Globetrotter Ingrid gets a fabulous fresh start when her job takes her to Melbourne, Australia. Here she meets wise and sweet Oliver, who makes her forget she doesn't have a heart.
This successful stability prompts Ingrid to accept an invitation to...
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March 2016
"How long are you going to be doing this?" Remi asked, wiping the countertop. "Not that I mind the extra pair of hands, but..."
Ingrid looked up from the glass she was cleaning behind the bar, one eyebrow raised. "But what?"
"You've got a master's degree an' all, you shouldn't be a bar wench."
Ingrid rolled her eyes. "First off, I haven't got my master's yet. Secondly... So what? I like helping you out."
Remi shook his head. "My momma would lose her shit if I got a college degree and used it to tend bar, bless her soul."
"Well, my momma lost her shit when she had me, so..."
Remi paused to look straight at her. "Don't you think you're being a little too harsh on her? I mean, it wasn't cool that she was beating you and stuff, that's... I'm not saying you should forgive her. But, you know, if you were to put yourself in her shoes..."
Ingrid clenched her jaw. Remi's words bothered her because she'd been thinking a lot about that, herself. When her husband had gotten her pregnant against her will, Remi had taken her to the clinic and held her hand through it every step of the way. If her mother had had that sort of support... Maybe Ingrid wouldn't exist now, but her mother would also likely not be an abusive alcoholic.
Would she?
"I don't know, Rem..." She picked up another glass. "Fact is that my mum hates me, only I've never been able to understand why. Now less than ever. It was my granny who raised me and after she passed, I was pretty much on my own, with a little help from my teacher. I..."
"Come on." Remi slung his rag over his shoulder and joined her behind the bar. "Let's take you home. You still have a lot to tell me about Copenhagen."
Ingrid leaned into Remi's hug and closed her eyes as he kissed her head. She didn't have many friends in the world, but Remi was the best one of all. The only one, in fact, at that point in time. The only one who knew all of her twisted secrets.
The only one who'd tried to prevent her from making the biggest mistake of her life, except she hadn't bothered to listen. He'd seen through Jack Astor's ridiculous charade and urged her to reconsider. She hadn't.
"So, tell me more about this Magnus guy." Remi wiggled his eyebrows as they settled on the sofa in her living room. "Is that really his real name?"
"Remington Carter, you were named after a fucking shotgun, you don't get to judge other people's names."
Remi kicked her shin.
"But if you must know," she added, "yes, that is his real name."
"And? Did he live up to it?"
Ingrid couldn't help a grin. "Let's just say... The force was strong with this one."
"Is that... Did you just make a Star Wars reference? You?"
