Read Online A Beautiful Struggle by Lilliana Anderson - Free Book Online

his side. He offered to get me a drink, and she told him that
she would love one too so he obliged, enjoying the attentions of such an
attractive woman.
    I wasn’t very willing to engage Bianca in
conversation, so I attempted to busy myself trying to spot where the rest of
our group had gotten to. Elliot was talking to Andrew and Carmen, and Kayley
and the others had gone straight for the dance floor. I smiled as I watched
them swaying their hips with their arms above their heads getting plenty of
attention from surrounding men.
    Bianca obviously didn’t mind talking to me
though, “So, what are you? A cutter or something?” she sneered indicating my
scarred forearms.
    I was categorically taken aback this time – who the hell says things like that?! I searched her face to gain some
sort of understanding but found myself expecting a forked tongue to flick out
of her mouth.
    “ What is your problem?” I frowned at
her.
    “You’re my problem, I can see the way
you’re going after Elliot.”
    “I’m not going after Elliot, I have to talk
to him for work and we get along – that’s all,” I told her feeling incensed in
her presence.
    “Well keep it that way, Beth’s been working
on him for months, and she doesn’t need some Amazon like you getting in the
way. God only knows what he sees in you anyway - if you didn’t wear skirts and
have long hair, I would swear you were a boy.”
    I looked over at Elliot and saw that Beth
had moved in and was chatting happily to him, Andrew and Carmen. They all
looked neat and tidy together. He was smiling. She was smiling – I had to admit
they looked good together. As I watched, I saw her link her arm with his and
rest her head on his shoulder laughing. Jealousy flared within me as he laughed
with her and put his arm around her, giving her a squeeze. I looked away
quickly, knowing Bianca was watching me react.
    “I thought there was a ‘no dating’ policy
at work.”
    “There is, but no one is going to tell on
them; Look at them, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks. Do you see how
they look at each other? They’re perfect together,” she insinuated close to my
ear.
    A horrible possessive feeling tightened my
chest when I had no right to be feeling that way. Mentally, I shook my head to
try to clear it away.
    “Bianca, I’m really not interested in
Elliot,” I lied. “I just got out of a serious relationship, and I’m not looking
to enter a new one right now.”
    “You know. I really don’t think it matters.
The way he has his arm around Beth right now - I’d be surprised if he lasts the
night,” she said to me with faked brightness, I frowned because her words
didn’t match her voice, until I realised that David was standing behind me.
“Thank you, David! You’re such a sweetheart!”
    He had returned with our drinks, a black
Russian for me, a Vodka Cruiser for Bianca and a schooner of beer for himself. I
took my drink with a thanks and knocked it back in two gulps before filling my
mouth with the ice left over and crunching down angrily. I needed to move away
from Bianca before I said something I was going to regret.
    “I’m going to dance,” I yelled to David. He
looked at me and signalled did I want him to dance too, but I shook my head and
indicated that I was going to dance with Kayley. He nodded his understanding
and turned his attention back to seducing Bianca. I rolled my eyes as I walked
away, was there any woman off-limits to him?
    Kayley’s group had grown and she squealed,
hugging me as I squeezed in next to her, she seemed pretty drunk at this point
and was having a great time. She started to yell in my ear, so she could
introduce me to the other people she was dancing with, they were mainly her
house mates; all Irish - they came over to Australia on a working visa at the
same time as she did. One guy was her cousin, and he leaned into me to shake
hands and introduce himself properly. “I’m Connor,” he yelled above the