Free The #5Star Affair (Love Hashtagged Book 1) by Allyson Lindt Page A

the conversation from yesterday?
    She took a long drink, not caring that the coffee scalded her tongue, and then dragged in a deep breath. For all the confused jumble in her thoughts, she still noticed the way his gaze traced over her, strayed below the neckline, and shot back to her eyes. She suppressed a smile at the attention. How could he have that impact on her, even in the middle of her brain going on strike?
    It would be so much easier to just erase the last twenty-four or so hours. To go back to that kiss, finish what they started, forget the rest of yesterday happened. Too bad that wasn’t an option.
    “You know Rich?” Ethan finally broke the silence.
    She clenched her jaw. They were diving right in to the unpleasant stuff. “It showed?”
    “Ex boyfriend?”
    She couldn’t help the barking laugh that slipped out. “Me date Rich? You know him, right? That’s why he was at the apartment? Have you ever listened to him for more than a few minutes?”
    Ethan raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s got qualities I don’t see. Seriously though, no. I can’t see you being in the same room with him for more than a few minutes without kneeing him in the nuts. Verbally, of course.”
    The reply relaxed her a little. “I’m not that good. He’s friends with my ex-boyfriend.” Her thoughts stalled on the surge of memories that followed the confession. The reminder of Kent. The fear she’d been trying to rationalize away since last night.
    A neutral mask slid onto Ethan’s face. “Can I guess things didn’t end well?”
    “As frequently happens with break-ups.” She cringed at the biting sarcasm. “Sorry. You don’t deserve that.” She traced the scratches in the plastic table, trying to compose her thoughts. “Nick was a nice enough guy. Always did and said the right things. Treated me like the most precious thing in the world.”
    Ethan clenched his jaw.
    She slid the paper sleeve up and down her coffee cup. “I mean, he didn’t know what I did for a living. Pretty sure he didn’t care one way or the other, but he was still kind. And then his best friend, Kent, backed me into a corner.”
    She couldn’t look at Ethan. Didn’t want to try and guess what he was thinking. What if she told him this story, and his reaction was the same as Nick’s had been? Her gut clenched at the idea. She had to get it out, though.
    “He…um…” She intertwined her fingers to keep her hands from shaking. “Nick had a bunch of friends over one night. Drinking, gaming—standard bullshit. I usually steered clear, because it was easier that way.”
    She swallowed the bile rising in her throat at the vivid memory. She’d managed to stuff it away since it happened. Now that she was reaching for it, though, it tumbled back full-force. “Kent stumbled into our room. I was sitting on the bed, watching TV…” She breathed deeply. “It wasn’t like he ra—forced himself on me or anything. But he did pin me down. Pawed at me a bit. Told me if I ever got tired of Nick, I knew where to find him.”
    She couldn’t get more descriptive than that. The memory clawed at her a lot more than the words. “One of the guys called him back from the living room, and he gave me this knowing leer. Told me we weren’t done.”
    Ethan opened his mouth. “Jace, I do—”
    “Wait.” She had to finish the story, or she’d lose her nerve, swallow it back down, and go back to ignoring the memory. She traced her fingers over her neck. “I tried to tell Nick. He told me I was overreacting. Rich backed him up. I don’t know. Maybe I was. Kent and I crossed paths again a few days later. Early Sunday morning. Almost empty strip mall. He pinned me to a wall by my throat. Told me if I ever talked shit about him again, he'd kill me, fuck my corpse, and bury me where no one would find me.
    “I tried one more time to tell Nick, and he insisted I’d misunderstood. I made excuses to leave every time Kent came