Read Online Sassy Ever After: Mate of Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Renee George - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Renee George
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outmaneuvered, she held her tongue as he walked away.
****
Bailey sat at an outdoor table at the Hound’s Tooth Restaurant. The location had been Lara’s choice, the seating, Bailey’s. She wore an oversized hat and a pair of sunglasses because it was as close to crawling into the deepest hole possible without actually shirking her responsibility as Lara’s maid of honor.
She’d arrived five minutes early but decided that if Lara were even one minute late, she would skedaddle.
With prejudice.
She’d cried herself to sleep the night before, and all she wanted to do was go back home and wash her damn pillowcases. Tory had gone into work at the office to take care of a legal motion that needed to be filed and woke her up with a call around eleven a.m. Unfortunately, there had been no hiding the red-rimmed eyes when she crawled out from under the covers to get ready for lunch, hence, the sunglasses.
Bailey checked her phone. Eleven-fifty-nine. She gathered her purse and readied herself to make a break for it. Too late. Lara arrived.
When she sat down across the table from Bailey, she skipped the platitudes and went right for, “Oh my God, Bailey, what the hell happened last night?”
“Do I look that bad?” She didn’t bother to remove her hat or glasses.
“No.” Lara shook her head. “Yes. But that’s not the point. The Blackthorn house was a minefield this morning. I’ve never had to tiptoe so much in my life!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Apparently, a certain new alpha defied the old alpha by choosing a fox over a wolf during the scenting ceremony.” She leaned forward and inhaled deeply. “Cripes, I can smell him all over you.”
“I showered a dozen times,” Bailey protested. “I just can’t seem to get him off me.” It was part of the reason she’d cried. It hurt knowing she’d never have Forrest again. That he would never truly be hers.
“It’s going to take more than soap and water to get rid of the scent of a mate.”
“You’re talking gibberish now.”
“I can’t believe you. And Forrest. Wowzers, how did you manage to pull the stick out of his ass?”
Bailey gnashed her teeth. “Don’t talk about him like that.”
“Whoa.” Lara put up her hands in an “I surrender” move. “I am just repeating your words back to you.”
“Well, stop it.” She felt another self-pity party coming on. “It doesn’t matter. It was a one and done. Forrest Blackthorn is ungettable.” And unforgettable. She’d never be able to look at another man without comparing him to Forrest. Hell, she was considering a nunnery at this point.
“Does this mean you’re over Evan?” she asked with an ease of friendship.
“What?” Bailey took off her sunglasses and blinked. “I don’t…You…You knew?”
“We knew.” She grasped Bailey’s hand. “But we loved you.”
“Wow, you all must have had a really big laugh at my expense. Look at love-sick Bailey pining for a man she couldn’t get in a thousand years.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lara smirked. “I can’t tell you how many times I was jealous of you and Evan. And believe me, when you started getting curves, he noticed. I can’t tell you how much I envied you.”
“But he fell in love with you.”
“And thank heavens, because I think the powers that be were saving you for something else.”
“I don’t believe in fate.”
“Call it what you want. Forrest Blackthorn stood in front of his family this morning and informally declared his intention to mate with you.”
“You’re high.”
As if on cue, a waitress brought out two mimosas and set them on the table. Lara held up her glass. “Not yet, but if I play my cards right...”
Bailey laughed, but it came out like a nervous hyena. “Did he really say he wanted me as his mate?”
“Uhm, let me see if I can get this right.” Lara straightened her shoulder, tucked her chin, and lowered her voice to mimic Forrest’s. “I marked her.
****
Bailey sat at an outdoor table at the Hound’s Tooth Restaurant. The location had been Lara’s choice, the seating, Bailey’s. She wore an oversized hat and a pair of sunglasses because it was as close to crawling into the deepest hole possible without actually shirking her responsibility as Lara’s maid of honor.
She’d arrived five minutes early but decided that if Lara were even one minute late, she would skedaddle.
With prejudice.
She’d cried herself to sleep the night before, and all she wanted to do was go back home and wash her damn pillowcases. Tory had gone into work at the office to take care of a legal motion that needed to be filed and woke her up with a call around eleven a.m. Unfortunately, there had been no hiding the red-rimmed eyes when she crawled out from under the covers to get ready for lunch, hence, the sunglasses.
Bailey checked her phone. Eleven-fifty-nine. She gathered her purse and readied herself to make a break for it. Too late. Lara arrived.
When she sat down across the table from Bailey, she skipped the platitudes and went right for, “Oh my God, Bailey, what the hell happened last night?”
“Do I look that bad?” She didn’t bother to remove her hat or glasses.
“No.” Lara shook her head. “Yes. But that’s not the point. The Blackthorn house was a minefield this morning. I’ve never had to tiptoe so much in my life!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Apparently, a certain new alpha defied the old alpha by choosing a fox over a wolf during the scenting ceremony.” She leaned forward and inhaled deeply. “Cripes, I can smell him all over you.”
“I showered a dozen times,” Bailey protested. “I just can’t seem to get him off me.” It was part of the reason she’d cried. It hurt knowing she’d never have Forrest again. That he would never truly be hers.
“It’s going to take more than soap and water to get rid of the scent of a mate.”
“You’re talking gibberish now.”
“I can’t believe you. And Forrest. Wowzers, how did you manage to pull the stick out of his ass?”
Bailey gnashed her teeth. “Don’t talk about him like that.”
“Whoa.” Lara put up her hands in an “I surrender” move. “I am just repeating your words back to you.”
“Well, stop it.” She felt another self-pity party coming on. “It doesn’t matter. It was a one and done. Forrest Blackthorn is ungettable.” And unforgettable. She’d never be able to look at another man without comparing him to Forrest. Hell, she was considering a nunnery at this point.
“Does this mean you’re over Evan?” she asked with an ease of friendship.
“What?” Bailey took off her sunglasses and blinked. “I don’t…You…You knew?”
“We knew.” She grasped Bailey’s hand. “But we loved you.”
“Wow, you all must have had a really big laugh at my expense. Look at love-sick Bailey pining for a man she couldn’t get in a thousand years.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lara smirked. “I can’t tell you how many times I was jealous of you and Evan. And believe me, when you started getting curves, he noticed. I can’t tell you how much I envied you.”
“But he fell in love with you.”
“And thank heavens, because I think the powers that be were saving you for something else.”
“I don’t believe in fate.”
“Call it what you want. Forrest Blackthorn stood in front of his family this morning and informally declared his intention to mate with you.”
“You’re high.”
As if on cue, a waitress brought out two mimosas and set them on the table. Lara held up her glass. “Not yet, but if I play my cards right...”
Bailey laughed, but it came out like a nervous hyena. “Did he really say he wanted me as his mate?”
“Uhm, let me see if I can get this right.” Lara straightened her shoulder, tucked her chin, and lowered her voice to mimic Forrest’s. “I marked her.
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