No Sweeter Love (Sweeter in the City Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

think of him growing up in such a remote, small-town like the one he described.
    She waited until her cousin had disappeared into the kitchen to start on the muffins and scones before carefully sliding the newspaper from her handbag. She supposed it was old fashioned to look for jobs through the classifieds anymore, but she was grasping for hope here, and she needed to keep all her options open. In the week since she’d been let go from the jewelry store, she’d found only five jobs to apply for, and with each day that ticked by without a phone call, her anxiety grew.
    She swept her eyes over the ads, pen poised, her heart thumping with hope at the first listing and then sinking with dread by the last. Unless she wanted to take up “dancing” or enter into a pyramid scheme, there didn’t seem to be much to choose from. She was either over-qualified or under-qualified, or just not right for any job at all.
    She chewed on her nail and stared out the window as the morning trickle to the “L” stop began. All those people, off to paying jobs, while she sat here in the window, envying the purpose they had to their day. Someone was off to her job today, she thought with a start. The job she’d given up. They were sitting at her desk, chatting with her coworkers, working on projects she’d initiated  . . .
    Well, she thought, brightening. She did have purpose today, at least. In three hours, Ethan was picking her up and they were headed up to Grey Harbor. An entire weekend of distraction and fun awaited her. Yes, she had something to do today, and even if it wasn’t exactly productive, it sure as heck beat sitting in Hailey’s apartment, imagining the words Matt might use to propose to the woman he’d always loved, or wondering how she would pretend to have been at work all day when Hailey arrived home.
    That was the worst part. And she couldn’t keep it up much longer.
    “What do you think of those chairs?” Hailey asked as she came back into the storefront, tying an apron at her waist.
    “These?” Claire frowned and looked down at the simple wooden chair. “I’ve never thought about them. Why?”
    “I was just thinking of refreshing the place a bit. Maybe adding more color. Changing the light fixtures. Getting some new artwork.” Hailey set her hands on her hips and looked around the space. Claire did the same, from the large glass display case to the gleaming espresso machine. The ceilings were tall, covered in decorative tin, and the far wall was made of exposed brick. The few tables were a rich medium brown wood, similar to the floorboards, but despite the dark furnishings, the light from the windows gave the space a warm and cozy feel.
    “I like it. Don’t change it. There’s been too much change recently.”
    She hadn’t ever come to the Corner Beanery back when she’d been with Matt, or even before she’d first met him. Her job in the South Loop was too far from Lincoln Park, and her apartment on the near west side made it equally inconvenient. Since moving into the neighborhood, she considered the small café to be her home away from home. A happy bustling place that Matt would never come to.
    Probably, she thought, darting her eyes to the window. Technically, he could now be living in Lincoln Park, walking to the Armitage station at this very moment.
    She felt shaky as she pushed her chair back and walked over to the counter. The chances were low, she told herself. No point in even worrying about it.
    Still, it was nice to know she would be going out of town for the weekend.
    Hailey stared thoughtfully at the far wall. “I was thinking of painting out the brick. White. Giving it an airy feeling.”
    Claire considered this. “It would be pretty. Think about it first before you rush into anything, though. Once you do it, you can’t undo it.”
    “Careful Claire.” Hailey laughed, teasing her with a decade-old nickname Claire had been given for refusing to skip gym class in lieu of a trip to