[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

She has an opinion on everything and she's not happy until
she shares it with everyone."
"Is it too late to drive home now?" Chase joked.
"Yes, it is. Be afraid, be very afraid."
* * * *
Jasmine drove into the parking lot of the restaurant,
apprehension filling her as she parked the car. Even though
she'd kidded with the guys about Stephanie, the worst case
scenario she presented at breakfast wasn't too far from the
truth. They didn't know it yet, but they would be thoroughly
grilled before her best friend would allow them to possibly
hurt her.
Although Jasmine had to wonder if her heart was already
on the line. She'd like to think she was falling hard for them,
but the truth of the matter was, she'd already fallen. It didn't
183
Coming Full Circle
by Liz Andrews
seem possible, but it was almost as if they hadn't been apart
the last ten years. And she couldn't help hoping somehow,
some way, they could all be together, forever. Which was why
it was important to her for Stephanie to approve. Because
there was no way in hell she could handle her best friend not
getting along with the two men in her life.
"Something wrong?" Chase asked.
She turned toward him and smiled. "No, just remember
what I told you. Stephanie likes to debate. Anything and
everything."
"You sound worried," Alex noted.
Naturally she was. But she wasn't going to tell them. "No,
of course not. Come on. Let's go."
The three of them exited the car. As they had all morning,
the two men flanked her on either side. For an independent
woman who never relied on a man, it was strangely satisfying
to know she had two men looking out for her. When they
entered the restaurant, the hostess was waiting for them.
"Table with Stephanie?"
"Yes."
"This way."
As they followed the girl, Alex leaned down to ask, "How
did she know it was us?"
"I'm sure Stephanie told her she was waiting for her best
friend, who would be accompanied by two gorgeous men."
Jasmine didn't say any more because they'd reached the
table. Stephanie smiled when she saw them and held out her
arms to Jasmine, who leaned over to hug her.
184
Coming Full Circle
by Liz Andrews
"Are you going to let me have fun?" Stephanie whispered
into her ear.
"As long as you're nice," Jasmine replied in the same low
tone.
Stephanie frowned. "That's no fun."
"What's not?" Chase asked.
"She said I had to be good." Stephanie eyed Alex and
Chase.
"Something tells me you're better when you're bad," Alex
teased.
"Ohhhh." Stephanie eyed him up and down. "I like you
already."
Both men laughed, but Jasmine shook her head. She'd
warned them, but Stephanie was reeling them in hook, line
and sinker. She settled into the chair directly across from
Stephanie with the guys between the two women. The lunch
was going to be a meal to remember.
The waitress took their drink order and left menus for
them to peruse. After their morning of sightseeing, Jasmine
was hungry, even though she'd eaten a large breakfast. Of
course, with all the additional sexcercise she was getting, she
rationalized the extra calories and decided on a juicy sirloin
burger and seasoned fries. When the waitress returned with
her diet soda, everyone placed their order and there was a
brief moment of silence.
Stephanie didn't immediately start the interrogation as
Jasmine had assumed she would. Instead, her friend began
quite benign.
"What fun things did you do this morning?"
185
Coming Full Circle
by Liz Andrews
"Fun?" Chase snorted. "I have to say, Middlebrook hasn't
changed too much since we left ten years ago."
"Hey now," Jasmine jumped in. "I showed you the new
high school."
"Oh yeah," Alex drawled sarcastically. "Because there are
so many reasons we needed to stop by there."
"Oh, you guys aren't going to the reunion." Jasmine's eyes
widened and she swiftly kicked Stephanie under the table.
Even though she hoped they would change their minds about
attending, Jasmine hadn't worked up the courage to ask them
about it. Mostly because she was afraid she'd look as if she
were desperate. Nevertheless, Jasmine didn't want them to
think she put Stephanie up to asking them because she was
too much of a chicken to do it herself. "Hey, what—"
Stephanie exclaimed, before sudden realization crossed her
face and she smiled sheepishly across the table at her friend.
The guys seemed oblivious. "No, we weren't interested in
going back to high school to hang out with a bunch of people
we could care less about."
"Yeah, in fact, the only person we missed was Jasmine."
Alex reached across the table and laid his hand over hers.
"Thankfully, we were all able to reconnect without having to
endure a night of bad food and worse company."
Jasmine had her answer, although it wasn't the one she
wanted. The sad thing was, she actually agreed with them.
The problem was, of course, Jasmine was required to attend
since she was on the planning committee. Not only was she
going to be forced to spend a horrible night with old high
school nemeses, she was going to do it dateless.
186
Coming Full Circle
by Liz Andrews
Instead of advertising her disappointment she decided to
turn it into a joke. "You two are the lucky ones because
there's going to be old nineties music there, too."
The table erupted into laughter and thankfully they moved
on to another topic. Before Jasmine realized it, lunch was
over and Stephanie had completely controlled herself. When
the check arrived, the men insisted on paying.
"Wow, gorgeous guys and they pay, too. You've hit the
jackpot," Stephanie observed. Jasmine definitely agreed with
her. While the men stayed at the table to wait for the
waitress to return with the credit card receipt, Stephanie and
Jasmine strolled to the front of the restaurant. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]