Love on the Rocks (with Salt) Read Online Free PDF Page A

shake my head. “She calls him
Andrew. It’s a common name. Plus I never knew her name. She told me
they got engaged before he got his master’s, but decided to wait
until she got hers too, but who would ever think?”
    “ Shook you pretty hard,
huh?”
    I squint my eyes and tilt my head to the
side.
    “ What?” he asks.
    “ I’m still trying to figure out if
you’re real,” I say, poking his arm like I did on our first date.
“I mean, what kind of boyfriend shows that much concern about his
girlfriend running into an ex?”
    “ Running into your ex is different
than finding out a bride you’ve been working with for the last six
months is the one your ex chose over you. You told me it was more
than a fling. He broke your heart.”
    “ Yeah.” I sigh
and take another drink, enjoying the feeling of the warmth in my
chest. “What’s so weird is, she knew . I could see it in her
eyes.”
    “ Do you think he confessed after
he got back from Cancun?”
    “ No, because he pretended he
didn’t know me. We all pretended he and I were meeting for the
first time. But she knew.”
    “ Weird,” he says.
    “ I know. They’re starting their
marriage on secrets and lies. I never want to be like that. Promise
me that wherever this goes we’ll never have secrets. Not like
that.”
    He doesn’t say “I promise” but
kisses me instead and says, “Move in with me.”
    “ What?”
    “ I said, move in with
me.”
    “ Are you asking because of
Andy?”
    “ I’m not that
insecure.”
    “ I didn’t mean—”
    He puts his finger on my lips. “I was going to
ask you anyway. You’re here half the time. Amanda can find another
roommate. Isn’t she getting serious with that doctor?”
    “ Resident,” I correct
him.
    “ Resident,” he says, and kisses me
again, this time passionately. “Move in with me.”
    “ I’ll think about it,” I say,
unable to keep the smile off my face.
    He kisses me again, and I wrap my
legs around him and forget all about Andy and Elizabeth and
everything else.
     
    ~~~~
     
    Kim walks in the backroom as I’m booting up
the computer and hands me my coffee. “So, did you tell Kyle about
Andrew?”
    “ I did.”
    “ And?” she asks, her eyes
wide.
    I blow on my latte, then take a
sip, enjoying the suspense I’m creating. “He asked me to move in
with him.”
    “ Oh my God!”
    “ I know!”
    She takes her bagel and cream cheese out of
the bag she’s holding and hands the bag to me. “Are you going to?
What about Amanda?”
    “ I don’t know. I have been
spending more nights at Kyle’s than my place lately. And Amanda’s
been spending a lot of time at Alex’s. Maybe it makes sense,” I
say, taking my bran muffin out of the bag.
    She stops spreading her cream cheese and looks
up. “That’s romantic,” she deadpans.
    “ You know what I mean.”
    “ I’m teasing you. I think it’s
great. I’m happy for you. So,” she says, changing the subject,
“have you given any thought to me doing the wedding on
Saturday?”
    “ Gabriella would never allow
it.”
    “ She wouldn’t have a choice if you
came down with the stomach flu. You are starting to look a little
green.” She takes a bite of her bagel and winks.
    “ I’ll think about it,” I say as I
scan through my emails. It would be great to have Kim dress
Elizabeth but we’d catch hell from Gabriella. Even if I told her I
was sick.
    The intercom buzzes. “Laney, can
you come up front please?” asks the new salesgirl, Kate. Kate’s the
only one who uses the intercom to call us to the sales floor. Julie
and Wendy like to come in back so they can escape the front, if
only for a minute, inhaling and exhaling deeply, as if taking a
drag from a much-needed cigarette at the end of a long day. Working
with brides all day will do that to you.
    I take one last sip of my latte
and head to the front. Before I can ask Kate what she needs, I see
him standing by the desk with his hands in his pockets, rocking
back and forth