Gasping For Air 2 (Last Chance Romance Series) by Abigail Keam

rolled her eyes. She was not amused.
    Heather grabbed her backpack and started to follow Officer Masterson out the door when Lillian grabbed her arm. “Just a minute, young lady. Hand over the fifty dollars. No way are you going to buy a pair of shoes with that money.”
    “But that money is mine!” protested Heather.
    “How can you be so insensitive? That money is going into the cash register. Just a drop in the bucket of what we both now owe Eva.”
    Heather reluctantly reached into her backpack and pulled out a fifty dollar bill and plunked it into Eva’s outstretched hand. “Shall I come in tomorrow?”
    Lillian snorted with disdain. “You can take the day off. I’ll handle your shift. Eva will be home in a few days and she can then decide when your shifts are.” Lillian could not believe that Heather didn’t understand that she would probably be fired and barred from the Pink Flamingo, but that wasn’t her decision to make.
    Eva was going to have to make that call. In the meantime, Lillian was going to start looking for another job. She was sure she would be bounced out on her ear.
    And she didn’t want to leave Key Largo. Not ever!

25
    S everal hours later Lillian heard the bell as the office door opened. She wiped the tears from her eyes and went out to the front desk.
    There stood Officer Masterson with a gym bag, pizza, and drinks. “Figured we both needed something to eat.”
    “Did you drop Heather off?”
    “Left her in the angry arms of her mother who is probably still yelling as we speak.”
    Lillian eyed Masterson’s bag suspiciously. “What’s the bag for?”
    “I will be staying in the extra bedroom.”
    “What!” exclaimed Lillian. She didn’t like the sound of that at all.
    Officer Masterson strode into the manager’s quarters and put his stuff on the kitchen counter. “I called Mike and told him what had happened.”
    Lillian groaned, “Oh, dear. We’ve spoiled their honeymoon.”
    “Mike’s not going to tell Eva, but we both thought it was a good idea for me to stay at the motel until they come back. Mike and I go back a long way. We used to play football together in high school. Every penny Eva and Mike both possess is sunk into this place. I’m not going to let a two-bit punk like Jeremy Salvador ruin it for them.”
    “This is all my fault. I feel so terrible.”
    “Is that what the tears are about?”
    Lillian’s hand rushed to her face. She nodded.
    “It’s not your fault. I think if Heather would tell the entire truth, we would discover that Jeremy put Heather up to working here. It was a setup, I’m sure. Apparently Heather used to date Jeremy.”
    “Oh.”
    “Yes, oh.” Officer Masterson sat at the counter and took a slice of pizza out of the box and took a bite. “Let’s eat. We will both feel better with something in our stomachs.” He pushed a drink toward Lillian.
    Reluctantly, she joined him at the kitchen counter and took a slice of pizza. She slowly took a nibble. “You’re right. This is good pizza.”
    They both ate in silence until most of the pizza was consumed. While Masterson cleaned up the counter, Lillian got a flashlight. “It’s near midnight. I usually do my rounds before I lock up the office for the night.”
    “I’ll go with you. Give me a minute to change my uniform.” He looked questioningly at Lillian.
    She pointed to a door.
    Masterson hurried into the second bedroom and closed the door.
    Lillian didn’t like the officer sharing the apartment with her, but what could she do. She had caused a pickle for Eva for sure and needed help. Lillian eventually realized that it might be a good idea for Officer Masterson to stay at the motel until Eva came back.
    She pushed the thought from her mind that this was the first time she had shared quarters with a man who was not her husband. It made her uneasy, even though she felt she could trust Officer Masterson. The trouble was she had felt she could trust her husband and look where that