Read Online A Long Goodbye by Kelly Mooney - Free Book Online

her hands, “I wouldn’t believe you were trying to seduce a man. But here you are. And might I say, you look hot, girl. H-O-T, hot.”
    Quickly, I turned to her. “I’m not trying to seduce him. I’m trying to get him to like me. It’s different.”
    “And you think the slut way to go is gonna work? What if he likes pretty and sweet and not hot and nasty?”
    “Trust me, Lu. He probably wouldn’t mind either, but something tells me hot and nasty is the way to go tonight. Besides, we only have three more days according to you until we take off. I want to make the most of it while we’re here. Memories I can hold on to.” And Lord knows I’d need them if Trevor Owens was going to be the one forced down my throat.
    “You need to promise me you’ll be safe without me.”
    “What do you mean? Aren’t you coming?” I asked panic seeping through my words.
    “And be a third wheel. Now why would I do a thing like that? Besides, this is a good thing, Ashton. I want you to have fun, let loose, be happy tonight. You don’t need me to make that happen. This is exactly why we’re on this trip.” She stood in front of the mirror to brush her hair. “Just call me if you need me, and you know I’ll be there in a flash.” She started to walk toward the bathroom, but turned. “And don’t forget your can of mace.”
    Quickly, I checked my purse to make sure it was still in there. It was. Daddy insisted I take a can with me, and he even gave one to Lu, which kind of surprised me, seeing that he never thought much of her safety before. You’d think after fifteen years of friendship that he’d finally understand what she meant to me. She was like a sister. One that I’d treasure ‘til the day I died. “But, you’re a part of making this trip perfect, Lu. Please come?”
    She shook me off with one of her ‘evil smiles’ like she knew leaving me on my own would benefit me in some way. One quick deep breath was all I got in before I heard the knock at the door. Shoot! I raked my hand through my hair one last time, and then nervously made my way to the door.
    When I swung it open, my heart stopped beating for a moment. As would any living breathing girl who was presented with a man like Woody waiting for her. He had on a pair of blue jeans, a tight black V-neck tee exposing a heck a lot of tattoos I didn’t know existed, his signature sunglasses, and he held two bouquets of flowers. One in each hand.
    His eyes took me in for several quiet seconds with a very nice smile making me feel like I’d chosen the right outfit for tonight. “You look…I don’t even have the words, Grace.” He stepped inside our hotel room, peering all around when Lu popped out of the bathroom dressed in her pajamas. I could see in Woody’s eyes that he’d just figured out that he had me all to himself tonight, and I prayed to the Lord above that he was just as happy about it as I was. Although my nerves were starting to kick in, making me anxious.
    “These are for you, ladies. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got a little bit of everything.” He strutted over to Lu first and offered her a bouquet, and said, “You feeling all right, tonight?”
    She waved him off, smiling, but took the flowers smelling them quickly. “I’m a little banged up from drinking too much last night. I heard I owe you a thanks.”
    “It was nothing,” he assured her. He rounded his way back to me with his head down, but once he got closer to me, he lifted it and smiled shyly. “These are for you, gorgeous.” As he handed them off to me, he leaned in for a sweet kiss on the cheek that had me shivering in my boots, and that shiver made it all the way up to what I liked to call my happy place. He smelled of soap with a hint of cologne making me want to smell him for the rest of my life as he pulled away.
    “They’re beautiful, thank you.” Lu came over to me to grab the flowers, as I smelled the sweet hint of roses and freesia.
    “You two go have