Free Worthy of the Harmony (Mountains & Men Book 2) by R.C. Martin

sound like a prick, but it’s completely true. I try not to encourage her. She’s cute and all, but I don’t bag my co-workers. I thought about it once. Then, for a split second, I imagined having to work with her day after day and the awkwardness of her wanting more and me wanting nothing. Until recently, I liked to keep my options open. I preferred my hook ups to be simple with no strings attached. Tabbi’s nice, but I knew she’d come with one big ball of string.
    “You’re not a soy man,” says Brandon as he rings me up. “You going to see your sister?”
    “Yeah. Sophia has a doctor’s appointment this morning. I think she needs to get shots or some shit like that. Anyway, Harry’s at work and she didn’t want to have to take the boys, so I told her I’d watch ‘em.”
    He lifts his eyebrows at me and then turns to grab a cup. He fills it with black coffee, slaps on a lid, then slides it to me across the counter. “No offense, but you look like you could use that.”
    I chuckle, immediately grabbing his offering, prepared just the way I like it. “Thanks, man. Rough night.”
    “Millie?”
    I shake my head once. “Whiskey. Auditions didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. If we don’t find someone by the end of the week, we’re up a fucking creek. We need someone who knows his shit backwards, someone committed, someone who fits.”
    “You know…” he pauses, folding his arms across his chest as he strokes his chin. “I might know someone.”
    “Don’t mess with me man,” I mutter before taking a sip of my coffee.
    “No, I’m serious.”
    “And you’re just telling me about this now?”
    “Sorry,” he laughs. “It just clicked. Name’s Alex.”
    “Well, give Alex my number. That is, if this Alex character has what it takes.”
    “Trust me. You won’t be disappointed. I can’t believe I didn’t think of connecting you two before. I’ll pass along your number for sure.”
    “Thanks, man.”
    “Who’s Millie?” asks Tabbi, sliding my sister’s finished drink across the counter.
    I look to Brandon and I can tell he’s biting back a laugh. “A friend,” I answer simply.
    “Oh, did you decide where you’re taking her tonight?” Brandon asks.
    “She wants to go to Giuseppe’s.”
    “Wait—what? Isn’t that—?”
    “Yeah,” I say with a shrug, backing my way to the door. “I know. But what the lady wants, the lady gets.”
    “Good luck, kid,” he calls out with a laugh.
    Even though my hands are full, I still manage to flip him off—with both middle fingers—as I join in his laughter. “I’ll see ya.”
    Fifteen minutes later, when I pull up to the Montgomery residence, already feeling the rejuvenating power of my cup of Joe, I hurry to the front door. I ring the bell and wait with Maestro on the porch, preparing myself for Pepper’s wrath in response to my tardiness. Instead, I’m caught off guard when I’m greeted with a smile.
    “Somehow, I just knew ten a.m. on your day off would be a bit of a struggle for you. Oh, is that for me?” She opens the door, handing me my beautiful niece as she takes the latte. “Mmmm,” she hums after her first sip. “You love me.” She sighs and then nods for me to follow her inside.
    “Um, what’s going on?” I ask, confused. I step into the house and watch as Maestro goes charging for the noise. The boys are obviously in the next room playing.
    “I don’t have to leave until ten-thirty. So you’re not fifteen minutes late, you’re fifteen minutes early.”
    I gape at her for a moment as she turns to smirk at me in the entryway of her home. “Christ, Pep. I busted my ass getting here.”
    “I appreciate it. Now you have a few minutes to chat with your big sis. And watch your language, for crying out loud. My precious girl can hear, you know?”
    I smile down at my niece, barely over a month old, who looks up at me with her pretty brown eyes. I press a gentle kiss against her forehead, amazed at how much she looks