Don't Break My Heart (Return to Redemption, Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

his.
    How could he feel so bitter toward the woman and yet stand
here lusting after her?
    Not only was he pathetic, his dick didn’t have a speck of
pride.
    ~*~
    “Well, well, if it isn’t Trisha Mason. Long time no see.”
    Trisha stalled in her tracks and gazed up into the black
coffee eyes that had haunted her dreams for over a decade and a half.
    Her pregnancy must have seriously compromised her mental
faculties. Otherwise, she would’ve considered the possibility that Justin might
be at the wedding—especially after seeing Dani in the beauty salon and learning
the Riverá family was invited. Last year, when she’d discovered Justin was
Dani’s uncle, she’d known this day would eventually arrive. She just hadn’t
expected to meet him again in such a public situation.
    There was nothing she could do about it now other than grit
her teeth and muddle through. She lifted her chin and forced a smile. “It’s
good to see you again, Justin.”
    “Hi, I’m Frankie.” Her friend offered him her hand.
    Justin blinked several times before shaking Frankie’s hand.
“Right. It’s nice to meet you.” He pulled out the chair next to him. “Please,
have a seat.”
    “But if you two know each other, maybe Trisha would like to
sit—”
    “No!” they both objected at once.
    An imposing blond Viking stood on the other side of the
table, pulled out the chair beside him, and smiled at Trisha. “I’m Ben. I
believe Sabrina intended for you to be my dinner companion tonight.”
    “I’d love to.” She sank into the seat he’d offered. “Thank
you so much for including me in the festivities.”
    “I was happy to. How do you and Justin know each other?”
    She opened her mouth to say they’d dated years ago, but
Justin beat her to the punch. “She was a friend of my college roommate’s
fiancée. They also roomed together for the first few months of our freshman
year. Then Trisha vanished into thin air the day after Christmas.”
    “Really?” Frankie’s gaze jerked to her. “What happened?”
    “Yes, Trisha,”—Justin leaned back, crossing his arms over
his chest—“do tell us why you disappeared so suddenly.”
    There was no way she could tell him. Not with a table full
of strangers listening. A half-truth would have to suffice.
    “You know what a control freak my father was. I’d had enough
of him trying to manage my life. When he announced my engagement to one of his
most promising law clerks at his annual holiday party, I knew I had to get away
from him. So, the day after Christmas I withdrew the allowance he’d deposited
in my bank account for the spring semester, and I hopped on the first bus out
of Philly.”
    “Where’d you end up?” Annie asked.
    “Not very far away. That bus went to Manhattan. I landed a
job waitressing and registered at City College.”
    “Apparently it was far enough that you couldn’t keep in
touch with your best friend. The two of you were like sisters.”
    “Believe me, severing my relationship with Lindsey wasn’t
something I wanted to do. But our fathers were lifelong friends, and I couldn’t
take a chance her dad would learn my whereabouts and share the information with
mine.”
    Granted, it was a lame excuse, but she couldn’t divulge the
full story.
    “Your father’s a federal judge. If he wanted you located, he
would’ve hired the best PI in the country to find you.”
    True. But after reading the note she’d left, informing him
she’d canceled the appointment he’d made for her to have an abortion and was
having the wetback’s baby on her own,
bigoted dear old dad hadn’t wasted his time or resources searching for her.
    Fortunately, the band began playing soft dinner music and
the arrival of the last couple at their table saved her from having to respond.
    Ben stood and introduced Luke’s partner on the police force,
Cal Washington, and his wife, Darlene, to Trisha and Justin.
    After a round of handshakes the couple took the two seats
between her