everyone else. Whereas Lynn could make vegan cookies taste like the real thing, Annie wasn’t even sure if her mom’s soup made her happy.
She was tired of trusting everyone else. Wanted to experience things for herself. Wasn’t that what this adventure of hers was about? Man-free didn’t have to mean no flings. It just meant living her life for herself and not for a man.
“But how do I know if I don’t even try? And look where caution has gotten me. My mom used to say, ‘Good girls get good husbands.’ And here I am, single and childless with a wedding dress fit for another woman.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” Beckett held up a hand. “Not the wedding-dress part, but the rest of it.”
“It just seems like I’ve been playing by the rules and no one else has. Or maybe everyone’s playing by a different set of rules and I was never given the playbook. Otherwise, how is it possible that every time I meet a good guy, he tells me I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and in the next breath he just wants to be friends? Well, I’m tired of being everyone’s friend. I want to have some fun. You know what happens to women who spend their entire lives trying to do the right thing and thinking about consequences?” Annie stood. “You turn thirty never having had a one-night stand or a tattoo on your ass.”
“And the biggest good girl award goes to you,” Lynn deadpanned.
“Are you saying I shouldn’t take a risk here and there? Because, serious confession time, I’ve never even kissed a stranger.”
“Kiss away.” Lynn laughed. “Just be careful you don’t wind up with Zac Efron tattooed on your left ass cheek.”
* * *
The sun was calling it, disappearing into the horizon and settling in for a good night’s sleep. Something Annie would normally be doing, but tonight she had other plans.
Drinks with her girlfriends—on a work night! One couldn’t go bad girl over a single serving of applesauce. There were steps to be taken, toes to be dipped, skills to be acquired before she took the plunge.
She wanted to splash around, identify dangerous waters so as not to get caught up in a current that pulled her out to sea.
Annie got out of her car and nearly melted in the humidity. Or maybe it was the anticipation of tonight. She was meeting Lynn and Beckett at the Crow’s Nest, a bar and grill that jutted out over Lovers’ Point beach, offering some of the best views in town—since it was located between the Coast Guard office and the firehouse.
The views of the Atlantic were nice too.
The former 150-year-old fish market had been repurposed into a place where Rome’s locals could pull up a chair and throw back a few with friends while listening to live music. The two-story bar specialized in drinks served by the shot, shaker, or half shell and fancied itself a Rhode Island sourced, caught, and brewed kind of grill—making it a local hot spot.
Tonight was Tidepool Tuesday, so the billiards were on the house and anything that came in a barrel or a shell was half off. Half off meant double the drinks, double the laughs, and double the crowd.
Annie spotted her friends at the far end of the bar and waved before stepping down into the sway. As she pushed her way through the sea of tipsy patrons, barely able to see above the swell of the crowd, she quickly found herself disoriented.
“Excuse me,” she yelled to be heard over the crowd. No one moved.
She patted a large man in front of her on the shoulder. “Excuse me, just trying to get past.”
Being vertically challenged never really bothered her unless she was in a big crowd, and people used her petite stature as an excuse to ignore her. Like Paul Bunyan, who glanced down at her then, with a smile, went back to chatting up his bros.
“Jerk,” she mumbled while searching for another way across the room. She backed up to retrace her steps when a hand slid around her waist and pulled her into a very big, very toned chest. She looked up to find a very smug Emmitt smiling down at her.
“If you wanted to dance, you could have just asked,” he said, his voice having no trouble carrying over the crowd.
“I didn’t even know you were here,” she shouted.
“What?” He cupped his ear. “You want to buy me