Breaking Free by Cara Dee Read Free Book Online Page B

the door. "Maybe I added 'Former' way too fast. Have fun at that art thing, darling. I'll check the interwebz for pictures later."
    Sophie grinned nervously to herself and rummaged through her trailer in search of her new phone. She wouldn’t lie; she'd been tempted to give her new number to the people in LA, but she'd put her damn foot down.
    She couldn’t ignore everyone at home forever, but she was happy to begin something new here in Vancouver. A new Facebook account, a locked Twitter handle she wouldn’t apply to get verified—or give out to random people—and an Instagram that she would keep free of drunken selfies.
    On her regular Twitter, she had approximately four hundred thousand followers, yet the meager three followers she had on her new handle mattered more. Daniel, Noah, and Brooklyn were genuine.
    After tucking her phone, the key to her trailer, and her wallet into a small clutch, she left her temporary home and walked over to the parking lot behind the row of trailers.
    It was a little chilly but not enough to need a jacket or cardigan.
    A driver exited an SUV and held the door open for her. "Evenin', Ms. Pierce."
    "Hi." She smiled and slid into the backseat, just then noticing Tennyson was already there. "Oh, hey." He looked very handsome, she had to admit. She liked that he kept his beard neatly trimmed now, and the man could definitely fill out a pair of dress pants and oxford shirt well . "You've got your shades tonight, huh?" They sat on top of his head.
    "I need them," he said with a faint smile. "I see you're making use of your new wardrobe."
    She nodded and gathered her hair to fall down the left side of her front. "I wanted a change."
    The car drove out of the gates, and Tennyson hummed. "You've been all about changes lately."
    Sophie had no desire to discuss the whore-slut-bitch comments that had become the tip of the iceberg, so she kept it casual. "Nothing wrong with a little reinvention."
    That "little" reinvention had cost her a lot of money, but every receipt had been saved so she could reimburse her father with her next paycheck. After that, she'd be out of his life.
    "Are we going straight to the art café, or…?" Sophie recalled Tyler had mentioned they could eat there or at another place before, and she didn’t care which.
    "There's a great burger place on the way," Tennyson replied. "Is that all right with you?"
    No. Not even close. God, a fucking burger ? Her stomach twisted with hunger, but there was no goddamn way she'd go that far. She'd already eaten five hundred calories of her daily intake of eight hundred. A burger would ruin everything.
    "I actually ate in my trailer, but I'll get something small." She hoped the place had salads.
    Ten minutes later, they arrived at a small corner grill. Through the large windows, Sophie could see just how small it was. There weren't any tables, only the black-painted, L-shaped counter. Walls and floor were tiled. Easy to hose down after serving late-night drunks?
    "I know it's not much to look at." Tennyson held the door open for her and flashed a ghost of a smirk. "But they make up for it with the best bacon cheeseburger in Canada. American bacon, not Canadian."
    Was there any difference? Sophie hid her confusion and entered the…interesting…establishment. The smell of grease hit her like a wall, and she didn’t know which was worse. That her mouth watered or that the air was difficult to breathe.
    Only two of the ten stools were occupied, so Sophie chose a spot in the corner farthest away from the two grills.
    "No menus?" she asked quietly.
    Tennyson pointed up. Ah, there. The menu was written on chalkboards that were dotted with grease stains.
    A heavyset man walked over to take their orders, and Tennyson went for a bacon cheeseburger and a large strawberry shake. Sophie swallowed her hunger and ordered a side salad and a bottle of water.
    "No fancy brand this time?" Tennyson was fucking teasing her.
    "Because they'd have it here." She