Page 18 of Rebel Secrets
“This is great!I’m so happy you’re going to be here all the time.”
Especially with Rowdy and Tressy’s wedding in just a little over a month.Miss Raffi and I had been double-teaming the details the past couple of weeks.She was handling the catering of the plated meal, and I was handling everything else from the bakery, from appetizers to rolls to desserts and the cake.
It was almost too much for me to handle, but with the help of Rain and my staff and most of the Angels Dance Team, we were making it work.No, we were doing better than that.Tressy and Rowdy deserved it for their big day.
“I really appreciate you giving me the chance.I haven’t had a full-time job since Dale and I got together, and I’m looking forward to feeling useful again.”
My brain glitched for a second as I tried to understand why this smart, sweet woman would think she wasn’t useful.And the only reason I could come up with was…Asshole Dale.
A smile wasn’t hard to conjure up for Abby, but it was almost impossible for me to swallow down the words I wanted to say about her significant other.I would gladly put tiny bits of glass on that man’s morning donut.Just saying.
“You have been the most useful person in this place since I hired you.”And I wasn’t even blowing smoke up her ass.I meant every single word.“I’m grateful you took the job.Rain and I couldn’t have kept this place running without you.I can only do so much, and Rain’s been spreading herself thin between the team and trying to help out here.I should be thanking you for giving us your time.”
Abby lit up, her gray-green eyes bright.“You know I love working here.I was so excited when I found out an actual bookstore was opening in town.I mean, I love the library, and I read so much that I would blow a fortune on books if I had to buy all the ones I want to read.And,” she rolled her eyes, “Dale used to have a fit when I spent money on something that wasn’t food or stuff for the house.Now that I have a discount, he doesn’t say as much about the books I bring home.And I just mix them in with the library books and he never knows the difference.And now I feel like I’m actually using my degree, at least a little bit.”
Abby had told me she’d graduated with a BA from Penn State, but she and Dale had gotten married right out of college so she’d never really had a chance to create her own space in the world and fend for herself.
Fucking Dale.
And I really needed to stop thinking about him like that or one of these day’s I was going to slip and call him that to his face.
Unclenching my jaw, I nodded and reached for her hand.
“I’m really glad you said yes.”
“I know how busy the next few weeks are going to be for you, with the wedding prep and all.And Rain told me you have dance lessons coming up for the wedding.”
Shit, I’d almost forgotten.But just like that, the realization that I was going to be dancing with Rebel in just a couple of weeks hit me.I’d be standing in front of him, putting my hands all over him.Well, at least on his shoulders.Our bodies pressed together?—
Dammit, had it gotten hot in here?
Forcing a smile, I turned away to start arranging the treats on the table.
“It’s no big deal.It’s just one dance, but Miss Raffi wants us to look good doing it.”
Abby snorted out a laugh.“And what Miss Raffi wants…”
“Miss Raffi gets,” I finished, grinning over my shoulder at her.“I guess she doesn’t trust her boys not to embarrass her on the dance floor.”
“I don’t think those boys would ever embarrass anyone.Rowdy’s such a great guy and the few times I’ve met Rocky, he seemed like a real sweetheart.And Rebel… well, I don’t really know him, but he seems…nice?”
I huffed out a laugh at her diplomacy.
“I mean, I’ve never really spent much time with him,” she hurried on, “so I don’t really?—”
“Abby, it’s okay, really.Rebel’s?—
“A pain in my ass most of the time, and he can be kind of a bitch,” Rain said from almost directly behind us.We both turned to see Rain hurrying through the store, carrying a cardboard box.
“Sorry, I’m late.I had to pick up a few extra bottles.Found out we’re having a couple special guests tonight.”
I’d left a space for the drinks in the center of the table, and Rain plopped the box there with a little huff.This was already our largest book club meeting, if everyone who’d responded showed up.The book had been popular.I’d even had time to read it.The fact that it was a romance had helped.Not the kind I usually read, with cowboys or billionaires, but one with magic and elves and a grumpy heroine who failed a lot.
Actually, Rowdy had been the one to suggest the book, which had shocked the hell out of me.Not the fact that he read, which I knew he did, voraciously.But because this book was out of his normal genre.He usually went for mysteries, thrillers and the occasional space opera.
This fantasy had a female protagonist with mental health issues who slowly worked on her issues to become a warrior for her people.I’d loved it.It spoke to me.
“Oh yeah?Who’s coming?We’re going to need more chairs.”
