fig jam!”

“What?” she laughed at what was clearly a pregnant woman’s fantasy burger.

“Don’t knock it till you tried it,” was all Lucy said as she led the way to a table by the kitchen doors.

A big man with blond hair held back by a bandana came out of the kitchen, mumbling beneath his breath. He stopped short when he saw Lucy and Gwen.

“Hey Lucy, is this the new hire? I’m Brock,” the man said, introducing himself.

“Gwen,” she replied, trying to keep her eyes inside her head.

The man was gorgeous. Then again, so was everyone she’d met so far. Of course, Weylin, the redhead who’d kissed her last night, was by far the most handsome. Not that it mattered, she reminded herself firmly.

“What can I get you ladies?” he asked, as Sheila, the stunning redhead whose party it was she crashed the night before, came over.

“Brie burger for me rare,” Lucy said without hesitation.

“Same!” Sheila said, sliding into a chair beside her.

“Got it, and for you?” Brock asked.

“Um, I don’t know—”

“Come on, Gwen. You have to try it,” Lucy said encouragingly.

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