Not Just Friends (Brookfield) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it lately and I want another chance.”
    Another
chance? Matt had been her boyfriend for over a year. She’d thought she was
going to marry him, but there was always something that delayed an engagement.
She took that now as a sign it wasn’t meant to be. That they would just be
settling for one another. And then he kissed her sister. Diane hadn’t been
sorry. She’d done it because they had recently had a fight over something
stupid, as usual, but for Matt to do that after all their time together, that
was what had hurt.
    “I
don’t think so,” she finally said.
    “Oh,
come on. I see you have your purse. Let’s go out.”
    “She’s
going out with me.” Alyssa turned to see Connor. She froze, wondering what he
thought. But as he walked closer, he put his hand out to Matt. “I’m Connor
Phillips, and I’ll be escorting this lovely lady out for the evening.”
    “Are
you seeing him?” Matt asked, not shaking Connor’s hand.
    Oh
God, what a question. What was she supposed to say?
    “Yes,
she is,” Connor answered. “And we have reservations we don’t want to be late
for.” He took Alyssa’s hand. “Are you ready?”
    She
nodded. “I’ll see you around, Matt.”
    She
squeezed Connor’s hand and felt courage she never had before as he led her
toward his car and away from her past. She still couldn’t help but wonder why
was Matt there? But for now, she’d worry about that later.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Connor
sat across from Alyssa at the steak house she had chosen. She was as beautiful
as ever. She wore her hair down as she usually did and the pink sweater was the
perfect shade to make her face glow. But tonight he could tell something was
off and he had a feeling it had to do with the man he’d found her talking to.
He thought about asking her about it but decided to leave it alone for now.
    “Did
you ever finish the book?” she asked.
    “I
tried. The storyline was good, but I couldn’t make it through the intimate
scenes without…” He stopped himself, realizing he was about to say something he
didn’t want to.
    “What?”
She grinned.
    Connor
wasn’t about to tell her that he thought about her. “You know.” He hoped she’d
take the hint.
    Before
she had time to speak, the waitress arrived with their drinks and bread. He
sliced into the loaf and then buttered the bread before handing her a piece.
She took it from him, but he could see the hesitation on her face.
    “Does
it bother you that I take care of your bread for you?”
    “It’s
just weird. No one’s ever done it before.”
    Connor
set his own bread down and wiped his hands on his napkin. “I grew up with my
dad always doing it for my mom. She did so much for us, that he did little
things to try and make things easier for her.”
    “That’s
nice.”
    “I
don’t do it for everyone.” He locked his gaze on hers and watched as her cheeks
turned a light shade of red. He wanted her to have no doubt that this was a
real date. “I have to ask, who was the guy from earlier?”
    “An
ex,” she answered in a quiet tone.
    Connor
reached out and gripped her hand, giving it a slight squeeze. “It’s nothing to
be embarrassed about. We all have exes.” He released her hand and took a bite
of bread. “What went wrong?”
    “You
really want to know?”
    “I
wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” He needed to know how much competition this
man might be.
    “Things
were serious between us at one time. I actually thought we might get married.
But one evening I came by his place unexpectedly and on his front porch, found
him kissing someone else.”
    He’d
cheated on her? “I’m so sorry. What a dirtbag.”
    Alyssa
giggled. “It gets worse. If you remember me telling you about my sister who
doesn’t live in town. It was her.”
    “What?
Your sister?”
    “Yes,
Diane didn’t do it because she wanted him. She and I had a fight and she did it
to hurt me.”
    He
couldn’t believe his ears. How could someone’s