Free Smokin' & Spinnin' by Andrea Miller Page B

explain everything later.”
    Brooke whines, “How? You won’t be able to talk in front of Colton.”
    She is right. I stop a moment to think. “I will meet you at six and tell him to be there at seven. Is that good?”
    “That works,” Brooke says. “See you soon.”
    I hang up the phone with Brooke and look around to make sure no one is watching me or that Jerri is not lurking around. I don’t want her to catch me on my personal cell phone again. The coast is clear. I switch over to my message app.
    I select Colton’s previous message. I type:
    ___________________________________________
    We are meeting at the Rock Bottom Brewery down
town at 7. If you are still interested, that is...
    ____________________________________________
    I wait for a response with my heart in my throat. Within a few moments, my phone buzzes in response.
    ________________________
    Yes, very. See you there.
    _________________________
    My heart flutters.
    ____
    Okay.
    ___
    This has been one hell of a day, and it ain’t over yet.

Chapter 11
    I arrive at the brewery in downtown Charlotte promptly at six o’clock. Brooke is waiting for me in a booth in the back. She eyes me intently as I slide in.
    “First of all, you look like hell!” she exclaims.
    “I had a wonderful day. Thank you so much for asking!” I say sarcastically back to her.
    Brooke smirks at me. “Go to the bathroom and get yourself together before he gets here. I will get a round of drinks coming.”
    I sigh loudly, and my shoulders fall. I don’t know if I even have the energy after the day I have had. I rest my arm on the table and put my head in my hand.
    “Whitney, here,” Brooke calls out to me and produces her makeup bag from her purse. “Go! It will make you feel better.”
    She is right again. I nod my head and stand up to walk to the bathroom. I turn back sharply to Brooke. “No tequila. Not tonight. I have to keep my head on straight.”
    Brooke gives me a wink. “Smart girl!”
    After twenty minutes in the bathroom, I am able to make myself somewhat presentable by touching up my makeup and brushing through my brown hair. Even it looks tired. I sigh and head back to the table.
    Brooke lights up when she sees me. “Much better!”
    “Thanks, Mom!” I mumble sarcastically as I slide back into the booth. There is a glass of white wine waiting in front of me. I down almost half of it in one swallow.
    Brooke eyes me intently. “Come on, spill it! You only have ten, maybe fifteen, minutes tops before he gets here! Go!”
    I know what she is waiting for, so I dump all the gory details of the last twenty-four hours before Colton arrives. I hold up my hand. “First of all…don’t get all giddy about this. Nothing, I repeat nothing, can happen.”
    Brooke frowns at me. I roll my eyes at her.
    “Do you need a reminder that I have just gotten out of a long, agonizing relationship, which I am to blame for.” Brooke tries to interrupt me, but I don’t give her a moment to cut in. “Yes, my fault! Stupid, and I don’t even know what other adjectives, best describe my current situation. I am not going back there. I am no longer know that girl! So, I am not about to get involved with another man, especially one that I have to work with. I have let one man control me and run my life. It ain’t going to happen again!”
    Brooke looks at me wild-eyed. “Are you sure that you didn’t hit the tequila before you left the office?”
    I laugh out loud. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to whip out my soapbox!”
    Brooke laughs in return. “Oh, that’s fine! Just put the soapbox
up
and tell me about the day’s events at Peyton Place!”
    I finish off my first glass of wine as I begin to recap the day for Brooke.
    Brooke whistles out at the conclusion of my story. “What a son of a bitch!”
    “I told you!” I retort. “See? Good looks will not cover a multitude of sins.” I click my tongue at her. Before she can comment, an incoming message alert on my phone catches