Read Online Forgiving Patience by Jennifer Simpkins - Free Book Online Page B

the day. If she said all those
things aloud, everyone would think she was taking the new vampire faze to the
extreme.
    Em was all but rubbing her palms
together, waiting on the juicy news that wasn’t going to be revealed. Her lack
of sleep had everything and nothing to do with Jake, but not the way Em was
thinking. Yeah, there had been some heavy breathing and weakened knees involved
both times she’d seen him, but most of their contact was arguing. Em’s mind was going in a whole different direction—a direction
Anna was not traveling.
    “That explains the pale face and dark
circles. You don’t waste time, do you? I know Jake is good, but, man, I
expected you to at least wait a week or so before you let him get you into
bed.”
    Anna stared in shock. She could care
less about the insult to her appearance, even though it drove home the thought
that no matter how long she stood in front of the mirror she could never pull
off Em’s looks. She was more concerned about how Em
knew Jake was good in bed. Maybe she didn’t want to know—the thought was just
wrong…unfathomable.
    As if Em could read her mind, she
quickly added, “God, no, I didn’t mean I know from personal experience. It’s
just, word gets around.”
    Anna guessed that fell into the juicy
column for the town gossip. He was a man, and all men who looked like they
could pose on the cover of GQ were bound to have multiple partners, but that
didn’t mean she wanted to subject herself to the details.
    Anna recovered from the shock and was
determined to change the subject to something not involving Jake. “What do you
need me to do to get ready for your big day? You better be careful because
Jesse seems very tempted to quit the whole thing.”
    “I’m really not going to get any
details? At least tell me if his running you off the road is true,” Em begged.
    Good grief. Patience had to be the
most gossipy town. With a pointed stare she reminded Em of the lack of
information she’d neglected to warn Anna herself about. “No. You don’t get to
hear anything since you just happened to forget to tell me he was living in my
house.”
    Em crossed her arms and scrunched up
her face. “Fine, I will just have to get my gossip from Tommy. And I am not
sorry for not telling you. If I had, you probably wouldn’t have come back for
my wedding. You can call me selfish, but I wanted my best friend here.”
    Shit—that stung. She was a horrible
friend. It made her regret her time away from Em and her life. They didn’t see
each other enough. Twice a year hardly qualified as enough time spent with your
best friend. Em had never asked Anna to come visit her in Patience over the
past eleven years, but Anna could have gathered up enough courage to set her
own demons aside and come back to see her cherished friend. Em had a whole life
Anna knew little about. She had friends, a job, and a future husband that Anna
was just now actively becoming familiar with. A pain settled in her gut and
forced her to see the reality of her best friend’s life she’d mostly only heard
about.
    Anna abandoned her chair to kneel in
front of Em. “You listen to me, Emilee Bradshaw. No amount of Jake exposure
could keep me from your wedding, got it? You are my best friend, and I’m sorry
if I made you feel you weren’t important enough for me to haul my ass back
here.” She forced a tear back. She couldn’t afford to let the waterworks go,
because there was a possibility they’d never leave.
    Em reached out and hugged her friend
a little tighter than she had earlier. “Oh, don’t make me cry. I know you’ve
had your reasons, and I understand them, believe me. I’ve just missed you, is
all.”
    “Well, I’m here now and I plan to
have lots of girl talk.”
    Em wiped away the beginning of tears
about to run down her perfectly made-up cheeks. “Good. Now tell me about what’s
going on with you.”
    “What do you mean?” Please don’t let
it be any more Jake and sex