Chapter One
She should never have come back here. It was frighteningly the same it had always been. But what really terrified Brady was that she felt the same way here as she always had. The same scared little girl who hid on the fringes and prayed no one noticed.
But she wasn’t that same little girl anymore. Brady tried to remember that as she looked around the little bar that was much longer than it was wide. Nothing had changed in the years she had been away. The same green vinyl covered the stools and booths. It even smelled the same, of stale beer and strong male cologne.
Her beautiful sister, the reason she had come back in the first place, was busy shaking it on the measly excuse for a dance floor. Why Melissa wanted Brady to come home in the first place was beyond Brady.
Yes, they were sisters and only a year and a month apart but they had never been close. Melissa was younger and had an annoyingly bubbling personality. They were as different as day and night and that was something else that hadn’t changed.
Lissa, as everyone called her, was blonde-haired, blue-eyed and had gotten her boobs early in life. Cheerleading had been her only reason for living in high school and she had even managed to effortlessly keep her grades up.
Brady on the other hand had studied hard and had kept her nose in a book. She had a mass of red curls that drew attention, making her the brunt of many carrot-top jokes. After high school she had taken off for college as soon as she could and had published her first romance novel before graduating. She had always known she wanted to write and had busted her ass to make it happen. She hadn’t come home since then and didn’t understand why her sister had begged and pleaded to get her here now.
They didn’t have a traditional family. Their parents had both travelled a lot for work and these days preferred to lie around on some beach for the holidays, so there had never been a reason to come back. They usually came out to see her instead.
It wasn’t as if Lissa had a shortage of friends to party with her and while Brady understood it was the special thirtieth birthday bash, she didn’t know why it was such a big deal. She had celebrated, or rather not celebrated, her own thirtieth birthday with a bottle of wine and a steady stream of chick flicks, alone and in her sweats. It was just another day, after all.
But here she was back in this little one-horse town, sitting at the bar while her sister gyrated to the music with no shortage of men willing to join in. Some of them she knew and some of them she didn’t. But they still paid her no mind.
Even though she had won the Romance Writer of the Year Award, even though she wore designer jeans and shirts and her nails were done and her hair had been cut and polished the day before she flew out. None of it mattered here and she was still the same geek under the clothes anyway. She wasn’t sure why she had even bothered. Except maybe she still had hope people would see her differently.
She loved her sister but Brady knew she would never have the personality that had men flocking to her. She was supposedly unapproachable and had been called an ice queen more times than she cared to count.
But as the music blasted in her ears from the local band she wished she could fit in as easily here. Finally catching the buff bartender’s eye, she ordered another drink and decided she would go back to her hotel when she was done with this one. She had barely enough time to hug her sister before she was dragged here and she was ready for the day to be over.
The fact that she had sat next to the bartender in three classes their senior year made no difference. He had no idea who she was. Heaving a sigh, she turned in her barstool and watched the band play.
They weren’t too bad by her standards but that didn’t mean anything. Resigned to her seat, she watched the usual pickups and shutdowns from her fellow sardines. It was getting late but
She should never have come back here. It was frighteningly the same it had always been. But what really terrified Brady was that she felt the same way here as she always had. The same scared little girl who hid on the fringes and prayed no one noticed.
But she wasn’t that same little girl anymore. Brady tried to remember that as she looked around the little bar that was much longer than it was wide. Nothing had changed in the years she had been away. The same green vinyl covered the stools and booths. It even smelled the same, of stale beer and strong male cologne.
Her beautiful sister, the reason she had come back in the first place, was busy shaking it on the measly excuse for a dance floor. Why Melissa wanted Brady to come home in the first place was beyond Brady.
Yes, they were sisters and only a year and a month apart but they had never been close. Melissa was younger and had an annoyingly bubbling personality. They were as different as day and night and that was something else that hadn’t changed.
Lissa, as everyone called her, was blonde-haired, blue-eyed and had gotten her boobs early in life. Cheerleading had been her only reason for living in high school and she had even managed to effortlessly keep her grades up.
Brady on the other hand had studied hard and had kept her nose in a book. She had a mass of red curls that drew attention, making her the brunt of many carrot-top jokes. After high school she had taken off for college as soon as she could and had published her first romance novel before graduating. She had always known she wanted to write and had busted her ass to make it happen. She hadn’t come home since then and didn’t understand why her sister had begged and pleaded to get her here now.
They didn’t have a traditional family. Their parents had both travelled a lot for work and these days preferred to lie around on some beach for the holidays, so there had never been a reason to come back. They usually came out to see her instead.
It wasn’t as if Lissa had a shortage of friends to party with her and while Brady understood it was the special thirtieth birthday bash, she didn’t know why it was such a big deal. She had celebrated, or rather not celebrated, her own thirtieth birthday with a bottle of wine and a steady stream of chick flicks, alone and in her sweats. It was just another day, after all.
But here she was back in this little one-horse town, sitting at the bar while her sister gyrated to the music with no shortage of men willing to join in. Some of them she knew and some of them she didn’t. But they still paid her no mind.
Even though she had won the Romance Writer of the Year Award, even though she wore designer jeans and shirts and her nails were done and her hair had been cut and polished the day before she flew out. None of it mattered here and she was still the same geek under the clothes anyway. She wasn’t sure why she had even bothered. Except maybe she still had hope people would see her differently.
She loved her sister but Brady knew she would never have the personality that had men flocking to her. She was supposedly unapproachable and had been called an ice queen more times than she cared to count.
But as the music blasted in her ears from the local band she wished she could fit in as easily here. Finally catching the buff bartender’s eye, she ordered another drink and decided she would go back to her hotel when she was done with this one. She had barely enough time to hug her sister before she was dragged here and she was ready for the day to be over.
The fact that she had sat next to the bartender in three classes their senior year made no difference. He had no idea who she was. Heaving a sigh, she turned in her barstool and watched the band play.
They weren’t too bad by her standards but that didn’t mean anything. Resigned to her seat, she watched the usual pickups and shutdowns from her fellow sardines. It was getting late but
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