A Is for Abstinence Read Online Free PDF Page A

muttered.
    We fell into silence, both lost in thought, each probably remembering that whole crazy affair and wondering how we could have done things differently. I had the added pleasure of comparing the one that got away with the one I should have thrown back.
    “Hey, Cara, what’s your biggest regret in life?”
    Cara’s response was quick. “Losing Val.”
    I smirked. Her and me both.
    You would think my failed engagement was my biggest regret, but you’d be wrong. I’d spent the last two weeks looking back on my relationship with Adrianna and I realized now that I was better off without her. I’d hooked up with her to take my mind off of someone else and kept her around because it was easier.
    I did grow to love Adrianna, but it had never been one of those life-altering, earth-shattering romances they make movies about. Three years from now there wouldn’t be a song I still couldn’t sing because I couldn’t stand to think of her. I never even wrote her a song. Val was different. Even though we’d never had a real relationship, the girl got under my skin and messed with my head the way no one else ever had.
    I felt Cara look at me, but I kept my gaze trained on my glass.
    I never talked about the last time I saw Val—the night we said good-bye. I never told anyone but Shane about the kiss we’d shared that night. Only Shane knew that she’d offered her whole heart to me with only one condition—and that I’d been too scared, stubborn, and prideful to accept it.
    Not knowing what else to say, I kicked back the rest of my drink in one shot. “Congrats on the marriage, Cara. It was a hell of a wedding.”
    Cara squeezed me in a tight hug. “Thanks for being here,” she said again. “I know it was hard for you to come.”
    “Not at all,” I lied. “Besides, this is your day. It’s not about me.”
    Cara nudged my side with her elbow. “For once,” she teased. “Come on, rock star. We’d better get back in there before Shane starts to think I finally fell for the great Cheerleader Seducer.”
    I laughed and tried not to look too proud. “Shane told you about that, huh?”
    Cara gave me the sigh that made her so famous on her soap opera as she dragged me back into the reception hall. “My dear, sweet Kyle. Shane tells me everything .”

Cara never ceases to amaze me . She and Shane only closed on their new house two weeks ago, and somehow she’d thrown together a housewarming party as glamorous as her wedding. The 3.5 million dollar spread up Laurel Canyon was almost as sweet as my place in Malibu, and tonight it was decked out with so many fresh flowers and twinkling lights you could both see and smell it from miles away. The potted orchid in my hands seemed rather ridiculous now.
    “Kyle!” I hadn’t been in the front door two seconds before Cara threw her arms around me and kissed my cheek. “You made it!”
    “Congrats on the new house.” I handed over the flower. “The guy told me it’s supposed to be a symbol of wealth, beauty, love, and elegance.”
    “My kind of flower.”
    Cara grinned. Her happiness made her sparkle with radiance under the soft light. It could have been the glittery makeup causing her to sparkle, but the glow was definitely happiness.
    “And for Shane…,” I said, holding up a six-pack of Corona.
    Cara gave me a look. “Beer?”
    “Hey, this is the good stuff,” I defended myself. “Plus, I thought you’d kill me if I showed up with the vintage pinball machine I wanted to get him.”
    Cara laughed. “You’re right. Thank you. I think Shane’s out back.” She pointed to the beers in my hand. “Do not use those as an excuse for the two of you to sneak off and disappear all night. As I have warned him several times, he is a host this evening. He has to mingle. And as for you , I have someone I want you to meet.”
    Was it too late to get my keys back from the valet? I turned around and tried to walk back out the door.
    Cara grabbed me by the collar of