Whisper Cape Read Online Free Page A

rag slung over his shoulder, his curly-blond hair hanging over his forehead—looking hopeful. He had a nice face, nice body ... well, great body, Addie corrected, but she always thought of him more as a friend and didn’t want to start a relationship with a coworker. Besides, she’d felt there was something between Jared and her friend Darcy, one of the waitresses, although they both denied it whenever she asked them.
    “Um, sure,” she said and turned to walk behind the bar. He’d caught her off guard, damn it, and she hadn’t been quick enough to come up with a good excuse on the spot.
    He beamed, his face a mixture of shock and excitement. “Really ...? Sweet. I’ll pick you up around seven. Dress warm—even though we’ll have a fire, it’s still going to be frigid down there.”
    She paused for a moment, searching for the right words, not wanting to hurt his feelings. It was weird enough to go with him to a campfire—a campfire with other people—quite another to be picked up by him, too much like an actual date as far as she was concerned.
    “Why don’t we just leave from here? Then we can use my truck and you won’t have to worry about drinking and driving,” she said, pleased with her quick thinking.
    Jared frowned down at the grill as he fiddled with something in a pan, and tucked a blond curl, which was forever falling out, back under his cap. “Oh. Ah … yeah, sure, if that’s what you want.”
    Something brushed Addie’s arm and she turned to see Darcy, her best friend, standing with her arms crossed and tapping her right shoe.
    “What's taking so long with my order?”
    “Working on it, Double D,” Jared snapped back at her.
    “You’re going to the campfire tomorrow night, right?” Addie said, turning to Darcy with a pleading smile as she fastened her black apron around her waist, wrapping the long ties around twice so the bow wouldn’t hang down to her knees. Then she slipped behind the bar. “The three of us can all ride down together. There’s plenty of room for our beach chairs and the truck has a comfy back seat.”
    Jared frowned. “Yeah, just what we need. Sure, Double D, come along; we could always use a third wheel.”
    Addie cringed. The term ‘Double D’ not only referred to the name, Darcy Delacroix, but also to Darcy’s bust size. She knew, without a doubt, that Darcy absolutely, unequivocally, detested the label and Addie never wanted to be in the line of fire when Darcy caught someone using it.
    “Shut up, Jared,” Darcy scowled. “Unlike you, Jared Kane, I never have any problem getting dates, you worm. Go on now,” she gestured with her fingers toward the kitchen, “slither back into your little hole and stop calling me Double D, or I’ll rip your tongue out.”
    Addie was sure Jared felt the sting from Darcy’s glare as he slunk back into the kitchen. Darcy followed Addie out to the bar and set her tray down on the long L-shaped, walnut counter. The fifteen cushy stools around it would soon fill up once the tour bus arrived, as would the six tables along the front windows. They always went first, leaving the four square tables in the middle of the room unoccupied, except for busy days like today. Darcy gave Addie the drink order she needed for her table, but as Addie turned to fix the cocktails, Darcy caught her by the arm.
    “Maybe you should just tell him you’re not interested, since he’s too dense to understand subtle rejection. Then you wouldn’t have to play these silly games. He’s a grown man, he can take it.”
    Addie glanced back in Jared’s direction to make sure he wasn’t listening. “Yeah, well, silly to you. I’m not as cold-hearted. I’ll handle it my way, thank you very much.”
    “Suit yourself. Hey, tell me about this guy you almost hit. Who was he?” Darcy picked up a cherry and plopped it into the glass Addie just filled with Coke and placed it alongside the pint of draft on her tray.
    “Oh, um, I don’t know, I don’t