Page 52 of Clean Out of Luck

“No. Say, do you remember when I saw you at the courthouse the other day?”

“Yes,” he replies hesitantly.

“Who was the man in handcuffs beside you?”

“That was Briggs Charleston,” Wilson explains. “Why? Have you seen him?”

“I’m looking at him right now.” I watch through the big window as Briggs sits down across from Scarlett.

“He has a warrant out for his arrest. He was released on bail and was supposed to appear in court today. He didn’t. Where are you?”

“I’m sitting outside Lucky Springs Brewery. He’s inside on a date, it looks like,” I explain. This is not looking good for Scarlett. She was wanting a nice, normal date, and she’s not going to get it.

I wish I had it in me to feel bad she’s missing out on that goodnight kiss…but I don’t. My brain is doing a happy dance that I won’t have to watch her kiss another man goodnight while simultaneously freaking out that she’s sitting across from a man with an arrest warrant.

“I’ll be right there,” Wilson says. “Let me know if you see him leave.”

Chapter Sixteen

Scarlett

Briggs is handsome and charming…andnot Wade.

There are warning bells going off in my mind even as I think it. I cannot be thinking of Wade, comparing all my dates to him. The man thinks of me like a little sister. I absolutely cannot be catching feelings for Wade. It could only ever be one-sided.

But as Briggs reaches across the table to squeeze my hand, I get none of the butterflies I have when Wade touches me.

“Thank you for coming to dinner with me,” Briggs says as he squeezes my hand. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

He releases my hand quickly, making it not creepy but rather a sweet contact.

We order dinner and spend a few minutes on small talk. This is the part of dates I like the least. You don’t really get to know anyone by chatting about the weather. Let’s talk about the fall of Rome. Then you can really learn something about a person.

“How long have you been working in the courthouse?”Briggs asks me as he adjusts the long sleeves on his shirt—a pity, that.

“Almost four years now,” I answer just as the waitress delivers our drinks. Mine’s a strawberry lemonade, and his is the beer special of the day.

“How did you get into that line of work?”

At least he’s making an effort to get to know me. But conversation still feels stilted. That is unfortunate. Briggs comes across as charming. And maybe he would be having an easy date if he were out with someone other than me.Small talk and I get along as well as fire and water.

“I think it just came naturally. My family all works in the court system. My mom was a judge, my dad an attorney. My brother is an assistant DA.”

I watch Briggs’s eyes go wide. “Really? Wow, that’s so…interesting.”

“So, how did you like your first time on jury duty?” I ask. “I feel like people either love it or they’re annoyed with it.”

“Jury duty?”

“Yes…you said that’s why you were there…”

He shakes his head and chuckles. “Yes, that’s right. That was my last day of jury duty.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t notice you earlier.” I know he wasn’t in any of the courtrooms I’d been working in. And I didn’t see him in the hallway when the court clerk was leading the other jury to the juror room.

Briggs clears his throat and half-twists the glass in front of him.

My smile turns brittle as all the pieces fall into place. “Because you were lying.”

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