Read Online The Trouble With Love by Lauren Layne - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lauren Layne
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deal.”
Ouch.
Emma crossed her arms, feeling beyond weird. “So if it doesn’t have anything to do with me—”
Danielle laughed nervously. “Right. You want to know why I’m here. Okay, well . . . I’ll be perfectly blunt and say that while Alex is a great guy, I never got the sense that we were going to make it. He’s so . . . closed off, you know? We got along, but I never felt like I was reaching him. Not really. It’s always been like that, but in recent weeks he’s even further away than ever.”
I so do not want to be having this conversation. Should have grabbed that glass of wine.
“And then . . . oh, boy.” Danielle blew out a breath. “Okay, I’m just going to spit this out. That guy you went on a date with. Benedict? There were, um, sparks. Or something. Like when he looked at me, I felt like I was seeing him in a way Alex would never allow.”
Emma scratched her eyebrow. “Yeah. I sort of saw that happen.”
Danielle blushed. “I thought maybe you might have. And I wasn’t going to do anything about it, I swear. I’m not that girl. But then the other day, Alex had a bunch of Stiletto articles on his desk and he was asking my opinion on some of them, and I saw yours. . . .”
“Ah,” Emma said, beginning to understand. “And you learned that Benedict was very much still on the market.”
Cassidy’s girlfriend—no, ex -girlfriend—blushed. “You must think I’m terrible. Dumping one guy and five minutes later hitting up his ex about her ex. It’s just that . . . I’m thirty-four, and I want so badly to find someone—”
Emma smiled and held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain. I get it.”
Danielle broke off. “You do?”
“Sure,” Emma said with a shrug. “Finding someone you have sparks with is rare. And nobody should stay in a relationship that they don’t think is going anywhere. It wouldn’t be fair to you. Or Cassidy.”
Danielle tilted her head slightly. “You guys sure are mature about this. How is it possible that there’s no bad blood between you?”
Emma laughed. “It’s more like the blood froze. What you interpret as civil is more like . . . deliberate indifference.”
Deliberate indifference —that was a good one. She liked it. Suspected Cassidy would, too. If they’d ever stay in each other’s company long enough to talk about it.
“Well, regardless, I guess I just wanted to double-check that I wouldn’t be moving in on someone else’s guy if I called Benedict.”
“I can’t promise that he hasn’t started seeing someone in the past couple weeks,” Emma said. “We haven’t spoken. But if he is seeing someone, it’s not me.”
“Okay,” Danielle said, taking a breath. “Okay, thanks. And now for the extra awkward part. . . .”
Emma smiled. “You want his phone number?”
The pretty brunette all but sagged in relief. “You’re awesome. Seriously.”
Emma retrieved her phone from the counter and scrolled through her received calls until she found where Benedict had called her to confirm their date.
She gave Danielle the number, and felt a little flicker of alarm that she didn’t feel the least bit weird in doing so. The flicker escalated to a flame as she realized that she was happy .
Happy that Cassidy and Danielle had broken up.
Uh-oh.
She knew her friends and sister thought she was emotionally closed off. Emma herself sometimes worried that she was partially dead inside.
Well, she definitely wasn’t dead inside now.
“Sorry I interrupted your evening,” Danielle said as she pulled her purse higher onto her shoulder and stepped into the hallway, having gotten what she came for.
“No problem,” Emma said, swallowing her panic and the flurry of emotions rolling through her. “Kept the night from being boring.”
Danielle glanced briefly at Cassidy’s door, her expression not so much sad as thoughtful. “You know the weirdest part of all this? I don’t even think Alex will mind. When I suggested
Ouch.
Emma crossed her arms, feeling beyond weird. “So if it doesn’t have anything to do with me—”
Danielle laughed nervously. “Right. You want to know why I’m here. Okay, well . . . I’ll be perfectly blunt and say that while Alex is a great guy, I never got the sense that we were going to make it. He’s so . . . closed off, you know? We got along, but I never felt like I was reaching him. Not really. It’s always been like that, but in recent weeks he’s even further away than ever.”
I so do not want to be having this conversation. Should have grabbed that glass of wine.
“And then . . . oh, boy.” Danielle blew out a breath. “Okay, I’m just going to spit this out. That guy you went on a date with. Benedict? There were, um, sparks. Or something. Like when he looked at me, I felt like I was seeing him in a way Alex would never allow.”
Emma scratched her eyebrow. “Yeah. I sort of saw that happen.”
Danielle blushed. “I thought maybe you might have. And I wasn’t going to do anything about it, I swear. I’m not that girl. But then the other day, Alex had a bunch of Stiletto articles on his desk and he was asking my opinion on some of them, and I saw yours. . . .”
“Ah,” Emma said, beginning to understand. “And you learned that Benedict was very much still on the market.”
Cassidy’s girlfriend—no, ex -girlfriend—blushed. “You must think I’m terrible. Dumping one guy and five minutes later hitting up his ex about her ex. It’s just that . . . I’m thirty-four, and I want so badly to find someone—”
Emma smiled and held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain. I get it.”
Danielle broke off. “You do?”
“Sure,” Emma said with a shrug. “Finding someone you have sparks with is rare. And nobody should stay in a relationship that they don’t think is going anywhere. It wouldn’t be fair to you. Or Cassidy.”
Danielle tilted her head slightly. “You guys sure are mature about this. How is it possible that there’s no bad blood between you?”
Emma laughed. “It’s more like the blood froze. What you interpret as civil is more like . . . deliberate indifference.”
Deliberate indifference —that was a good one. She liked it. Suspected Cassidy would, too. If they’d ever stay in each other’s company long enough to talk about it.
“Well, regardless, I guess I just wanted to double-check that I wouldn’t be moving in on someone else’s guy if I called Benedict.”
“I can’t promise that he hasn’t started seeing someone in the past couple weeks,” Emma said. “We haven’t spoken. But if he is seeing someone, it’s not me.”
“Okay,” Danielle said, taking a breath. “Okay, thanks. And now for the extra awkward part. . . .”
Emma smiled. “You want his phone number?”
The pretty brunette all but sagged in relief. “You’re awesome. Seriously.”
Emma retrieved her phone from the counter and scrolled through her received calls until she found where Benedict had called her to confirm their date.
She gave Danielle the number, and felt a little flicker of alarm that she didn’t feel the least bit weird in doing so. The flicker escalated to a flame as she realized that she was happy .
Happy that Cassidy and Danielle had broken up.
Uh-oh.
She knew her friends and sister thought she was emotionally closed off. Emma herself sometimes worried that she was partially dead inside.
Well, she definitely wasn’t dead inside now.
“Sorry I interrupted your evening,” Danielle said as she pulled her purse higher onto her shoulder and stepped into the hallway, having gotten what she came for.
“No problem,” Emma said, swallowing her panic and the flurry of emotions rolling through her. “Kept the night from being boring.”
Danielle glanced briefly at Cassidy’s door, her expression not so much sad as thoughtful. “You know the weirdest part of all this? I don’t even think Alex will mind. When I suggested
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