Chapter 15
Willa stepped into the coffee shop and spied Bree. She was thankful the woman had invited her to coffee. It was nice having someone who wasn’t associated with work to talk to.
“Hey, good to see you,” Bree said as she stood and gave Willa a hug.
“It’s good to see you, too.”
“I grabbed you a latte.”
“Oh, thank you,” Willa said as Bree’s name was called by the barista. “I’ll grab those.”
“Thank you.”
Willa picked up the coffee and then took a seat next to Bree. She took a sip of the latte and moaned. “This tastes so good.”
“I love this place.”
“It’s nice.” Willa glanced around. “I don’t usually go out for coffee. This is a nice place.”
Bree flashed her a smile. “So how does it feel to not have to look over your shoulder all the time?”
“Great. I’ve been sleeping at night, which is amazing. Work has been great, too.”
“You are really good at your job. When we were there the other day, you were so nice to everyone.”
Willa chuckled. “Well, everyone there was nice, so it’s easy to be kind when no one is being a jerk.”
“Oh yeah, I bet dealing with the jerks isn’t much fun.”
Willa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that can be terrible. There have been times when I’ve stepped away and let other people finish serving certain tables, but it doesn’t happen often.”
“That’s awful.”
“Yeah, people can be special. So how are you doing?”
Bree smiled. “Great. My man is doing great, and we’re happy.”
“That’s good.”
“You know, not every guy is a jerk like Robert.”
Willa shrugged. “I guess. But there’s no one I’m interested in, so that’s not an issue. Besides, I’m not ready for a relationship of any kind.”
“I get it. If you do end up finding someone, I hope they are awesome.”
Willa shook her head. “It will be a long time before I’m ready to date. Robert did a number on me, and I can’t go through that again.”
Bree took a sip of her coffee, then something, or someone, caught her eye. Her lips spread into a huge smile. “Oh, hey, Remi is here. She’s great.”
“Oh, nice.” Willa drew in a slow breath, trying to calm her nerves. She was taking things slowly, and meeting another of Bree’s friends was great, but a little nerve-wracking.
“She must have dropped the kids off with someone,” Bree said just before Remi stepped over. Then they were hugging. Willa missed that kind of friendship. Never again could she allow a man to get between her and her friends. Bree turned to her and smiled. “Do you remember Willa? She works at Aces.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s good to see you. I didn’t recognize you with your hair down.”
Willa shook her hand. “Yeah, I can’t wear it down when I wait tables. Sadly, I get bigger tips when I wear it in styles that make me look younger, like braided pigtails.”
Remi rolled her eyes. “I’m not surprised.”
“That’s gross,” Bree said.
She nodded. “Yes, it is.”
“I’m just picking up a coffee, then going clothes shopping,” Remi said.
“Oh, something special?” Bree asked.
“No, just need some shirts that aren’t stained.”
Bree chuckled. “I hear ya. Have fun shopping.”
“I will. You two have fun here.”
“Oh, we will,” Bree said.
They were alone again, and Willa sipped her coffee, worry sifting through her. She set her cup down and met Bree’s gaze.
“Everything okay?” Bree asked.
“Yeah, it’s just, I should have left Robert when he started in on my friends. You and Remi seem so close, and I really appreciate you being nice to me. I just lost so many friendships when I should have told Robert to go to hell.”
Bree took her hand and squeezed. “We live and learn. You can’t beat yourself up about what you did then. Now you know. If you ever do get with a guy and he tells you that you can’t have friends, you should run.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe I was so dumb and stayed.”
“You weren’t dumb. Sometimes we don’t think right when we’re in relationships.
We get in and then end up thinking it’s all okay, but it’s not.
Like I know when my guy needs a break, and we leave a party, but he knows when I need more time with friends because we talk and we share things.
Relationships should make your life better, never worse. ”
Willa blew out a pent-up breath. “I don’t know if I’ll ever find anyone right for me.”
“Finding the right person takes time. And honestly, being happy with your life is more important than dating anyone. You are young and have time to find someone if you want, but being single isn’t so bad.”
Willa chuckled. “I do have time. And you’re right, I’d rather be happy with my life than wrapped up in a crappy relationship with a man who is a jerk.”
Bree lifted her latte and smiled. “That’s the spirit.”
They both laughed as they sipped their coffee.
She was glad she’d taken the time to stop by the cafe and meet up with Bree.
She needed to make time for friends. Maybe some of her old friends would be okay with contact, not that they would still want to be friends, but she could try to get in touch with them.
After leaving the coffee shop with the promise of getting together in a few weeks, she headed to Aces for her shift.
She’d been able to get an earlier shift today and would be home by ten this evening.
She still hadn’t caught up with Bec, but the guy who’d been looking for her hadn’t shown back up.
Maybe he’d been looking for someone else.
The evening wasn’t too busy, and the people who came in seemed nice. She was amazed that she didn’t have any problem tables. It was almost the perfect night.
She picked up a few bottles of beer and was walking over to deliver them when the door opened, and she glanced up. Her heart stalled, and she almost tripped.
Robert walked in like he hadn’t just gotten out of jail. His gaze met hers, and an evil smile tilted his lips up, but didn’t reach his eyes.
The table was waiting for their drinks, so she moved to them, delivering the beers.
They thanked her, and she said something, but wasn’t sure exactly what she said seconds after the words had rolled off her tongue.
She hated how her mind blanked when fear took over. She needed to calm down and get a grip.
Anger made her spine stiffen. Someone else could serve the bastard. She wasn’t going to play nice and take his abuse.
Her other table needed some attention, so she turned her back on him and took their orders. If he touched her, she would hit him or scream or both.
The skin on the back of her neck felt prickly and hot. She had to concentrate extra hard to get the drink orders right. Even then, she had to go back to make sure she’d written them down correctly.
Damn, Robert showing up was making everything difficult. She didn’t want him here, but it was a public place. Now she would have to make sure he didn’t know where she lived.
Seven days with him behind bars had been wonderful. Now the fear was back, and she had to worry about him following her or doing something terrible.
Trusting Robert to do the right thing would get her in trouble. He was a jerk and would always choose to do the worst thing possible.