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Authors: Amy Hale

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Catching Whitney

BOOK: Catching Whitney
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CATCHING WHITNEY

Amy Hale

Copyright © 2015 Amy Hale

 

E-BOOK EDITION

 

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and events are the product of the author’s imagination. And resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

 

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

 

Cover Designed by:
Kris at C & K Creations

Editor and Formatter: Wendi Temporado with
Ready, Set, Edit.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Other Books By Amy Hale

Dedication

 

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

 

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Other Books By Amy Hale

 

Ulterior Motives

Shadows of Jane, The Shadows Trilogy, Book One

 

Coming Soon

Shadows of Deception, The Shadows Trilogy, Book Two

 

 

 

 

To my hilariously wonderful Matt and Rachel.

Never settle for less than you deserve.

I sit at the table, stirring my almost empty gin and tonic with a straw, and survey the room. A heavy sigh escapes my lips as I admit to myself that a loud, smoky bar is the last place I want to be. After an especially rough month, my friend Lindsey had insisted on a girls’ night out, but I’m simply not feeling it. Andy, my latest ex-boyfriend, had dumped me for a busty brunette that could barely spell her own name. Rumor had it that Cinny, if that was even her real name, was adventurous in the bedroom. I’m far less experienced, so I can’t really compete with that. My guess is Cinny is really a stripper name, and with any luck Andy will get a raging case of herpes within a few weeks. Granted, I know it isn’t a nice thought to have, but I am beyond being nice. Nice is why I’m sitting here alone, sipping my drink and watching my friend Lindsey have fun.

She has repeatedly pulled me with her to the dance floor, only for me to sneak away moments later and sit back down. I just can’t muster the enthusiasm needed to enjoy myself. Lindsey bounces over to the table, moving in time to the upbeat music.

“All right, Whitney, you sad sack, get off your ass and join me at the bar.”

I shake my head. “Really, Lindsey, I’m fine where I am. You go on without me.”

She gives me a scowl. “Seriously? I drag your skinny ass out for a fun weekend, and you refuse to party? That is unacceptable, sister. Bar. Now.”

Lindsey grabs my arm, pulling me out of my seat and across the room, shoving dancers out of her way as we go. When she’s determined, she’s a force to be reckoned with. I envision the dancers parting like the Red Sea at the flick of her wrist and smile to myself.

Lindsey has been my best friend since junior high, and we’ve been almost inseparable ever since. But we are two very different people. I’m somewhat shy and introverted, at least where adults are concerned. I adore kids, which makes my profession of teaching ideal. I have auburn hair and stand a grand total of five foot five. And while I’m slim, I’ve always felt that I’m filled out in all the right places. At least I used to feel that way. Meeting Cinny had since crushed that belief under a 4-inch, sparkled, spike heel. Stripper heels—I’m almost sure of it.

Lindsey is the polar opposite. She is only a couple of inches taller than me, but she has emerald green eyes and almost black hair that seems to glow with a mesmerizing blue tint when the lights hit it just right. She carries a little more weight than I do, but she’s curvaceous, and it looks fantastic on her regardless of her complaints that she’d love to be thinner. She is also extremely outgoing and confident, which I find intimidating and wonderful at the same time.

Lindsey shoves me onto a bar stool and takes a seat next to me. “Okay, lady, what’s your poison?”

I shake my head. “I should probably stick to soda or tea; I don’t need to get wasted.” She rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically. Then I add, “Besides, you should be out there dancing with that guy.”

Lindsey turns her head to see a tall, muscular, red-haired guy watching her with visible interest. This always happens when we go out—Lindsey turns heads everywhere she goes.

Smiling, she turns back to me. “Oh, he looks like he should have a Scottish accent. I bet he looks amazing in a kilt... or out of one.”

I throw back my head and release a real laugh for the first time all evening. Leave it to Lindsey to look a guy over, make snap assumptions, and then mentally undress him. He makes his way down the bar and stops in front of Lindsey. She smiles at him, and he leans down to whisper in her ear. I pretend to be interested in anything but them and decide a drink might be nice after all.

I flag down the cute bartender. “Excuse me! I’d like a margarita, please.”

The bartender nods and steps away to make my drink. I frown. He didn’t even seem to notice me. Not that I honestly want to be noticed, but dammit, can’t one cute guy show an interest tonight so that I’ll feel less inadequate? I hear Lindsey laugh and turn to see her and her newest eye-candy looking at me.

“What?”

