Free Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me Book 3) by Brooke St. James Page B

since you probably will."
    He smiled at me when I said that. The side of his upper lip was still a little swollen, making his smile slightly asymmetrical in an extremely handsome way. I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Stop being ridiculous," I said.
    I assumed I thought it, but apparently, I said it out loud because he said, "What?"
    "Nothing," I said. "I'm tired and hungry. That makes me babble." I waved at him. "Thanks again for everything you did to get my ring back, and thanks for forgiving me."
    "Don’t mention it," he said. "I'm glad you came by."
    I was turning to leave when I said, "Me too," from over my shoulder. I waved to him again as I walked out the door.
    I wasn't sure how it was possible to feel a sense of closure and longing at the same time, but that's exactly what I felt as I drove away. I was definitely happy I had gone by to talk to him, but I still couldn't get over how I treated him—especially after learning everything he had gone through to get my ring back. I wasn't really hungry, but I ate half of my chicken wrap on the way home because I knew I needed some sustenance.
    I called Carly after I stashed the uneaten portion of it back into the paper stack. "Hey Chica," she said answering the phone.
    "Hey," I said. "I wanted to let you know you were right about Brock."
    I heard a sharp intake of breath, and then I heard her rustling around as if she was trying to find a quiet spot to talk to me. "What happened?" she asked, obviously intrigued. "Did you talk to him?"
    "Yeah, I'm just leaving his studio right now."
    "You went over there?"
    "Yes, and he is just about the sweetest guy I've ever met. He looks all tough, and dark, and mysterious, and then he talks and the words that come out are sweet, and gracious, and forgiving."
    "Aw, I'm so glad you went over there," she said. "It sounds like you worked out whatever hard feelings you were having. I told you he was a good guy."
    "He didn't have anything to do with my ring getting stolen," I said. "His friend took it to support his drug habit. Brock didn't know anything about it."
    "I knew he wouldn't do something like that," she said. "But it was hard to tell you that when everything pointed to him. How'd he get the ring back?"
    "I think it was a bit of a fiasco," I said.
    I wasn't sure if Brock wanted people knowing the whole story, so I hesitated to repeat it.
    "What happened?"
    "He didn't tell me every detail," I said, "but I think he had to go through a lot to get it back, which made me feel even worse about being so mean to him."
    "You didn't know," she said.
    "I know, but I still feel bad. He was really nice about it."
    "I'm glad. I think it's great that you went over there and talked to him."
    "Me too," I said. "Thank you for nudging me in that direction."
    "That's what friends are for. Hey, speaking of that, don't forget about Micah's thing this Friday. You told me to remind you."
    Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought she had mentioned that Brock would be there too. It seemed like when she said it I was revolted by the idea, but now I felt differently. Not only was I looking forward to seeing him, but I also felt as if I should do something for him—like bring him some sort of gift or token for everything he had gone through to get my ring back.
    "Are you there?" she asked, since I was silent for so long.
    "Yeah, I'll be there," I said.
    "Great," she said. "It should be fun. I sent an invite to your house. You should get it sometime this week. Bring Ryan, Isaac, and Annie too."
    "I'll see if they can come," I said.
    Carly and I said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone just as I was pulling into the driveway of my house. All of my roommates' cars were there, but Annie was the only person in plain sight when I walked in the door.
    "Where you been?" she asked as I walked in. "Was it volunteer night?"
    I set my bags by the door, took my shoes off, crossed to the couch, and plopped onto it in a dramatic fashion. "Yes, but I finished with that