Read Online Chasing Happiness by Raine English - Free Book Online

Maggie in bed was burned into her mind, and she couldn’t focus on anything else.
    “Good morning, dear.” Her mom kissed her cheek. “You look exhausted. Didn’t you sleep last night?”
    “Not much.” Zoe noticed her mother had dark rings too. “You look pretty tired yourself. Are you feeling okay?”
    Mary had high blood pressure and a few other problems that were a worry. Especially, since her mom had a habit of acting like everything was okay when it wasn’t. And Zoe had inherited that unfortunate trait from her.
    She took one last sip of coffee, then pushed her chair back from the table. “I’ll see you later, Mom. Don’t try to do too much today. The house looks fine. I don’t want to come home from work and find that you’d gone crazy cleaning.”
    Mary rolled her eyes. “Yes, dear.”
    Zoe doubted she’d listen but felt better for having said it. She quickly left the house before her mom could start bombarding her with questions as to why she hadn’t slept. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to saddle her with problems that weren’t hers and that she could do nothing about either. Zoe would have to tell her about Dan eventually, but the longer she put it off, the better it would be for both of them.
    The first thing she did when she got in the car was to turn up the radio, hoping the noise would keep her from dwelling on things as she drove to the Rosebud. It did work, but it was only a temporary fix, because as soon as she reached the shop and turned off the ignition, the horrible image of Dan and Maggie returned.
    Luckily, both Katie’s and Ariana’s cars were in the parking lot. Her friends were already at work, so Zoe would only have to tell her story once, and then after they talked about it, she didn’t plan on doing so again.
    When she entered the shop, Katie was unpacking a shipment that had just come in of Fire and Ice roses. She closed the cooler door, and as she turned to face Zoe, Ariana came out from the back.
    Her face was ashen, and there were tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea what was going on between them.”
    Zoe rushed over to wrap her arms around Ari. “I know that. But how did you find out?” She looked over at Katie. “I thought you had your phone turned off.”
    “I did. Maggie told me.”
    Zoe let out a gasp.
    “Tabby had kittens.” Ariana gave a choked, desperate laugh. “In my closet, so I called Maggie for help, and while she was at my house, the truth came out. She wouldn’t have told me, though, if I hadn’t pushed her. I saw her come home earlier with a Victoria’s Secret bag and knew she’d spent the night somewhere. I just didn’t know where and with whom.” Her gorgeous blue-gray eyes darkened with pain. “I thought she was my friend. How could she have done this?”
    Zoe’s stomach knotted, and she tried to hide her inner misery from her friend. “I know you’re angry with Maggie, and so am I, but I blame Dan more. He was my boyfriend. He was the one who cheated, and he was the one who gave me the key to his apartment. Without that, I might not have discovered what was going on. A part of me can’t help but wonder if he didn’t subconsciously want this to happen—want me to find out about Maggie.”
    Katie stared at her in bewilderment. “Why would he want that?”
    Zoe dropped her arms to her sides and shrugged. “Apparently, I couldn’t give him what he wanted, and she could.”
    “Meaning sex,” Ariana added bitterly.
    She pressed her back up against the wall with her stomach still clenched tight. “I thought he was okay with waiting, but once he started bugging me to move in with him, I knew things were going in the wrong direction. There was that moment, though, at our party, when I thought he was going to propose. Instead, he gave me the key. Deep down, I knew then there was no hope for us. It was evident. He didn’t want to get married, but I wasn’t ready to accept that yet.”
    Zoe drew in a deep