“In that case, here’s a tip from me,” Naomi said, handing over a $100 chip.
The woman was a sucker. And it looked like Tanner was officially in love.
“Ladies, gentlemen, what do you say we call it a night? I hear there’s a band out front tonight. We could steal one or two of Knox’s private bottles and reminisce about the good old days,” Ian suggested.
“Only if Lucy promises me a dance,” Winona said.
I waited until they’d cashed out and exited the room, leaving Naomi and me alone.
She looked up from the pile of cash they’d left in front of her. It was one hell of a tip. “Can we leave the lecture for tomorrow so I can just enjoy?”
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I’m driving you home tonight.”
“Fine. But you’re not allowed to yell at me on the drive.”
“I can’t make any promises.”
TWENTY-ONE
FAMILY EMERGENCY
Naomi
My feet were begging for a break, but the $20,000 in my apron gave me more than enough energy to face the final hour of my shift.
“Naomi!”
I spotted Sloane at a table in the corner with middle-aged biker babes and library board members Blaze and Agatha. Sloane had her hair pulled back in a perky ponytail and was wearing cut-offs and flip-flops. Blaze and Agatha were in their usual uniform of denim and vegan leather.
“Hey!” I greeted them with a spring in my step. “Out on the town?”
“We’re celebrating,” Sloane explained. “The library just got a big, fat grant that I didn’t even remember applying for! Not only does that mean we can start offering free community breakfasts and upgrade the second-floor computers, I can also officially offer you that part-time gig.”
“Are you serious?” I asked, elation rising inside me.
“As serious as a nun in detention,” Blaze said, slapping the table.
Sloane grinned. “It’s yours if you want it.”
“I want it!”
The librarian held out her hand. “Welcome to the Knockemout Public Library, Ms. Community Outreach Coordinator. You officially start next week. Come by this weekend, and we’ll talk about your new duties.”
I grabbed her hand and shook it. Then I hugged her. Then I hugged Blaze and Agatha. “Can I buy you beautiful, amazing ladies a round?” I asked, releasing a dazed-looking Agatha.
“A public librarian can’t say no to free drinks. It’s in the town charter,” Sloane said.
“Neither can us literary supportive lesbians,” Agatha added.
“My wife is right,” Blaze agreed.
I floated through the crowd on the dance floor and plugged in the order for my new bosses. I was thinking about the car I could now afford and the desk I wanted to buy Waylay for her room when Lucian appeared.
“I believe you owe me a dance,” he said, holding out his hand.
I laughed. “I guess it’s the least I can do since you let me win.”
“I never let anyone win,” he assured me, taking my tray and setting it at a table of lady horse farmers who didn’t seem to mind.
“That’s very mercenary of you,” I observed. The band shifted into a slow, twangy tune about lost love.
Lucian pulled me into his arms, and once again, I found myself wondering why Knockemout had such a large population of impossibly sexy men. I was also wondering what Lucian’s motive was for asking me to dance. He struck me as the type of man who never did anything without an ulterior motive.
“Knox and Nash,” he began.
I congratulated myself on being so astute. “What about them?”
“They’re my best friends. Their feud has run its course. I want to make sure it doesn’t get stirred back up.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Everything.”
I guffawed right in the man’s face. “You think I’m going to reignite some feud that I had nothing to do with in the first place?”
“You’re a stunning woman, Naomi. More than that, you’re interesting, funny, and kind. You’re worth fighting for.”
“Well, thank you for your kind but bizarre opinion. But you can rest easy knowing that Knox and I can barely stand being in the same room.”
“That doesn’t always mean what you think it means,” he said.
“He’s rude, mercurial, and blames me for everything.”
“Perhaps because you make him feel things he doesn’t want to feel,” Lucian pointed out.