Free Bad Boy's Bridesmaid by Sosie Frost

and sexy after flirting with him. Suddenly, I was…comforted after
just talking with him.
    His smile made
me feel like the most beautiful woman in his bar. And when he touched me? It
was like no one in the world could tear us apart.
    But it wasn’t
enough, not now that I had the baby to protect.
    “It sounds like
an afternoon made-for-TV movie, but…” He leaned closer, brushing my hand as he
stole another French fry. “You know it’s not your fault, right?”
    “I wish it was.”
    “Why?”
    “Then it would
make sense .”
    I pushed the basket
towards him. Grease didn’t sit well with uncertainty.
    “How does a
couple give each other thirty years of their life…and then walk away
from it all?” I asked. “How do they burn everything good that came from their
marriage and expect the rest of us to accept that it’s over?”
    Nate raised his
eyebrows. “Takes courage.”
    “ Courage ?”
    “Your parents
were unhappy together. They split, even after thirty years of stability. They
gave up their home and security to find something or someone who would make
them happy.” He shook his head. “Christ, I wish my mom would do that.”
    “But your
parents are great,” I said. “They seem perfect together.”
    His voice
darkened. “Yeah. And my dad will do anything to keep it that way. Believe me.
It’s not healthy to stay in a toxic relationship for any reason.”
    I leaned against
the bar. It might have been better to hide under it. At least it’d protect me
if the world kept tumbling down.
    “God, it’s so
bleak,” I said. “How can any love actually last? Marriages get broken, people
drift apart, and even the most stable and loving of relationships can just— poof !
Be over. There’s nothing keeping people together.”
    Nothing.
    Not vows. Not
love.
    Not even
children.
    The fairy tales got
it wrong. Snow White probably left the prince for someone less Grumpy and
Sleepy. I bet Ariel discovered an entirely different sexual orientation when
she looked closer at those new legs in a mirror. And Cinderella? When her
kingdom didn’t implement labor laws for minimum wage workers, I doubted she
just walked away in those glass slippers. Her happily-ever-after included a social
and industrial revolution. Then she probably died surrounded by rats as a
princeless oligarchy descended into anarchy .
    It wasn’t a
story I’d read to my baby.
    What hope did
anyone have if the stories only showed the puppy-dog eyes and first kisses? No
one talked about mortgages and sickness and jobs and…accidental babies.
    “Are you going
to tell me what’s wrong?” Nate sipped his beer. “Or am I supposed to guess?”
    “Please don’t
try to guess.”
    “Then tell me.”
    “You wouldn’t
understand.” I didn’t understand. “I want that romance. I’ve
always imagined passion and excitement and sharing the world with someone. I
wanted commitment and love.”
    “So find it.”
    “With who?”
    I didn’t mean to
say that. I averted my eyes before humiliating myself any more than a single,
unwed mother with a crush on her baby-daddy could.
    “Is there even
such a thing as love?” I asked.
    “Christ. Come
with me.”
    Nate grabbed my
arm. I stumbled as he led me to his office. The door slammed behind him, and he
pointed to his desk. “Sit down. Stop being so fucking crazy.”
    That did not
help the hormones. Rage-sniffles were neither endearing nor intimidating.
    “That’s what
you’re going to say to me?” I crossed my arms. “Stop acting crazy ?”
    “I’m not Rick.
You want to discuss the depth of human emotions, talk with the man who has
dissected the most hearts.”
    “He’s a cardiologist ,
not a—”
    “You want my
honest opinion? You know what you really need?”
    This would be
good. “What?”
    “To get fucked.”
    Exactly what I
expected.
    “Is that your
solution to everything ?” I slapped his hand away. “If I sprain an ankle,
are you going to rub your dick on it?”
    “If it