Begin Again (Beautiful #2) Read Online Free PDF

carefully while I spoke to Grayson. “Thanks for being cool about it and again, I’m sorry you have to crash in a hotel. You can stop by for a drink once you’re settled, I’ll be waiting.” The fact that he didn’t invite Sienna to their house didn’t go unnoticed but I understood and chose not to make an issue of it.
    “Yeah bro, I’ll see you later.”
    Grayson said his goodbye and I ended the call before slipping my phone back into my pocket.
    “What was that about?” Sienna asked, staring at me.
    “Nothing,” I lied easily, avoiding her gaze. “We’re staying at a hotel. Grayson will send me the check-in info when we land and then I’ll go and say hi, maybe have a drink with him.” I didn’t bother asking Sienna if she was okay with this plan because I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, having her here was a means to an end, a place-filler. Nothing more. She stayed quiet and went back to reading her magazine while I tried my hardest not to think about how hard the week ahead was going to be.
     

     
    After arguing with Sienna, I left her at the hotel and took a cab to Grayson and Huntley’s house. My truck was parked in their garage so I’d just use it to get around this week. The cab came to a stop and I paid the driver quickly before making my way to the front door. Before I could knock, the door flung open and Hunter launched himself into my legs. Grayson stood there smiling.
    “Bwody!” Hunter squealed, squeezing my legs.
    “Hey Lil’ man,” I replied, picking him up. He’d grown so much since I last saw him and it was hard to believe he was already two years old.
    “Hey man.” I greeted Grayson with a fist bump and walked through the house. Grayson followed me out onto their outside deck and grabbed us each a beer. I took a seat with Hunter in my lap and Grayson followed suit on the opposite side of the table.
    “It’s good to see you man,” Grayson said. He took a pull of his beer but kept his eyes trained on me. I knew that look. He was trying to read me, see how I was doing since the last time he saw me. He had nothing to worry about but I didn’t say it.
    “Yeah, you too. You ready to be a married man?”
    He chuckled and grinned widely. “I was ready the day Hunter was born, but Huntley wanted to wait until she graduated, so I told her we’d do it soon after.”
    “Speaking of Huntley,” I said, taking a pull of my beer. “Where is the bride-to-be? I was hoping to see her.”
    Grayson looked down and shifted uncomfortably. That only meant one thing. I wasn’t going to like his answer.
    “She’s with - ”
    “Demi,” I said, finishing his sentence.
    “Yeah,” he replied. “Something about a girls night.”
    “Or she’s avoiding me,” I said.
    Grayson sighed and pulled his hands through his hair, a clear sign of both frustration and resignation. I felt bad for the guy. He was caught between his fiancé and his best friend, albeit unintentionally.
    “Huntley cares about you,” he began. He finished off his beer and put the bottle down before sitting back into the chair. “And I don’t think you should take her behavior personally. She’s just trying to make sure Demi is going to be okay being around you again after everything that happened.”
    “Like you’re doing with me,” I stated.
    His smile was crooked when he replied, “Exactly.”
    My chest tightened thinking about Demetria, and how much she must’ve been hurting for Huntley to feel the need to side with her. A mixture of guilt, anger and self-justification swirled in my chest. Next to my grandparents, Demetria was also my only family and I was never able to imagine a life without her. But then I made a choice and ended up leaving her behind. I destroyed her, and in the process tainted everything that we had. It was something I regretted every day and being back home with the possibility of seeing her made me nervous. I’d been thinking about it for days and I couldn’t decide if she’d