AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Hey. Haven't seen you in here for a while."
"I’m not here to drink."
"I figured that since you’re knocked up." He grinned at her. "I read the society pages too. You look good with that white dude."
"Thanks." She muttered, climbing onto the stool.
"Does he know you’re slumming it here?" He was polishing the glass and staring at her.
"He’s not my keeper. Get me a glass of water."
"At your service." Putting the glass aside, he turned to the fridge behind him and picked out a bottle, twisting off the cap, he poured it into a glass and handed it to her. "What brings you around?"
"I haven't seen you in a while." Macayla took a sip of the water before putting the glass down.
"That's because you’ve been busy painting the town red." He looked at her long slender fingers pointedly. "I don't see no ring. Don't tell me that the pretty white boy knocked you up and isn’t putting a ring on it."
"He’s waiting for me to make my mind up about marriage." She told him with a shrug.
"Ah." He nodded his bald shiny dome in understanding. "You’re being cautious." Looking up, he gave a jerk of his head to the man wandering over. "Take a hike. I’m busy."
"I don't want to run off your customers."
"Dave is a leech, and he’s been here since I opened up." Lifting his head, he gave the man a glowering look. "Go somewhere and sober up." Looking back at Macayla, Todd smiled at her.
"It's good to see you, girl, and pregnancy agrees with you. I mean you had that flawless skin going on, but now you’re positively glowing. So-" Putting away the glass, he leaned forward on the counter. "What brings you to my fine establishment."
She snorted at that and looked around the smoke-filled room.
"I probably shouldn’t be here."
"It was good enough for you when you were coming before." He pointed out, not in the least bit offended.
"Things are different now." She sipped some more water as she took a look around. It was here that she’d written the bar-room scene where her detective had met up with the female C.I., he’d had a relationship that had almost cost him his badge.
From the beginning, she and Todd had hit it off and he’d made sure she was left alone while she observed and jotted things down.
She’d spent several nights to get a feel of the place and the ambiance. She’d insisted on sharing the wealth when her book was published even though he’d told her that he’d enjoyed her visits. They’d become friends during that time and he’d told her his story.
"I still want us to be friends. I don’t want that to change." She continued, turning back to look at him, a sincere expression on her face. She hadn’t told Brady where she was heading when he left this morning, or he would have freaked. She was loyal to friends and, considering that she had very few of them, she wanted to keep the bond.
"That's going to be difficult considering who you’re hooked up with." Putting away the wash cloth, he sat on the stool and gave her a contemplative look. 'You don't have to feel guilty about not coming around. I understand.
This is a seedy bar, even if it is mine, and you’ve always been a classy lady who doesn’t belong in this environment." He looked around at the faded wallpaper and the scarred linoleum on the floor and shook his head.
"Even with the money you insisted on giving me, I don’t want to get the changes done. I like it this way. My customers are assholes, but they’re loyal assholes." He grinned at her.
"I want you to meet him."
His eyes bugged out of his head. "Say again?"
"You’re my friend, we tell each other stuff and before Brady, you were my best friend. I want you to meet him."
He shook his head, a loud laughter rumbling out of him. "I’m a black dude from the wrong side of town. Your man is as white as a snowflake with blonde hair and green eyes. On top of that, he’s rich - filthy rich. Night and day are the term I would come up with and guess who’d be the night?"
"He isn’t like that and he loves me." She insisted.
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to come to that fancy apartment and have tea."
