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Or at least, Viv assumed that it was paternal.
Her father had left when she was three and had never come back. She would have taken it more personally, but he also left her three sisters, who were five, four, and two at the time and her mother soooo, yeah. Her sperm donor was just an asshole and it had nothing to do with her.
“You’re probably right,” Viv agreed with his assessment as she thought about some of the disaster dates, she’d been on in the past year.
Hannibal Lecter was just the tip of the iceberg. Her dating life had been filled with some real losers. Colorful losers, but losers just the same.
There was the guy who she dated for a month before receiving a call from his wife who was pregnant with twins. The man who asked her if he could suck her toes before the first drink had arrived. The class act who asked her out for drinks, then sent her the address of a strip club where his ex worked because he wanted to make her jealous. The dude who showed up late, plastered, and got in a fight with a statue in the middle of a fountain and then tried to sue her because she hadn’t taken him to the hospital after he broke his hand. The gentleman who took her to a drive-in movie and proceeded to start jacking off midway through the film with no warning. And then her personal favorite, the guy who told her he was into bestiality within five minutes of meeting her and asked her to moo like a cow.
So yeah, like she said, online dating was not for the faint of heart.
Mr. Henley set a box and several letters on the counter before giving her another wink. “It was good seeing you, young lady. You take care now.”
“You, too.”
As he walked out of the shop, Viv grabbed the box cutter from the drawer and sliced open the package. She always felt like a kid at Christmas when they got deliveries. Even if it was as boring as more stirring sticks, it was still fun to open a box.
This delivery wasn’t boring at all, though. It was her brand-new business cards.
She pulled out the embossed white paper square that read Broken Nail Events & PR across the top and below it had her name, website, social media and phone number listed. She felt tears swell in her eyes.
This was a new start. As much as she loved running the coffee shop with her sister, it had been Audrey’s passion, not hers. She’d happily gone along with it because, well, she hadn’t had a passion of her own. But now, now she was ready to do something just for her.
She was ready to spread her wings and fly. Last year she’d decided to start a party planning business. That had segued into larger events, like the Single’s Week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and now she was in the running to do the annual Hometown Heroes Ball. It was a yearly fundraiser that the town put on which benefitted the fire and police departments. It was basically Hope Falls’ answer to the Met Gala and it would be quite the feather in her cap if she scored it.
She’d put in her bid with the city council and was still waiting to hear back.
The bell rang above the door, snapping Viv out of her haze.
Tessa Maguire walked in with her camera hanging around her neck holding the hand of an adorable girl with long chestnut brown hair and huge blue eyes who Viv had never seen before. Tessa was married to Jake, who was the fire chief and the two had a son named Connor and a daughter named Sienna, but this girl was not either one of them.
Like her sisters’ successful road to romance, Tessa had also hit the jackpot in the relationship department. She’d reunited with her high school boyfriend and the two were now blissfully married. She was also an amazing photographer who had shot Single’s Week and the St. Patrick’s Day parade for free and offered her services for the Hometown Heroes Ball for the same price of zero dollars. Viv was eternally in her debt.
“Hi!” Viv greeted the two ladies.
“Hey Viv, this is my niece, Aubrey.”
“Aubrey. That’s such a pretty name! My sister’s name is Audrey, with a d.”
Aubrey smiled widely. “Everybody calls me, Bree. Do people call your sister Dree?”
“Nope. We call her Aud sometimes, though.”
The little girl’s nose scrunched slightly indicating she wasn’t a fan of the nickname. Viv leaned over the counter slightly and whispered, “Don’t tell my sister but I think Bree is a much better nickname.”
The girl’s bright blue eyes sparkled as a smile spread on her face.
“So, what can I get you ladies?”
“I’ll take my regular and...” Tessa glanced down at Bree. “Do you like lemonade?”
Bree nodded.
“How about strawberry lemonade?” Viv suggested.
The girl’s nod grew more enthusiastic.
“Coming right up!”
