HaBO: She Works as a Waitress at Her Ex’s Hotel

Help A Bitch Out

This HaBO comes from A Traveller, who is looking for an older Mills & Boon romance. Content warning for the description below:

Long time reader, first time HABO asker here! I ran through a gazillion Harlequins/Mills & Boons during the early 2000s (a lot of them were published in the 80s and 90s), and every so often I think of one and then go crazy trying to remember the name/author.

This one starts with the female protagonist working as a waitress in a hotel bar, and her ex walks in with his new girlfriend – turns out he’s the new owner of the hotel. They had met when she was very young – I think it ended badly due to unexpected pregnancy, a miscarriage, and her father telling him it was deliberate for… money reasons?

Back in the present, he’s being judgmental, but then slowly learns she actually studied to be a teacher, and is working this job only till school reopens. She lives with an old grumpy guy she met randomly and who is now like a pseudo father figure to her (he maybe had dementia?), and who she lets the ex think is her current lover. And there was a scene where he comes into the changing room at the hotel to yell at her about something while she’s peeling an apple for herself, and she ends up slicing her hand badly, so he takes her to the hospital. And someone (maybe the ex’s girlfriend?) ordered a pink squirrel at some point, which I think I remember only because this was the first time I had heard of this drink and had no idea what it was (not sure I still do).

Would love to find this or at least remember the name if possible, because all these weirdly specific details are driving me crazy.

God, he better grovel so hard.