Lindsey’s smile turns mischievous. “Nothing much. My new friend Blaine here was just saying that he and his friend Aidan have an empty table toward the back that’s a little more… quiet.”

“And?” I inquire.

“And,” Lindsey continues. “Aidan hasn’t been able to take his eyes off of you all night.”

I feel my eyes widen as I look at Blaine. He nods. “Yes, ma’am. And it’s not easy to grab his attention.”

I feel a slight blush creeping into my cheeks. “Blaine, would you mind if my friend and I had a private moment?”

He nods again. “We’ll be at the table. We’d love it if you both join us.” He grabs two beers off of the bar and walks back to his table.

I turn on Lindsey. “Are you nuts? We don’t know these guys!”

Lindsey sighs. “Isn’t that the whole point of driving two hours away from home for our weekend away? So we can debase ourselves where no one knows us?”

“Wait a minute. I agreed that drinking in another town was a good idea since I can’t have my reputation as a teacher smeared, but I’m not debasing myself this weekend.” I take a sip of my margarita that was just placed on the bar. “I’m simply having a few drinks and trying to relax.”

Lindsey shakes her head. “C’mon, live a little!” She places an arm around my shoulder and leans in close. “You’ve got a sexy man all hot and bothered over there; at least go see if he’s worth a closer look.”

I have to admit my interest is at least a little piqued. Wasn’t I just complaining that no one was noticing me? “Sexy? Can you really even see him from here?”

Lindsey laughs. “No, but I saw him earlier when I went to the bathroom. He’s been beating the ladies off with a stick just waiting for you to notice him.”

I’m not sure about this whole situation, but after a moment of thought I decide it can’t hurt to meet him. I grab my margarita and Lindsey grabs my free hand, hauling me behind her to be sure I don’t chicken out. As we approach the table, I unintentionally slow my steps. Lindsey is not exaggerating; Aidan is classically handsome. His dark brown hair is slightly long and has a bit of curl, giving it that sexy, just out of bed look. His eyes are a soft brown, and he has a chiseled, very masculine jawline, with just a touch of 5 o’clock shadow. From a few feet away I can tell he’s likely an athlete of some sort; that kind of hard body doesn’t come from sitting at a desk for eight hours a day. He sees me and smiles with perfect white teeth. I feel a little off balance and grip Lindsey for support.

Blaine and Aidan stand and pull out chairs for us. Lindsey smiles brightly at Blaine and gives him a wink as he pushes her chair in like the gentleman he is. I attempt to smile at Aidan, but suddenly my shyness kicks in, and I worry I look more like a cornered animal than a woman trying to flirt. I suck at flirting. I mean, Hoover vacuum level of suck. Thankfully, Aidan doesn’t. He pushes my chair in and seats himself across from me. His smile looks natural, and it somehow makes me feel less nervous. I relax a little and take a sip of my drink.

Lindsey reaches across the table. “Hi, Aidan, I’m Lindsey and this is my best friend, Whitney.” He shakes her hand and then turns to me expectantly. I suddenly realize I’m actually expected to speak to him. My introvert sirens start blaring in my head, and I abruptly become a mute.
Speak, Whitney. It’s not difficult. Say hello. Say hi. Say something, damn you, before he decides you make your living as a mime!

I manage to clear my throat and place my hand into his to shake. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Whitney.” His voice is deep and smooth and makes me think of velvet. Why velvet? I have no idea. That’s just the wayward thought that pops in my head. I often try not to giggle outwardly at my own inner, unpredictable hilarity. Others probably wouldn’t understand the cacophony of randomness in my head, but I tend to catch myself off-guard and laugh at the most unsuitable times due to inappropriate thoughts that should most certainly stay muzzled.

I pull my attention back to Aidan as I place my hand in my lap, noticing that Blaine and Lindsey are already immersed in their own little world. “So, Aidan, what do you do for a living?”
Wow. Way to be original, Whitney. Could you possibly ask a more boring question?

Aidan takes a swig of his beer and swallows. I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he does so, and it’s oddly the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen. He smiles at me again. “I’m a retired baseball player. I was starting to make a name for myself and go Major League when an injury put me out of the game for good, so now I’m looking at possibly coaching or something along those lines.”

I do mental fist pumps as I congratulate myself for being right about his athletic abilities. “I don’t know very much about baseball, but I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. Were you on a local team?” I hope I’m not embarrassing myself too much since I don’t even know if there is a baseball team in the area.

BOOK: Catching Whitney
8.21Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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