Free Embrace Me by Jo Matthews, Rebecca Turley, Sally Goodwin, Elizabeth Simonton

teased.
    “ Sorry,” she replied quickly, thinking she had offended me. “I used to read the newspaper stories.”
    “ Grace, it’s fine,” I smiled. “The stories were a little over the top, though. Charlie and I never cheated on her. We fell in love after he finished with Megan.”
    “ Really?” she asked, sitting down like I was about to tell her the most exciting story ever; it made me chuckle a little.
    “ Yeah. Charlie sent me love letters for almost a year,” I laughed to myself. “Not that I knew it was him at the time. A week before I was due to come here to New York, he admitted his feelings to me, and well, the rest is history.”
    “ That’s so romantic.”
    “ You sound like Lorna.”
    “ But why did you agree to marry William Field if you loved Charlie?”
    “ That’s a long story, Grace. I will have to tell you that another day.” I smiled, really meaning I would tell her once I fully trusted her.
    “ Jennet really hates the Field family, doesn’t she?”
    “ More than you could possibly imagine,” I sighed, going back to my figures. “You should go and find Lorna and tell her about your trip tomorrow.”
    I laughed, watching as Grace skipped out of my office. I knew it was a good idea giving her a bit more control. Grace was quickly becoming a valued member of my team.
    I had no idea how many white wine spritzers the three of us had had, but I was glad we had decided to have a girl’s night. As much as I loved Charlie, it was nice to have a bit of time with my friends.
    “ I think I might be sick,” Lorna mumbled, putting her hands through her deep red hair.
    “ Do you want me to call Charlie to come and collect us?” I giggled.
    “ Yeah,” Lorna replied, leaning on Grace. “Shit, we have that meeting tomorrow.”
    “ I’m not as drunk as you. You can just sit and watch,” Grace laughed. “You were right, Shan, she is a nightmare.” I laughed as I got my phone out to call Charlie.
    “ Well, this is a wonderful surprise,” a familiar voice said as I hung up after Charlie had said he was on his way to come and get us with Brad.
    “ Mac,” I replied surprised. “I didn’t realise you were in town.”
    “ I’m here with a friend, actually,” he smirked. I noticed Tim Scott standing next to him.
    “ Tim, well this is a nice surprise,” I replied, a bit apprehensive as he hugged me.
    “ Shannon, you look more beautiful every time I see you,” he smiled. “Megan was right about you.”
    “ What do you mean by that?” I glared, simply at hearing her name.
    “ You are stronger than I thought,” Tim grinned. “Why won’t the two of you just make up already? Life is too short to stay enemies.”
    “ Why don’t you ask Megan Field about that one?!” Lorna roared. “Ask her how she and her evil brother almost ruined Shannon’s whole life because…” I had to put my hand over her mouth to shut her up. Grace was looking at us, confused by the whole situation.
    “ Shut up, Lorna. It doesn’t matter,” I replied, calming her down.
    “ No, I want to hear what she has to say!” Tim yelled. “What the hell happened between you and Megan? This can’t be just about Charlie Collins.”
    “ Tim, come on. You can’t expect Shannon to answer that. Megan is who you should be asking,” Mac replied, pulling him out of my face. I hadn’t realised how close Tim had gotten.
    “ Screw this,” Tim replied, shrugging out of Mac’s hold and disappearing into the crowd.
    “ Sorry about that, ladies.” Mac smiled. “Megan split up with him last week. I was trying to help his pain by bringing him here.”
    “ Tim is better off without her,” I muttered, looking into the crowd. I wanted Charlie here. I hoped he wouldn’t be much longer.
    “ I believe you, Shannon,” Mac whispered. I could feel his hot breath against my neck. Why did he always have to be such a flirt? “Megan is a dangerous woman. The whole family is, but I think you already know that.”
    I looked