Broken Series by Dawn Pendleton Read Free Book Online

mention Luke almost kissed me today?” I asked Gabby and Rainey with a smirk.
    Time to kick up some of my own gossip , I thought. The drinks made me bold. And reckless.
    “What?” they both exclaimed.
    “Yeah, it was at the hospital. He pulled me into an empty room and came this, ” I spread my thumb and forefinger apart less than half an inch, “close to kissing me. It was crazy.”
    “What an ass,” Rainey said.
    “Someone should tell Carrie who she’s getting involved with,” Gabby muttered with a slight slur. Her buzz was affecting her judgment.
    “We should tell her!” Rainey blurted.
    “Carrie!” Gabby waved her arms at Carrie across the bar and gestured for her to come to our table.
    I didn’t turn around, afraid that if I saw Luke’s expression, I might burst out laughing, so I sipped more of my drink and stayed quiet.
    “Hey, girls,” Carrie said as she walked up to our table. “I just love this band. Oh, hi,” she said to me. “I don’t think we’ve met.” She stuck her hand out to shake and I could barely contain my drunken humor.
    I shook her hand but didn’t get a chance to tell her my name.
    “Carrie, why don’t you sit with us for a while? I’m sure Luke wants to chat with Baker at the door,” Rainey said.
    Carrie pulled up another barstool and sent Luke packing. I still hadn’t turned around to face him, but I was betting he was pissed.
    Rainey introduced us. “I’m Rainey, and this is Mallory. I remember you from high school. I think you were a few years ahead of us.”
    I didn’t remember the woman at all. Of course, I’d been too wrapped up in Luke to notice anyone else in high school. Not to mention Carrie was kind of ordinary. She had the girl next door thing going for her, but that was it.
    “Right, I remember you now. What have you girls been up to?” she asked politely.
    I couldn’t help but notice how old she was. Granted, she couldn’t be more than three or four years older than our group, but she looked at least ten years older. Time had not been good to her.
    “We were just talking about Luke,” Gabby said with a giggle.
    “He’s pretty great, isn’t he? We’ve only been dating a few weeks, but I think he might be the one,” Carrie said.
    I’d just taken a sip of my drink when she said it; rum, orange and pineapple juices exploded out of my mouth and across the table.
    “Oh! I’m so sorry.” I was horrified, but Gabby and Rainey burst into laughter.
    “No harm done, Mallory. Mallory. Are you the Mallory? As in, Luke’s ex-girlfriend?” She glared at me.
    “Guilty,” I muttered.
    “Actually, Mallory had a run-in with Luke earlier today. Why don’t you tell her about it, Mal?” Rainey smirked.
    “He always brings your father dinner. He’s such a sweetheart,” Carrie said.
    It was obvious she had no idea what a low-life Luke was.
    “Well, he kind of pulled me into an empty room and almost kissed me, actually,” I said. The words were out of my mouth before I could take them back and the fuzziness in my head was playing tricks on my brain.
    “What? When?”
    “It was after dinner, when he offered to give me a ride home,” I told her. The cat was out of the bag now. No going back.
    Tears welled in her eyes. “He offered you a ride home, too?”
    The satisfaction I felt for an instant dissipated and guilt abound. As if I needed more guilt.
    “My dad cornered him into it, Carrie,” I started to explain.
    “Did Joe corner him into kissing you, too?”
    Her eyes flashed but I could tell she wasn’t mad at me. Her anger was directed at Luke, as it should be. He was the ass.
    “Of course not,” I said in defense of Dad. “But he didn’t actually kiss me.” I tried to backtrack, but she waved me off.
    “Excuse me,” she said and left the table.
    Gabby and Rainey watched Carrie stalk across the bar.
    “She’s pulling him outside,” Rainey informed me.
    I refused to turn and look. I no longer wanted anything to do with any of