Page 23 of Second First Kiss

Kat gave her a long look. “I’m nearly thirty, single, work for the county, and moonlight at a bar named after a conspiracy theory. Not really living the dream.”

“If you could live your dream right now, what would it be?” Milly asked.

“If time and money weren’t an issue it would be to go back to school,” she said without hesitation. “Go back to MIT and claim my rightful spot in the computer science department.” Maybe it also would involve a new job, one that challenged her, and maybe it would include a little fun now and then. Once upon a time it would have included a man, but that boat had sailed when her ex bailed at the first sign of trouble.

“Tessa is so set on gaining R. J.’s attention I know it’s going to lead to trouble,” Kat said. “I don’t want her to make the same mistakes I did. I want to save her from all of that.”

“You can’t save her from that, sweetie,” Milly said. “People have to make their own mistakes.”

“Yeah, but does she have to be an underage felon?”

Her friends both snorted. “Are you forgetting when you went into the essay business and wrote essays for Brandon Sikes and his buddies?”

“That was monetarily motivated.” She’d been so broke back then, she’d desperately needed the cash, for things like school clothes and lunch money. Huh, it looked as if things hadn’t changed much. “The problem is Tessa is under the influence of a boy I don’t trust or know. And what I do know scares me.”

“You dated bad boys.”

“He’s not just bad, he’s bad news. And I never tried to impress them. It’s like Tessa will do anything to gain his validation.”

As if the universe reached down and slapped Kat, the bar door opened and in strolled R. J. and two of his buddies. She could tell by the volume and vocabulary that the little pricks were already shit-faced.

“The line starts back there, buddy,” Kat hollered, but they ignored her, taking their entitled attitudes across the bar like they owned the place, stumbling onto three empty stools at the far end—but not before R. J. shoulder checked a passing customer.

“I smell trouble,” Kat said as that familiar rage, which came with forced proximity with bullies, began to bubble in her belly. “I should throw them out before they have a chance to ruin my night further.”

Kat spun on her heels to do just that when Tim stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “Slow your roll. Let security handle it.”

Kat looked over at Eli, their new security guy and Nolan’s former partner, who was swiping through social media on his phone. “How do you think that will go down?”

Eli seemed like a good guy, but when it came to deep-pocketed customers, he had a habit of looking the other way. Kat didn’t know if it was because he was older or injured, but what she did know was that something was off with him.

“He’s right,” Milly said. “You don’t get paid enough to handle idiots. Let me call Jax.”

“His dad practically runs this town,” Tim reminded her, glancing at R. J. “You don’t want to mess with that. Not with the hearing coming up.”

Tim had a point, but it still took everything Kat possessed to stand down. Didn’t stop her from shooting R. J. a death glare, who answered back with a shit-eating grin. Kat mimicked putting on lipstick—with her middle finger.

“Asshole or not, he’s a paying customer,” Tim said. “So unless he breaks a bar rule, he’s free to go about his business.”

Kat looked over her shoulder at the list of rules and nearly rolled her eyes. No doubt that the rule-following, rule-enforcing Carmichael was behind it.

Hydrate with beer

Keep your hands to yourself

Act like your mama is watching

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