The Moment We Began (A Fairhope New Adult Romance) Read Online Free PDF

thing she
knew about him before she set us up.”
    “She’s ridiculous. I can’t
believe you’re actually letting her set you up again.”
    Colton scoots a Dr. Pepper toward me, and I’m
impressed he remembered that’s what I drink without me even
having to ask. I tell him thanks, then turn back to Leigh Anne after
he walks away. “I’m desperate,” I say quietly,
taking a sip from my straw. “I can’t handle another night
where Mason has a hot date and I’m all alone.”
    I swallow and stare down at my hands. I’m
not telling her the whole truth. She has no idea Mason and I have
been sleeping together for the past year, and I have no idea what
she’d say if I told her.
    Okay, well, I have a little bit of an idea.
    She’d probably tell me I’m stupid for
letting him treat me like this. That I’m only setting myself up
for heartache. That if he can’t commit to a real relationship
with me, he doesn’t deserve to have sex with me either. But I
already hear those things in my head. I don’t need someone else
confirming it or making me feel worse about it.
    Leigh Anne’s the queen of doing the right
thing, lately, which only makes me feel like crap for doing all the
wrong things.
    She leans toward me until our shoulders are
touching. “He’s an asshole,” she says.
    I nod, but something deep inside my heart
protests. Yes, he acts like a dick sometimes, but there’s more
to him than most people get to see. When he isn’t around a
crowd or trying to push me away, he’s really kind of amazing.
Funny, sweet, understanding. There are moments when I think he gets
me more than anyone else in the world. Even more than my own twin
brother.
    But every time I catch a glimpse of how good we
could be together, he slams a door in my face.
    “Are you okay?” Leigh Anne asks.
    I look up, realizing I’ve been staring into
the bubbles of my drink for the last few minutes. I didn’t even
realize her food had come. “I’m fine.” I force a
smile. I feel like a selfish jerk for talking nonstop about my own
problems when she’s been through so much lately. “Tell me
all about you and Knox and the cute babies you plan to make someday.”
    She laughs and hits my shoulder, but when I look
over, her eyes are shiny and happy.
    And for some reason, I suddenly feel very much
alone.

Chapter Seven
    “This is the one,” Leigh Anne says.
    She takes a black dress from my closet and holds
it up against my body. I don’t even recognize this dress. I
take it from her and see the tags are still attached. I shudder. This
has to be one of the many dresses my mother bought me back when I was
twenty or thirty pounds heavier. She would hang them up in my room
and when I’d insist it wouldn’t fit she’d always
act surprised, like she had no idea I couldn’t fit into a size
five.
    I’ve never worn a single one of those
dresses. I used to stare at them and binge on chocolate.
    “You don’t think it’s too
dressy?” I don’t want to tell her why I hate this dress.
    Leigh Anne shakes her head and stands back. “I
think it’s perfect,” she says. “Try it on.”
    I stare at the dress. What the hell?
    There’s only so long a girl can hold onto
pain before it becomes so heavy she can barely stand up anymore.
Tonight is for trying new things and letting go of the pain of the
past. I shrug and slide my current dress down. Underneath, I’m
wearing the sexiest underwear I own. A very dark pink lace bra and
panties I bought in Paris last year. Thigh highs with a garter. I’m
going all out. If Braxton gets far enough to see it, he’ll be
the first since Mason.
    Then again, what are the odds he will get that
far? I’ve only had sex with two guys besides Mason, and neither
one was very impressive. Mostly, I was just trying it out to see if
sleeping with them would make me forget that the guy I really wanted
didn’t want me.
    It didn’t.
    And once I finally did get a taste of the one I
wanted, I knew I was ruined for every other