Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 142783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Eden hid her laughter behind her soda water.
“And what’s it saying, Tessa?” Salem’s voice was droll, a low teasing with a shake of her head as she took a sip of her hot tea.
“Um, it’s saying our beautiful Aster here has mad, crazy secrets, and they’re really juicy, and it is her duty as our new BFF to dish the deets.”
“I’m not sure how she’s supposed to talk at all when you never stop.” Salem sent me a wry grin as if to let me off the hook.
Tessa pressed her hand over her heart. “Don’t make me kick you out of the Fantastic Foursome.”
Eden groaned. “Fantastic Foursome? Really?”
“Um, hello, the Three Amigos just gained another amigo. This trio is now a quartet. That is unless I have to kick the rude one out.”
Tessa sent Salem a pout.
Salem laughed, her black hair swishing around her shoulders. “I’d rather be rude than nosy.”
“As long as Aster dishes, we’ll be just fine,” Tessa said. “So, let’s hear it. Tell me what it’s like with Logan. Is he wild in the sack, or does he not live up to the hype? Just how big is his dick because I accidentally saw Trent’s once and Oh. My. God.”
That time, I choked on my sip of mimosa. A stream of it dribbled out, and I swiped it with the back of my hand.
“Tessa.” Eden scolded it like she was dealing with an unruly teenager.
“Um, what? Don’t sit over there and act like you’re complaining.”
“If you’re going to hang out with us, you’re going to discover this one has zero filter.” Salem jostled her shoulder into Tessa’s.
“I’m getting the sense…” I drew out.
Tessa’s blue eyes widened as if she’d been wronged. “Inquiring minds, people. Help a girl out.”
“And that help she needs is a direct result of her going without an orgasm for five years. At least one she hasn’t given herself.” Salem quirked a pointed brow.
Tessa gasped in offense. “I do have a boyfriend, you know.”
“Who is the biggest douchebag on the face of the planet, and whatever the size of his dick, it wouldn’t matter because the moron has no clue what to do with it.” Salem leaned toward me when she said it.
Apparently, this was a common topic of conversation.
“Karl’s not that bad.”
“Oh, he is that bad.” Eden’s nose curled in distaste.
“Wow, guys, wow. Where is the love?”
Eden giggled. “We’re only saying this because of the love.”
Tessa’s demeanor shifted. “Then maybe you should support the decision I have to make.”
Half of me felt like an outsider who’d stumbled into a private conversation, the other felt as if this was exactly where I belonged.
As if I’d been destined to be here, too. That North Star guiding me to my special place.
I couldn’t help but be completely invested when Eden reached her hand over the table and took Tessa’s. “I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that. We just want better for you. We want you to find someone who deserves the amazing person you are, and that person is not Karl.”
Tessa deflated the smallest amount, and she looked away, out into the booths that were mostly vacant at this time of hour.
“It’s not that simple, and you know it.” She wasn’t looking at anyone when she let the whisper free.
“But fighting for what you need? Going after who and what brings you joy?” Eden squeezed her hand tighter. “You’re right. It might not be simple, but it’s worth it, even if it’s messy.”
“Life is always messy, especially when it comes to the things that mean the most to us.” Salem’s gaze shifted to me when she said it.
Unease quivered through me. It felt as if she were making a point to change the focus of the conversation.
I took a shaky sip of my mimosa and wondered why I’d agreed to this. I was a fool for trying to cling to what would never truly belong to me.
But I’d come…come because of Logan’s encouragement. Because he wanted me to be a part of his life.
Because I wanted to be a part of it, too.
Hopelessness sank into my spirit when I thought of it. How hopeless all of this really was.
I mean, what was I thinking, sitting here as if I wouldn’t be dragged back to Los Angeles, one way or another—either by Jarek or my father?
Consigned to a life I didn’t want.
Eden and Tessa both noticed it, but it was Salem’s words that held me like a trap. “I was from LA, you know.”
It stalled me out, and a short breath left my lungs.
Intensity swirled through her expression, and the woman gazed across at me as if she were studying a familiar picture.
My hand was trembling so uncontrollably when I set the flute onto the table that the glass clattered against the wood, barely remaining upright.