Free The Naked Truth (The Honeybrook Hamdens Book 1) by Allison Gatta

always been an idiot when it comes to men. “I don’t know.”
    “So, what did you do when you found out he’d stolen from you?”
    “Nothing,” she lied, but it was no use. Chase wasn’t buying it, not even for a second.
    “I find it hard to believe that Julie Hamden let someone take something from her and get away with it.”
    “I, well, it’s a little embarrassing.” Now she really was blushing, red and hot. “I Xeroxed a few…unflattering truths about him and posted them around the office.”
    “Such as?”
    “He has a collection of Barbie dolls.”
    “No,” Chase said.
    “It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t take them so seriously. They all have names.”
    “Does he play with them?”
    “Are you kidding? He’d have to take them out of the box for that.” She snorted a laugh, then covered her mouth. “Anyway, it wasn’t kind of me. I’m not proud of it. I’m also not proud of what I did to his desk.” She glanced away, then added. “Or what I left in his car.”
    “Well, I think it’s great. You should stand up for yourself. You were always good at that.”
    Julie let the silence stretch between them for a moment, then she said, “Yes, well, I’m learning my lesson. He’s setting me up to fail with this fashion show and then he’ll have his revenge.”
    “You’re going to be great at the fashion show.”
    She guffawed. “How could you know that?”
    “Because I know.” He answered simply, and she took another big bite of her burger and chewed as she looked anywhere but at him.
    It’s not too late to go back…
    “What about you?” she asked. “What about the bar? And working with Luke? Do you like it?”
    “I do,” Chase said. “I really do. I feel like I belong there. It’s nice, you know? To have a place of my own.”
    “I’m happy for you,” she said.
    “Thanks. I’m happy for you, too.” Something thick hung in the air between them and Julie tried to breathe deep, to rid herself of the feeling that somehow she’d signed on for something she couldn’t handle.
    Desperately, she scrambled for a new subject.
    “I wonder if that old pond has dried up,” she said.
    “The one where we used to swim?”
    She nodded.
    “There’s only one way to find out.” Abandoning his food, Chase stood, and then held out a hand for her. She looked up at it, knowing that this, somehow, was an important decision. A turning point. If she took his hand, there wasn’t any going back. Not anymore.
    So when she slid her palm against his, she closed her eyes and braced herself as he led her deeper into the forest.

Chapter Seven
    Ten Years Ago
    J ulie jumped and Chase laughed as he stoked the fire.
    They were out in the woods just outside the cemetery, and it seemed like every little noise had her skin crawling tonight. Or maybe she was just on edge. It had been a couple of weeks since Luke went off to boot camp, and with Amy already safely stowed away at college it had left Julie alone. With Chase.
    It’d been his idea to come out here and hang out, and hers to bring the flask, If only to calm her nerves.
    So far, that was so not working.
    “Pass me the tequila,” she said, trying ignore the eerily loud hoot of a barn owl in the distance.
    “Only if you say ‘please.’”
    “What if I say ‘now?’”
    He took a swig and smiled at her. “I’ll give you this, it isn’t swill.”
    “Nah, only the best for my underage days. When I have to buy it myself, it’ll be much less impressive.” She smiled at him and an awkward pause hung in the air between them.
    “So,” she mustered, trying to gage if it was just her who felt the spark of electricity in the air between them, “Next week is the big week.”
    “Yep. New apartment. New job,” he said.
    “You gonna miss me?”
    “Every day.” His dark eyes grew serious and she glanced at the fire before taking another drag from the flask.
    She was feeling a little more than tipsy now. Her head swam and it felt like the whole