Free Beautifully Undone (The Beaumont Brothers #3) by Susan Griscom Page A

freeway.”
    “Okay. I’m ready enough. Just let me get my coat.” I set the tube of makeup on the bathroom counter and adjusted my thong underwear, the underwear I should have been wearing last night. God, no wonder Ash only wanted that one time. I’d been wearing ugly, white, granny panties. I grabbed my coat from the hook and as I turned to lock my door, I heard Asher’s apartment door open. He walked out into the hall. Perfect timing. I bet he planned it.
    “Hey, Ash, what’s up?” Alex gave Ash a nod.
    “Nada. Mel, I’m glad I caught you. I’m gonna need your help tomorrow getting the rest of my mom’s stuff together.”
    “Sure. What time?”
    “Early. Around six.”
    “Six? Why do you need to go that early?”
    “I just do. I have a busy day tomorrow. So, I’ll wake you up sometime before that. I assume you’ll be home?” This he asked while giving Alex the evil eye.
    “She’ll be home,” Alex said and chuckled. What did he find so amusing?
    “Just checking,” Ash said. “Mel, don’t you think you should wear something warmer? It gets really cold at the shoreline at night.”
    My hand went to my bare neck and exposed cleavage. I wasn’t wearing Ash’s scarf. I’d thought about grabbing it last minute but reconsidered, not wanting to wear something that reminded me of Ash while on my date with Alex.
    “She’ll be okay. I’ll keep her warm,” Alex grinned. “We’d better get going or we’ll miss the first few songs.” Alex put his arm around me and ushered me toward the steps. I wanted to pound Ash for stalling us. He knew perfectly well I wasn’t planning to be home in the morning. That was if everything went the way it was supposed to go.
    “Mel,” Ash called out to me as I took my first step down the stairs. I turned to look at him. “Don’t do it,” he said.
    I lowered my eyes, not wanting to see him standing there, watching me leave. He looked so dejected. But why? I knew he cared about me as his friend, but really, he needed to either deal with the fact that I needed to experience other guys, or take me in his arms and profess his undying love for me. And I knew that was never going to happen. Not in this universe.
    Alex kept his arm around me as we headed down the stairs.
    “What’s he talking about?” Alex asked.
    “Nothing important.”
    “He sure made it seem important.”
    “It’s nothing. Really. He just worries about smoking weed at concerts and wants to make sure I don’t,” I supplied and smiled at my quick thinking.
    “He doesn’t need to worry about that. I don’t smoke, but we can drink, and if he’s worried about me drinking and driving, I have a surprise for you.” As he held the outside door leading to the sidewalk open, I walked through, my eyes widening in amazement at the sight of the limo parked at the curb, complete with the driver standing by its open door. “Our ride,” Alex grinned as he splayed his hand out toward the black, shiny car.
    “A limo? Yeah, I guess there’s no worries about driving.”
    “It’s the only way to go to a concert. No parking to worry about, and no worries about getting home.”
    Classy , I thought and shook my head at all the bad things Ash had said about Alex. Boy was he wrong.
    We sipped champagne on the way to the Shoreline and nibbled on crackers and cheese. It was a good thing he’d thought to bring something to eat since I’d forgotten all about food before leaving.
    Alex and I ended up sitting in the “real seats” underneath the canopy. They were great, actually—two rows back from the stage. Maroon Five and Adam Levine were stupendous. They even had heaters above us so I wasn’t cold at all. But it seemed like everything reminded me of Asher. I couldn’t get him out of my head. Especially the way he’d stood at his door, watching us leave as if it were the last time he’d ever see me. I hated that look on his face.
    “Oh, God, Alex, that was so freakintastic!” I said as we piled into