Free Love Me: The Complete Series by Shelley K. Wall

The place was famous throughout the city. Not just for the taste of the food but for the quantity. No one left hungry.
    • • •
    It came as no surprise when Abby’s phone beckoned only minutes after Caroline left. She debated answering, but her curiosity interfered.
    “Okay, tall, dark, and handsome? Or blond, blue-eyed, and short?” Her voice was matter-of-fact and hushed.
    “Not playing this game, Caroline. It’s bad enough to answer the messages, but a recon mission? That’s over the top. Get back here.”
    “No can do. I think I can figure it out, anyway. There’re three or four of them, right? So that rules out a few tables. All the ones full of women can be crossed off also.” Caroline mumbled something and Abby assumed she was paying for her lunch based on the sound. “You’re really not going to help me?”
    “Nope.”
    “Okay, you leave me no choice. I’ll just have to go around and ask them.”
    “No! Don’t you dare!” Her last word was silenced when Caroline cut her off. She dialed back but no answer. When the phone lit up with texts, she breathed a sigh of relief. And laughed herself into the flowerpots.
    The first message from Caroline had a picture of an older man with silver white hair that curled over his shirt collar. He wore a tie and had a napkin tucked into his neck to protect his clothing—a smart move since a deluge of drips soaked into it. Her message read:
    This one?
    A second later, there was a picture of the man sitting with him, a bald crown over his dark side locks. Bushy eyebrows and moustache suggested the only spot he didn’t grow hair was on top. The man was talking with food in his cheek in the picture.
    Or this one?
    Abby giggled. As
if.
She tapped a brief no
to each. Caroline was obviously enjoying this way too much—three more pictures of similar men came through. The man with the shaved head and eyebrow tattoos was interesting, and answering
yes
was tempting
.
The response would have been wasted, since she had no way to see Caroline’s reaction.
    Abby’s stomach rumbled, reminding her
she
wasn’t eating and she added a few keys to the last response.
    Bring me something back when ur done sightseeing.
    Another picture came of four men at a table, mid-twenties and up, with the caption
    Eureka.
    Abby panicked. The fun screeched to a halt. Caroline had taken the picture of herself in a booth—and the men were behind her in the adjacent one. Carter was one of them. Her mouth fell open. Dammit!
    Caroline texted again.
    I’m right, aren’t I?
    Fortunately the door jangled and Abby was saved from answering. She dropped the phone into her purse and went back to work. She decided it was time to set a company policy regarding phone usage during work hours. One that included no texting or calling that harassed the owner. Since they were both owners, it would be critical they set the standard for future staffers.

Chapter Ten
    “Where the hell is Jackson?” Roger asked their other two friends when he slid into the booth. David Fender and Garth Satrose exchanged looks and shrugged. Carter thought the lengthy silence odd.
    “I asked him,” Carter said, albeit it was in the same message everyone else had.
    “No idea.” David tore off a hunk of pita bread and scooped hummus. He shoveled the entire thing into his mouth and tore another. “I haven’t talked to him in a while. Was he joining us?”
    Carter glanced around the restaurant. The place always smelled of garlic. The hum of voices during the lunch hour made it difficult to talk. “He never answered.”
    David concentrated on the hummus and spoke through a mouthful. “He’s been pretty busy lately. Some big thing at work.”
    Carter shrugged. “He’s texted several times but hasn’t said much about work. He was supposed to meet me at the game last weekend and skipped. Glad to hear business is picking up for him.”
    Roger stared over his tea glass as he sipped. “He’s texted? What’d he say?”
    David