Broken Souls Read Online Free PDF Page A

ignore it to be honest. But I swear those bitches are absolutely insane... If it wasn’t for Gabby being a partner, I’d have probably quit by now.”
    She watched Marco purse his lips slightly.
    “But how about you?” she asked, changing the subject. “Have you got any plans for the rest of tonight?”
    She caught his sudden discomfort and the way his eyes darted away from the screen. It was unusual. Almost as if he was avoiding her question for some reason.
    “Let me guess,” Ashley started, a fake smile plastered across her lips. “You’re going out with one of your many women?” She was trying to force her smile, but it was proving difficult. She could sense that she was feeling something more than the friendship they currently shared. After all, they had always got along well. They had so much in common and talked to each other with ease. But she knew what he was like at the end of the day; he was nothing but a player.
    Marco raised his hand and rubbed at the stubble on his jaw. “ Si , I am meeting Sophia for dinner shortly.”
    Ashley nodded as she tried to swallow the overwhelming feel of jealousy bubbling away in her stomach. “It sounds as if this is getting serious?”
    He pulled at the collar of the shirt he wore as he jumped quickly to reply. “Actually, I plan on ending things tonight.”
    Th is news took her completely by surprise. “How come?” she asked, fixing him with a concerned look. But it was all a lie. Inside she was silently fist bumping and doing her own little happy dance that he was bringing this arrangement to an end.
    “It isn’t what I want anymore,” he replied with a shrug. “But what about you, cara ?” he said, deflecting the questions back at her. “I heard from Gabby that you’ve been dating somebody the last few weeks and you haven’t told me.”
    Ashley froze. She had been planning to bring it up during casual conversation, but just hadn’t had the right moment over the last couple of weeks. It was a weird topic to discuss, which was why she had been avoiding it. Her feelings were still jumbled, so she didn’t want to talk about it yet.
    “Yeah, Ben is a nice guy,” she mumbled just above a shy whisper. And he was. It was just a shame that he wasn’t a patch on Marco. B ut she knew the reason for this. Marco was unique and completely out of her reach.
    “What time is it?” Marco bristled slightly as he cast a hasty glance at his watch. “I’m really sorry to leave this, but I’ve got to be heading out. Do you want to talk tomorrow?”
    “That’s fine,” she said, relieved at being able to get away from the Ben talk, but a little sad that they were parting ways again until tomorrow. “Let me pass you back to Gabby so she can say goodbye.” She got up from the sofa and walked into the hallway. “Gabby, take this and say bye to your brother,” she called from outside her door.
    “Bye, cara .”
    “Bye, Marco,” she replied, handing over the tablet to Gabby and heading straight for her room.
    Closing the door behind her, she sat on the edge of her bed and pondered tonight’s conversation. She was thrilled that he was breaking things off with Sophia. Things had looked serious between them, so she was grateful that it was one thing for her not to think about. The jealousy she had developed was something she hadn’t noticed before. It almost seemed as if she was becoming possessive over him, which wasn’t right. They were just friends. Nothing more would ever happen between them. He didn’t want to fall in love with anyone, and he lived in a foreign country. She would be stupid to even think of anything more.
    After all, s he had Ben. Kind-hearted, stable and supportive Ben.
    “The sooner he dumps this Sophia, the better,” Gabby muttered, pushing open Ashley’s bedroom door. “He gets far too involved in these things when he knows he doesn't want anything at the end of it.”
    “He was acting a little strange,” Ashley said, lifting her eyes