Tequila Rose

by Willow Winters

“You need another?” a friendly masculine voice, not the professional one of the bartender, asks from my right. Just hearing that deep baritone stirs up jitters in my stomach. I can feel his presence before I see him. He’s tall, much taller than I am,

If Man Candy Mondays had a mascot, this man would be it.

“Your father destroyed your family name, left you with nothing after embezzling and stealing from practically every family in this town. Nothing but a money-hungry ho who fought you for four years over the pennies he left behind.”

I’ve relied on a man who keeps me a secret. A dirty little secret of being a kept woman.

He isn’t my boyfriend and he’ll never be my husband. Yet I let him come and go as he pleases. More than that, I seek refuge in our messed-up relationship.

Oh shit. I suck in a deep breath, clutching the cloth napkin in my lap. He saw me.

“Take it from me, dear, I know a thing or two.” She gives me a kind smile even though her eyes reflect sympathy. “This is going to be a wild ride. So smile, dear. When you look back on it, you’re going to want to remember you did it with a smile.”

“Are you seeing him?” I don’t expect Robert’s question or for him to be so blunt. Neither does Renee, although she only peers up from her phone and remains silent. This counter is my defense; that phone is hers. But neither will save me from this conflict. “Seeing him is a phrase for it … I guess.” I swallow the truth down, deep down. My plan of action is simple. Brody is told first. I tell him tonight. Then the world can know and judge. Right now, as much as I don’t like it, Robert is grouped in with the rest of the world. Even if it does make me sick to my stomach.

There’s something here and I just need to kiss her. She’ll feel it all too, as soon as she lets me kiss her.

I thought the town said she’s single. That’s what you told me. But it doesn’t look that way.

His response is telling: There might be a complication … or two.