conclusions.”
“Hey, I’m sorry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” Monique snapped.
Kacey instantly felt guilty for assuming the worst. “I mean it. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working on the books?” Monique said with a strong undertone of
chick, get out of my face.
Kacey sighed and stepped back. She wouldn’t get into it with Monique. When her sister was ready to tell her what was going on, she would. And in the meantime, she’d pray it wasn’t Julio.
“Fine, I’m going to the office if you need me.”
Monique spun back to check on a new guy who’d just sat at the bar. Kacey wished she could take back the entire conversation. She glanced quickly at Aaron, who was once again making her momma and brother laugh. She wanted to laugh, too, but the books needed to be done, the schedule made, and there were countless other things she’d find to do while she was here. She tore her gaze away from Aaron and went to the back, thinking of her one-night stand, Monique’s affair with Julio, and wondering what was it about certain men that made the women in her family act so crazy.
Chapter 11
One week into her final semester, and Kacey wanted to bash her head into a wall. In fact, bashing her head into a wall was considerably more appealing than working on the thesis project her professor had ripped to shreds. After giving Kacey grief for using a personal goal for her project, the woman had thrown out nearly every source Kacey had spent the last semester gathering.
“Why so much research into fast-food chains? You’re working on building a family restaurant. Start over,”
the woman had said, her red pen scratching out half of Kacey’s literary review. Then she’d scoffed when Kacey defended her actions, using the rags-to-riches stories of how other famous chains had started with one location and the owner’s dream.
Kacey tried to take some comfort that the woman hadn’t recommended she find a new topic. But Kacey still felt as if she was starting from square one, and she begrudgingly admitted that even though her professor was a hard-ass, there were some nuggets of good advice beneath the pile of suggestions she’d dumped on Kacey. But now Kacey’s plan to fill several sections of her thesis with research she’d done in previous semesters was out the window. Her final semester had just gone from hard to excruciating.
She reached into the bag of Twizzlers next to her laptop on the kitchen table and chewed one strawberry-flavored end. Twisting her head in a useless attempt to get the kinks out of her neck, Kacey sighed and stared at the blank space and blinking cursor on her computer screen after the words “
Literature Review
.”
Sighing, she clicked on the Internet icon and navigated to the school’s online sources for business journals. If she had to start looking for new information, she might as well start now.
Three sources in, a frantic knock on the door interrupted her. Swearing, she saved the journal article she’d been reading to her hard drive and went to the door. She swung it open, fully expecting her brother on the other side. Reggie tended to check in on her a few nights a week since she was a single woman living alone so close to him. She swore her brother would’ve fit perfectly in the Victorian age.
Her mind became as blank as her computer screen when she met Aaron’s deep, soulful eyes. That sexy grin of his lit up his face, combined with slim-fitting jeans that molded to long, lean legs and a Spider-Man T-shirt clinging to his perfectly muscled upper body, made him more appealing than an A+ from Professor Hateful.
“Are you watching?” His voice rang with enthusiasm.
The words took at least two seconds to penetrate her brain. “Huh?”
“The match? The Coroner is beating King Rhames in a cage match for the title. It’s crazy.”
Another two seconds for comprehension. “You’re talking about
“Hey, I’m sorry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” Monique snapped.
Kacey instantly felt guilty for assuming the worst. “I mean it. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working on the books?” Monique said with a strong undertone of
chick, get out of my face.
Kacey sighed and stepped back. She wouldn’t get into it with Monique. When her sister was ready to tell her what was going on, she would. And in the meantime, she’d pray it wasn’t Julio.
“Fine, I’m going to the office if you need me.”
Monique spun back to check on a new guy who’d just sat at the bar. Kacey wished she could take back the entire conversation. She glanced quickly at Aaron, who was once again making her momma and brother laugh. She wanted to laugh, too, but the books needed to be done, the schedule made, and there were countless other things she’d find to do while she was here. She tore her gaze away from Aaron and went to the back, thinking of her one-night stand, Monique’s affair with Julio, and wondering what was it about certain men that made the women in her family act so crazy.
Chapter 11
One week into her final semester, and Kacey wanted to bash her head into a wall. In fact, bashing her head into a wall was considerably more appealing than working on the thesis project her professor had ripped to shreds. After giving Kacey grief for using a personal goal for her project, the woman had thrown out nearly every source Kacey had spent the last semester gathering.
“Why so much research into fast-food chains? You’re working on building a family restaurant. Start over,”
the woman had said, her red pen scratching out half of Kacey’s literary review. Then she’d scoffed when Kacey defended her actions, using the rags-to-riches stories of how other famous chains had started with one location and the owner’s dream.
Kacey tried to take some comfort that the woman hadn’t recommended she find a new topic. But Kacey still felt as if she was starting from square one, and she begrudgingly admitted that even though her professor was a hard-ass, there were some nuggets of good advice beneath the pile of suggestions she’d dumped on Kacey. But now Kacey’s plan to fill several sections of her thesis with research she’d done in previous semesters was out the window. Her final semester had just gone from hard to excruciating.
She reached into the bag of Twizzlers next to her laptop on the kitchen table and chewed one strawberry-flavored end. Twisting her head in a useless attempt to get the kinks out of her neck, Kacey sighed and stared at the blank space and blinking cursor on her computer screen after the words “
Literature Review
.”
Sighing, she clicked on the Internet icon and navigated to the school’s online sources for business journals. If she had to start looking for new information, she might as well start now.
Three sources in, a frantic knock on the door interrupted her. Swearing, she saved the journal article she’d been reading to her hard drive and went to the door. She swung it open, fully expecting her brother on the other side. Reggie tended to check in on her a few nights a week since she was a single woman living alone so close to him. She swore her brother would’ve fit perfectly in the Victorian age.
Her mind became as blank as her computer screen when she met Aaron’s deep, soulful eyes. That sexy grin of his lit up his face, combined with slim-fitting jeans that molded to long, lean legs and a Spider-Man T-shirt clinging to his perfectly muscled upper body, made him more appealing than an A+ from Professor Hateful.
“Are you watching?” His voice rang with enthusiasm.
The words took at least two seconds to penetrate her brain. “Huh?”
“The match? The Coroner is beating King Rhames in a cage match for the title. It’s crazy.”
Another two seconds for comprehension. “You’re talking about
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