Free Bottled Up: April Fools For Love by Roxy Mews

There was a time to wallow, and then there was time to take advantage of no cover charge. It was definitely time for the later. Payday wasn’t for another week, and the alcohol budget wasn’t hefty enough for them to pay for their own drinks.
    Betty promised she’d be willing to dance and have a good time, but she was lying through her teeth.

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    Nate patted the hangers to knock them all back into place. The store closed in five minutes and he was grateful. He didn’t feel like himself. Not the self he wanted to be, at any rate.
    Helping women pick out outfits and accessories wasn’t his idea of the perfect job, but working in a place where he didn’t have to get naked was a good change of pace.
    Twila shut the door to the office with the deposit tucked under her arm. “Nate, the new sassy talk really helped sales today. I think you should work it into the conversation more. Just make sure you mention the accessories too. The lower cut items really scream for a chunky necklace. Or five.”
    Nate nodded. He went to Twila and grabbed the bank bag. “I don’t mind driving you to the bank and coming back for your car,” he told her again.
    Twila sighed. “You’re going to follow behind me if I say no, aren’t you?”
    Nate smiled his first real smile since he’d left Betty’s apartment. “Stalker or chauffeur. It’s your choice, boss.”
    Twila always took the deposit to the drop box of the local bank branch after the store closed. His co-workers had started wrapping the money in a store tote, but with the high price of the items inside, it was just as much of a lure to criminals as cash.
    Nate had taken to following his female co-workers to the bank if they turned him down for a ride. He was a big guy, and it was probably a good deterrent to have him by their side. With the robbery a few blocks over just last week, he’d driven by the store on his nights off too.
    Not to mention, Twila tended to be more obtuse than his other colleagues. He’d watched her put a register drawer in a stack of sweaters yesterday. Angela joked that it was just her being scatterbrained, but Nate wasn’t so sure.
    When Twila gave in and hopped in his car, after he moved some of his trash out of where her feet would go, he decided to push at the boundaries of politeness and ask. If she really was just a space cadet, she wouldn’t know to be offended anyway.
    He cleared his throat. “Are you okay? Your head’s in the clouds today. More than normal.” He’d expected her to play dumb, or ignore him, or be insulted. He didn’t expect to see her wipe at her face. Instead of pulling out into the traffic stemming from the local bars, he put the car into park and turned down the music. “I’m sorry if I overstepped,” he started.
    But before he could finish he found himself with a woman against his chest and holding on for dear life. It was the second time today he’d been thrown for a loop by a member of the opposite sex. He held onto his boss as she cried.
    She did the ugly cry for a solid two minutes before he could interpret one of the words she was mumbling. Pregnant.
    He didn’t bother with trying to get details. From her reaction, it was obvious this wasn’t a time to say congratulations. He helped her into her seat after she calmed down and grabbed some of the spare fast food napkins he kept in his glove compartment so she could wipe her face.
    “I’m sorry for erupting like that,” she finally told him. “I’m just not sure what to do. I thought Edmund would be happy. We’d talked about getting married, but after I had my first doctor’s appointment he took off. Said it was too real for him.”
    “Babies do tend to end up being real.”
    Twila laughed. “That’s what I said. But since we were already living together it’s been hard to get out of the joint lease. He brought a buddy of his over last night to look at the apartment. If he takes it…”
    Nate’s jaw dropped as he realized what she