AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CORAL
I didn’t join my best friends in their resolutions to get their love lives on track this year. Finding a man has never been my problem. Now, finding the right one? That’s a whole other story.
I’ve been keeping my resolution this year close, not even sharing it with my friends, and it has nothing to do with men. This year is all about me and what makes me happy. A man has never been able to do that.
I should have known the moment I decided to be all about me and not let a man into my life one would be dropped in my lap. All I was supposed to do was help Lincoln design the perfect engagement ring for my bestie, Willow. I had no idea I’d meet Holden.
Now my resolution is crumbling, but I think I’m okay with it. There might be enough room for me and love this year.
HOLDEN
The Pink Collar Temp Agency has allowed me to connect with clients and make a name for myself in Denver with my jewelry. My dream is to have my own shop and every customer I gain gets me one step closer. Still, it’s a long way off.
I learned a long time ago that women only see the sparkling things I can give them instead of me. Maybe I’m jaded, but my experience doesn’t lie. I didn’t expect everything I thought I knew about love to be upended with one client meeting.
Coral is more beautiful than any gem I’ve put in a setting. It’s a good thing the engagement ring my customer wants to design isn’t for my woman because I hate to lose a sale. She’d be worth it though.
I’ll show her I’m the man for her and the ones who let her down in the past aren’t worth another thought. We’re diamonds in the rough, but I know just how to make us shine.
CHAPTER 1
CORAL
I thought for sure when I got a call from Lincoln, who is dating one of my best friends, Willow, it was so he could lay into me about our fun girl’s night out. As if he didn’t crash it and cut it short, which he did. He carted Willow off over his shoulder and I had no doubt in my mind what he was going to do.
I may have encouraged her to have a drink and to dance but being the fun one is kind of my thing in our little bestie group. I knew it would drive him crazy. I also knew he would be watching her. Considering we were out at Aces, the club where he’s head of security, I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist stalking her from the shadows.
It’s kind of cute and totally the love and attention my bestie should have. Both of my best friends, Paisley being the other, have found love after their New Year’s resolutions. They found the best guys for them. Or maybe the guys found them? I’m not sure how this fate, love, cupid thing works.
How could I know?
I’m known for getting myself into relationships with the wrong men all the time. The good thing is I don’t let them fester. If something isn’t working, I let it go. No harm, no foul. I never let my heart get involved in the equation.
It’s been a pattern which has been working for me for years. I’m never without some male interest and I never saw a reason before to not indulge in it. Until recently at least.
When Paisley and Willow were talking about their resolution this year to get their heads out of their careers and really try to put some effort into their love lives, I had a realization. I had been putting time into my love life, but not really much effort. I’ve been happy to flit from man to man without any real connection. Not like my career has suffered. Web design, in this day and age, isn’t exactly going away any time soon. I make a good living and I enjoy it, still I could be getting more jobs and putting more time into it.
It was all about effort.
I realized I had been half-assing all aspects of my life for a long damn time. While their resolutions were to put themselves out there for the first time in a long time, with spectacular results by the way, I resolved to pull myself back from the dating scene and put real effort into the areas of my life I thought could be more rewarding. Mainly my career and my friendships. I vowed to stop hopping from man to man and to work on me instead.
Maybe then I’d be able to see what everyone else thought they saw in me. I was used to playing the role people expected of me, but not really being present. It was time for something to change.
I didn’t tell my best friends any of this. Not because I didn’t trust them, I just didn’t want them to try and convince me of my worth. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn’t want outside validation.
So, when they asked me what my resolution was on New Year’s Eve a few months ago, I waved my hand dismissively and told them, “Why make a resolution? Things are good. I don’t want to shake the boat right now.”
My best friends know me well, they both eyed me as if they knew I was full of it, but I didn’t flinch. It was hard as hell to do. I hate not being completely honest with my girls. They are my ride or die. We’ve been friends through boys and heartache and changes and growth.
I trust them with my life, and I hate the guilt I feel for not sharing about my resolution. This new step in my life is simply something I need to do myself.
It’s a few months into the new year and so far it’s been going well. I’ve been putting more energy into work, and I haven’t been swayed by a pretty face. I thought the temptation would be too much, but it hasn’t really been a problem.
Maybe I’ve just gone through all the men who are totally my type. Or maybe with my girls out of commission, I’m not spending as much time out at night. It’s probably the second one.
I have been able to have some fun nights out with the girls, but it’s different going out with people in relationships than it was when they were single. I swear they have a forcefield around them which wards off men. It could also have something to do with the fact that their men don’t let them out of their sights for long.
It’s not just Paisley and Willow either. I’ve been included in this big ass family because of the men my girls are now in relationships with. None of them are single either.
