AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Still,” she continued, twirling her drink in her hand. “I kind of wish they didn’t know. I feel so ridiculous for not realizing what a jerk he was.”
“He’s an asshole,” I said, the declaration freeing after years of always biting my tongue. “And fuck what anyone else thinks,” I continued, dipping my head down to catch her eyes. “You’re amazing, Luna. Smart and funny and talented beyond all means. He’s the idiot who let you get away. He doesn’t deserve it but people should pity him for losing you.”
The smallest of smiles graced her lips as she nodded. “He is an asshole,” she said, then laughed before taking another drink. “I just wish I didn’t feel…”
“What?” I asked when she didn’t continue.
She shrugged, setting down her now-empty glass. “I wish I didn’t feel like an idiot. Looking back, there were so many signs, and each and every time I either ignored them or convinced myself that it was my fault.” She sighed. “My fault that he didn’t want to go out on a date with me, my fault that he didn’t want to put in an effort for an in-home hang, my fault that he didn’t believe in my clothes, my fault that he didn’t want to—”
Luna cut herself off abruptly, clenching her eyes shut as she took a visible breath.
“Sorry,” she said, opening her eyes again. I hated seeing how much pain churned there, but I could see just as much anger too. “We don’t have to keep rehashing this.”
“We can rehash it as many times as you want,” I said. “Hell, we can dig deeper if you want, or we can pretend like he never even existed. I’ll track him down right now and make his life hell, too. All you have to do is say the word.”
Luna laughed, the sound trembling all the way down my bones. Fuck, how could a laugh be so sexy?
“We could go put sugar in his gas tank,” she said through her laughter.
I joined in, grinning at her. “That was one time,” I said. “And you know I regret it.”
“I don’t,” Luna said. “Ally deserved it after she cheated on you.”
“Yeah, but that was freshman year of high school,” I said. “We were kids. It wasn’t like we were married.”
“Still,” she said. “No regrets.”
The memory filled me with a sense of nostalgia. Luna never hesitated when it came to me and our friendship, and I’d returned the favor. We had decade’s worth of history between us that only fueled how close we were now.
“Sugar in the tank wouldn’t be equal revenge,” I said.
Luna tilted her head. “What would be?”
Breaking his jaw might do the trick.
“I could buy the company he works for and fire him,” I said instead, and a laugh ripped from her lips. “What?” I said, grinning. “All it would take is a call.”
She playfully touched my arm, reeling in her laughter. “I guess your revenge flex is a bit bigger now than it was back in high school,” she said.
I wet my lips, getting lost in her smile, in how close she sat next to me. “Everything about me is bigger than it was back in high school.” The teasing words were out before I could stop them.
Her eyes flared before she nodded. “You were a scrawny thing back then,” she teased.
She wasn’t wrong, I’d been tall and lanky like a damn bean pole back then. But that all changed in college, where I found weights and cardio and a general love of keeping my body fit and healthy. It was something I learned early on when making my millions—the healthier the body, the healthier the mind.
“Not that I’m one to talk,” she continued. “I lived in my paint-splattered overalls and always had charcoal all over my face.”
“Some people find that incredibly attractive,” I said, my mind whirling and my tongue running away from me. I don’t know if it was because of the darkened club setting or the masks giving me this invincible, dangerous feel, but I was having a hard time not going with it.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “I had lines of guys begging me for a date. They all were dying to see inside my sketchbook.”
“The right one would,” I said, and her eyes met mine. Fuck, they were gorgeous, all hazel with notes of green and gold.
“Maybe,” she finally said. “Lucky for me I’m not in the market to look for the right one.”
“That’s good,” I said, leaning a little closer. “Especially since you’re about to be my fiancé for the next two weeks.”
“Does a spending account come with it?” she joked. “I’ve been eying a new sewing machine for ages.”
“We can work that into the deal,” I said. “What else do you want?”
She chuckled again, shaking her head. “What am I allowed to ask for?”
