Free Love Conquers All by E. L. Todd Page B

or something.” She sounded really weird on the phone when I spoke to her earlier, not her usual self. But when I asked her what was wrong, she said it was nothing. I dropped the subject.
    “When is Mike and Cassandra going to be here?” I asked.
    Sean looked at his watch. “Soon.”
    “They might be…enjoying his gift,” Scarlet said with knowing eyes.
    “Do I want to know?” I asked.
    “Let’s just say they’re acting out a scene from Fifty Shades of Grey . I had to tie her up before I went back to the house.”
    “ Oooh,” Sean said. “That sounds pretty hot.”
    She gave him a firm look. “She’s your sister-in-law.”
    “Eww, no,” he said quickly. “I was referring to tying you up.”
    “Oh.” She gave him a smile. “That sounds like fun.”
    “Okay, I’m about to throw up,” Ryan said. “Could you guys not talk about sex every other second?”
    “Cortland asked what Mike and Cassandra were doing,” Scarlet snapped.
    “Just stop talking about you having sex,” Ryan said. “It’s disgusting.”
    “You’re one to talk.” She gave him a pissed look.
    I wasn’t listening. Monnique walked into the bar and scanned the room for our table. She wore a dark blue shirt that was loose around her body. It still highlighted her breasts and the curves of her waist. The collared top showed her slender neck. Her hair was pulled back, and two sapphire earrings were in her lobes. A golden bracelet was on her wrist and a ring was on her middle finger. It contrasted against her dark skin. The dark jeans she wore were tight everywhere, making her ass look fucking fantastic. Nude pumps were on her feet. She looked like a runway model. The other guys in the bar immediately noticed her. One look at them told me exactly what they were thinking.
    “Monnique,” I said as I waved. I wanted to get her away from the gawking eyes of the men.
    She smiled when she saw me then came to the table. “Sorry, I’m late. I had to stay over at the hospital.” She sat down and placed her clutch on the table.
    Now that she was closer, I got a better look at her face. She hardly wore any make up, just some foundation on her skin and a little color around her eyes. But she looked like a million bucks without it. I kept staring at her and I had to force myself to stop.
    “It’s okay,” Scarlet said. “What’s going on at the hospital?”
    “I just had a really sick patient,” she said sadly. “He was in a bad car accident, and he had a lot of internal bleeding. He kept crashing over and over so I stayed behind to help.”
    “Did he make it?” I blurted. I knew Monnique really cared about her patients. When they passed away, she usually left work in tears.
    She shook her head but didn’t speak.
    “I’m sorry,” I said immediately.
    “It’s okay,” she whispered. “That’s life.”
    “Maybe a drink would make you feel better?” Ryan asked. “It’s on me.”
    “Sure,” she said.
    I was glad Ryan didn’t hate Monnique all over again. She did a lot of bad things but she didn’t cheat on me. If she did, I wouldn’t be able to control Ryan. I knew he was on his best behavior because of me.
    Scarlet rubbed her shoulder. “You look really pretty.”
    “Thanks,” she said. “You look nice too.”
    Her phone vibrated on the table so she unlocked the screen. I saw her read the message then type a response.
    I immediately wondered who she was texting. Was it a guy? Would she be dating because I was dating? What if she was doing it just to get back at me? That didn’t sound like her.
    She exited the screen and I saw her background picture. It was a heavy woman and she looked really familiar. I couldn’t place her. I thought about it for a long time, coming up with nothing. Then it hit me. “Is that the girl from the bar?” I blurted.
    “Sorry?” Monnique asked. She looked at me with her brown eyes. I was always paralyzed when I looked at them.
    “I didn’t mean to look at your phone, but I noticed