Free The Lawson Boys: Alex by Angela Verdenius Page A

don’t know.”
Harly winked. “Maybe I’ll give him a call and find out.”
    “Okay.”
Fascinated for some strange reason, Maryanne added, “Why a male
prostitute?”
    Harly flung up
her hands. “Not like there’s a lot of choice in a town like this
for me, is there? I’m not a delicate, slim slip of a girl who can
catch men’s attention. I’ve never met a man who thinks big women
are hot. When was the last time you saw any bloke stare at me?”
    “Uh…” Maryanne
pointed behind her.
    Expecting to
see Bill, Harly laughed as she turned around, only to almost drop
her half empty cup of espresso when she found herself face-to-face
with Alex.
    Deftly catching
the cup, he straightened to hand it back to her with one eyebrow
raised.
    “Umm…hi.” Harly
looked helplessly up at him, feeling her cheeks burn.
    His gaze slid
past her to Maryanne. “Paul sent me for the coffee.”
    “Sure.” Turning
back to the to-go cups, Maryanne started placing them in the
cardboard box.
    “Um - I’ve got
to go and check that Bill’s all right,” Harly mumbled, making her
escape by sidling past Alex, who stood aside to allow her through
the door.
    Once in the
safety of the kitchen, she covered her face with one hand and
groaned. Oh God, how much had he heard? She was going to kill her friend!
    Bill cast her a
curious glance. “You all right?”
    “No. I’m
mortified.”
    “Okay.” And he
went back to checking out the contents of the freezer.
    Rolling her
eyes, she placed her cool hands to her hot cheeks, or maybe it was
that her hands were warm and her cheeks on freakin’ fire.
    She was still
standing like that when Maryanne came into the kitchen.
    “Is he gone?”
Harly hissed.
    “Yep.” Maryanne
grinned. “I think you made an impression on him.”
    “Are you out of
your mind?” Harly demanded. “How much did he hear?”
    “Well, not a
lot-”
    “ How
much? ”
    “He asked if
Steve was a local.”
    “Oh, God.”
    “He also said
he thought you were pretty.”
    “ He said
that?”
    “After I asked
him, yes.”
    “Oh my God!
Maryanne, I’ll kill you!”
    Maryanne
laughed. “Harly, he’s a delicious hunk who thinks you’re pretty.
There’s no harm in that.”
    Her friend had
no idea.
    “Look, don’t
try to help me, okay?” Shaking her head, Harly straightened. “I’m
happy the way I am.”
    “I just want to
see you happier.”
    “You helping me
isn’t making that happen.”
    “All right.
Fine.” Sighing, Maryanne looked at Bill. “Some people are
hopeless.”
    Bill eyed
her.
    “Not me,”
Maryanne said.
    He grunted and
switched on the big oven.
    Harly poked
Maryanne in the shoulder as she walked passed. “If Alex comes in
here today, you are serving him while I hide out here.”
    “Don’t be like
that.” Maryanne called after her, “Think of me as your Cupid!”
    “A hellish one.
Horns instead of a halo.”
    “Not nice.”
    Shaking her
head, Harly walked out into the café and opened the front door.
Sure, she knew Maryanne would like to see all her friends happily
married, but sometimes the woman just overstepped her bounds. Geez,
she knew that Alex had been listening to her spouting all that crap
about phoning a male prostitute. Oh crap.
    Sighing, she
placed the sign against the outside wall and went back into the
café. It wasn’t like Alex would even care, so it didn’t matter. And
why should she care what he thought anyway? He’d come to demand
answers, he wasn’t here to win her heart.
    The door opened
behind her, heralding the first customer, and from there the
morning grew busier as people came in for breakfast, then the small
lull before morning tea time, and then lunch rolled around.
    Caught up in
delivering plates to a table, Harly didn’t notice Paul and Alex
come in until she turned around and saw them sitting at the table
by the window. A quick glance around showed that Maryanne had
disappeared somewhere and the other part-time waitress, Leticia,
was busy at another