Page 48 of By His Vow
No man is that perfect.
This is where my usually level-headed friend loses her mind.
She might be a strong, independent woman, but she’s got a soft-as-hell, romantic heart locked up inside her chest, and she’s desperate for it to be unleashed.
While I’m happy to stay single and play the field, kiss a few frogs, and laugh the whole time, she wants something more serious, something steady and reliable.
Her life has been anything but those things up until this point, and she’s desperate to settle down with a man who worships the ground she walks on.
I’ve no doubt she’ll find him. I just can’t help worrying that she’s trying too hard and attracting the wrong kind of guys.
She wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to dating, and men know how to lure her in before quickly spitting her back out.
She’s still lost in her memories of the night before when we finally get to the front of the line.
As if we’re still two college students, the second a stall becomes free, we both slip inside.
I go first, seeing as she’s still lost in her Matt-induced haze, and then we switch before descending on the sinks—or, more importantly, the mirrors.
Predictably, Lor immediately starts fussing with her hair.
“What?” she hisses, making me roll my eyes at her.
I shake my head. “Nothing,” I mutter as I pull my red lipstick from my purse and reapply.
“You need to stop leading Cory on tonight,” she says absently.
My eyes snap to hers in the mirror.
“I’m not?—”
“Tate,” she warns. “You know how he feels about you. You’re just feeding it.”
“He doesn’t feel anything for me,” I argue way more defensively than I mean to. “We’re just friends,” I say a little softer.
“You’re not just friends though, are you?”
“So what, we’ve hooked up a few times?” My hands find my hips and I turn to her, glaring.
“I’m not judging, you know that, Tate. If you two want to bump uglies then that’s up to you. But you’re playing a very dangerous game tonight.”
“Why? Because of Kingston?” I balk.
She opens her mouth to respond, but I don’t give her time to say anything.
“He has nothing to do with this. I’m having a night out with my friends. A well-deserved night out,” I add.
“Shit. I know. You’re right. I’m sorry,” Lori says, stepping forward and holding her arms out.
I accept her embrace and wrap my arms around her, holding her close.
“This is so fucked up, Tate,” she whispers in my ear.
A lump crawls up my throat. I try to swallow it down, but it’s too huge. “I know,” I finally manage to say around it.
“I’m on your side. Always. You know that. I just think you should be careful. If Kingston were to see?—”
I jolt back from her hug. “You think he’s following me? Watching me?”