Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

superhero cape, and as I approached (to save the day) I noticed she had not only pushed his hands away but punched him in the nose as well. I couldn’t help laughing. She turned red when she spotted me, and I raised my hand up, “High five.” She smacked my hand. “It’s hard to believe you complain about jerks, looks like you can take care of yourself pretty well.”
    “I have three older brothers that taught me how to take care of myself.” She pushed past me reclaiming her seat at the bar. “Can I get another of those beers?”
    “Sure. And if you tell me about the other two guys, it’s on me.”
    “Deal,” she agreed. After I had popped the top on the beer, she took a long pull and then began her story, “Guy number three thought he was all that and a bag of chips. He was nothing but crumbs if you ask me. He took me to a strip club. I’m open-minded and all that, but a first date…at a strip club?” 
    “Ouch. I agree. If you’re going to do that there should be a warning and intimacy already present. What kind of perverted weirdo would do that?”
    “See, told you I know how to pick them. Last but not least, the date from the night I met you. We had a great time. He’s charming, sophisticated, well mannered, all around great guy.”
    “I’m not getting a problem with him,” I said, thoroughly confused.
    “There was no problem. Until he reached out to touch my hand on the table, and there was a wedding ring on his finger.”
              “Whoa.”
    “That’s what I said!” she exclaimed with annoyance. “He told me his wife cared more about the kids than him these days, and it was practically a dead marriage.”
    “What did you say to that?”
    “I told him to call me when he found a woman to believe that line.” She took a swig from her beer bottle. “I’m done dating for a while. I’ll find something else to occupy my time.” That comment burst my bubble; maybe I could change her mind about dating.
    “How’d you end up here that night? Is this where you met?”
    “No. A friend of mine told me about this club, and I had wanted to check it out. That night seemed like a perfect occasion.”
    “Tristan!” Marcus yelled from behind me.  When I turned, he waved his hands to show the fullness of the crowd in front of the bar.
    “Shit! I’ll be back,” I sprinted across to start taking orders. Normally someone can shout something at me, and I can get it easily. At this moment, I was writing everything down with descriptions on who ordered it. Gorbachev; Bud Light beer. Barney; a shot of whiskey. Gingerman; JagerBomb. Fake boobs; Cosmo. Mullet; MGD. With five orders written down, I stopped to get them ready before taking five more and repeated this until the bar was clear once more. Turning to Marcus, I said, “Sorry man. I was distracted.”
    “I noticed. She’s hot, by the way; I’d be distracted too. Sorry, you missed out on talking to her.” 
    “Oh no, she’s…” I started to say as I turned towards her. Her seat now held a large hairy redneck looking man. I cursed at missing a chance to ask her out. My relief bartender for the night, Xander, walked toward me from where I'd left her.
    “The hottie at the bar paid her tab, then gave me this for you,” he handed me a twenty-dollar tip wrapped around a business card. “She said to give her a call and she’d finish telling you a story.”
    The business card was one of ours from the bar. She'd written her number on it and written her name below it with a heart dotting the letter 'I'.  I programmed it into my phone and then pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and slipped the card in behind a school photo of Macy. 

Chapter Six
    Life's Complications
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    My plan had been to call Lanie the day after she gave me the business card, but it didn’t pan out the way I wanted. The morning instead began with a mopey Macy lying on the couch in the living room. "Hey, squirt,