Free Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) by Jaye Diane

smashed it into his groin. He keeled over, howling.
    “You son of a bitch, I told you don’t touch me!” Whirling, she stomped out of the office and paused at the counter where Larissa stood standing as still as a statue. “Good luck dealing with this scumbag. You’d better get out while you can.”
    Larissa stared at her with wide green eyes but said nothing. Emerald rushed out.
    When she got back to her car, she was shaking so much that it took her several tries to even get into her car. She started it up and drove cautiously, the adrenaline making it difficult to keep her hands steady. After a few blocks, she decided to pull over, her shaking, sweaty hands sliding across the wheel.
    Her cell phone rang and she looked at the Caller ID. It was Lincoln. She smiled in relief and answered the call.
    “Hello.”
    “Hi,” He said warmly, and goosebumps instantly rose up all over her flesh.
    “What’s up?” She asked, her entire body on alert. In only a week, she was so attuned to him. If it wasn’t so alarming it would be amazing.
    “Just making sure you’re coming to dinner.”
    “Of course I am. I’m on my way home to get dressed now.”
    That was greeted with silence and she knew he wanted to ask where she’d been but he held himself in check.
    “I had some errands to run,” She said, which wasn’t a complete lie. Before she’d gone to Marley’s Gym, she’d done errands at home. She’d cleaned her entire apartment from top to bottom.
    “Okay,” He said, sounding cool. Too cool, if she wasn’t mistaken. “So I’ll see you in a little while?”
    “Yeah, see you later.”
    They hung up and she leaned back in the driver’s seat, closing her eyes for several seconds. Her reaction to him was something that she’d never felt with anyone in her life and she didn’t know how to deal with it at all.
    When she’d gotten to his apartment the night before, she’d attacked him. And although she’d never been shy about sex, she’d never been that aggressive before. All of this was so new and scary.
    She didn’t know how long she sat in her car just thinking about Lincoln before she snapped her eyes open and looked around. It was beginning to snow and she got back onto the road, realizing that probably due to the erotic thoughts of Lincoln, she’d calmed down. As usual, he was a complete and much needed distraction and she allowed herself to smile.
    She’d finally confronted Marley. She and Lincoln were enjoying each other. Her best friend was finally back. Things were looking up and her mood was brightening. She parked her car on her street, doubting that he’d have the balls to make another move now that she’d made it clear she was on to him.
    She dressed quickly in a fuchsia blouse with a scooped neckline and black designer jeans. Stepping into black flats, she went to the mirror and decided to put a little makeup on. She only put on eyeliner and blush, knowing that if she over-did it, Robyn would see right through her.
    She did want to impress Lincoln; it was becoming very clear that she cared too much about what he thought. But no one needed to know that, not even her best friend. She put her coat on, then reached for her bag and went out to her car.
     
    There was basically a party in full swing when Emerald arrived at the Phillips home. Quintin and Marjorie Phillips lived in Elizabeth, a town that wasn’t too far from Jersey City but far enough, Robyn always said, that she had some space.
    Their house was basically a tall brick mansion. It had at least a dozen bedrooms, some of which they’d added over time. It made it convenient when they had a lot of guests, which they tried to do very often. Emerald had been a guest in their home many times, herself.
    As usual, they’d gone all out for Christmas. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of twinkling lights all over the house.
    Growing up, Robyn and her family had lived in a much smaller, modest home, but Emerald had always felt welcomed. She