Free Landlady: A New Adult Romance (Northbridge Nights Book 1) by Jackie Wang

“Sorry, I already made
plans.”
    I didn't expect her rejection to hit me so hard. Swallowing I nodded,
“That's okay. I just wanted to check, in case you were free.”
    “Thanks for the invite, though.”
    “Mmhm.”
    After I had parked, Sierra got out of the car, said goodbye, and
disappeared around the back. I was really, really hoping I could
bring her to the beer fest. So I could make it all up to her. Have
fun, get to know her better. Introduce her to my friends. I'd been so
riled up by the possibility that now she'd dashed my dreams, I felt
somewhat sullen and defeated. Should I bother trying to bring a date,
or just show up stag?
    Mike and Jeremy were bringing their girlfriends. And now even Cam had
a date. I would look like such a loser they'd think I lost my A-game.
    Fuck.
    I could always try to hook up with a girl at the festival, but even
that didn't hold the appeal it once did. Because lately, there'd only
been one girl on my mind. The one girl who was slipping farther and
farther away from me.
    Sierra fucking Maywood.
    Someone I couldn't just wine, dine, then sixty-nine.
    Someone who spoke her own mind and was fiercely stubborn about almost
everything.
    I wanted her to be all mine.
    But it was starting to look like that first kiss we shared would also
be the last.

CHAPTER 9
    ASHER
    SATURDAY MORNING ROLLED around, and I was still without a date. I
decided to just tough it out and show up stag. Who knew? Maybe I'd
meet a cute chick this weekend to distract me for a few hours. A
little flirting was just what the doctor ordered. Something to prove
that Sierra Maywood wasn't the only woman who could tug at my
heartstrings.
    I'd already decided to carpool with my buddies Mike and Jeremy, and
their girlfriends. Cameron and his date would meet us at the ferry
terminal.
    Mike's SUV pulled up shortly after 9a.m. His girlfriend Terri sat in
the front passenger seat while Jeremy and Rose were in the back. I
could see a few coolers and fold-up chairs jammed in the trunk.
    I'd packed my duffle bag with two days' worth of clothing,
toiletries, and swim trunks because I read there was a pool at the
hotel. I relaxed my hunched shoulders and waved to my buddies.
    “Get in loser, we're late,” Terri called, her loose blond hair
twisting in the breeze.
    I locked up the front door and made my way to the car. “When does
the ferry leave?”
    Terri checked her watch. “In an hour. If we don't hit a traffic
jam, we should get there fifteen minutes early. But you never know.
It's the weekend.”
    I slid in beside Jeremy and said hi to him and his girl. I'd known
the two of them since high school, and they'd been dating for just as
long. It was inspiring, actually.
    “My man,” Jeremy said. “Spending the weekend solo?”
    “Not if I meet a hot chick there,” I shot back.
    “Are you over that Vicky chick yet?” Mike, my paralegal and the
designated driver, asked from up front. “What happened to her?”
    He didn't know any of the specifics. None of them did. I suddenly
realized Sierra was the only one who knew the truth about the fake
engagement.
    I shrugged. “That's old news already. I moved on a while back.”
    “You seemed pretty hung up on her,” Jeremy pointed out.
    “Will you guys quit the interrogation? You're ruining the weekend,
and it's just getting started.” I clicked in my seatbelt and looked
out the window.
    They stopped asking questions and focused on the weekend of fun that
lay ahead of us. Mike and Jeremy talked about their favorite brews.
The girls chatted about celebrity gossip and work. Terri was a
massage therapist, and Rose was a TV show producer.
    I tried to join the guys' conversation, but it was too awkward to
talk over their girlfriends. After a while, I just shut up.
    I wondered who Cam would bring to the fest. He hadn't mentioned
anything about dating someone new. But knowing him, he had girls
drooling over him day and night. Perks of being a bartender. A very
rich, successful bartender