Free Pure Lust Vol. 3 by M. S. Parker, Cassie Wild Page A

there.”
    I wished I could say that surprised me.
    He came to a halt in front of the elegant, old building that housed Magnifique. When he came around and opened the door, I took a deep breath. “Wish me luck.”
    “You’ll do fine.” He caught my arm before I walked by. “However, the next time you’d like company, perhaps we could pick up Miss Kendra?”
    The fact that I actually considered it when I was annoyed at her showed just how much I didn't want to face Claire and Estelle alone.
    ***
     
    “Sure.” Kendra shrugged at me over the table, but her smile was guarded. “I can help hold the monster-in-law at bay. Are you two still arguing over what the bridesmaids are wearing? You know, I really hope I don’t end up in something that makes me look like a cow.”
    “Nothing could do that.” I rolled my eyes and took a drink of the mai-tai. We’d ordered a pitcher of them at the small, park-side bistro. The dinner rush hadn’t quite hit, but it was getting close. “Right now, Estelle is playing the mediator. Claire is insisting on rust red, floor length debacles that I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. We’re looking at a few more in two days if you can make it. She keeps trying to push me toward these designer wedding dresses that I hate and can’t afford, so of course she says she'll pay for it, which means I can't protest...” I sighed, twirling my straw in my drink. Just the thought of it was making me tired.
    “You should just tell her to suck it.” Kendra shrugged. “But I'm free in two days.”
    We sipped our mai-tais and looked out over the sprawl of Central Park. There was an awkwardness between us now, a tension that hadn't been there before I'd met Edward.
    She broke the silence first. “How is it, living with a guy?”
    Putting my glass down, I reached for the discarded straw wrapper and started to twist it around my finger. “I don’t know. Weird.”
    “Well, yeah. You’re living with a guy .” She rolled her eyes. “Just tell me he doesn’t do anything nasty like leaving the toilet seat up.”
    “No!” I laughed a little and some of the tension faded away.
    “He’s fine…I just…” I stopped and blew out a breath, not sure if I could even explain it. “He calls and checks up on me. All the time. If I don’t answer the texts within a few minutes, he’ll text again, then he’ll call.”
    “Awww…” Kendra’s face softened. “Honey, that’s sweet.”
    “No!” Groaning, I braced my elbows on my hands and buried my face against my palms. “It’s not sweet. It’s irritating. Nobody needs to know where I am twenty-four seven. I knocked over a vase this morning. It was an accident, but he offered to come home. I don’t need a man leaving the office because I’m a klutz.”
    “How about because you’re sad?” Kendra countered, sounding almost annoyed.
    I groaned and then shoved back, peeling some money from my wallet and tossing it down to cover the tapas and drinks we’d been sharing. “Sad, mad, sick…I’m still a big girl, Kendra.” She just didn't get it.
    I swung my bag over my shoulder and hesitated, only because Kendra was clearly packing up as well. Once she was mostly ready, I turned away and moved through the sea of bodies, heading for the exit. But I didn’t go home. I wanted to be out of here in the worst way, but not home. Edward might be there. Yeah, big girl you are…running from the guy you don’t want to face.
    Maybe what I needed was a good smack in the head. I was running. I didn’t want to talk to him, not about the wedding, wedding plans, not about anything. Whenever we were alone and talking, all I could think of was how I needed to be free of this guilt, how I needed to tell him about what had happened, from the time I'd first met Flynn all the way up until our final photography session. Every kiss, every thought. Edward deserved to know but knowing would destroy us.
    What was happening to the life that had seemed so set just a