Chasing Happiness by Raine English Read Free Book Online Page A

against the glass. “I can’t let you leave like this.”
    It wasn’t the possibility of running over his feet that kept her there, it was the memory of Ariana jumping every time her phone rang. That wasn’t going to be her. She had to deal with Dan now.
    She lowered her window and stared at him with narrowed eyes. ‘There’s nothing you can say that will take away my pain. However, there is one question you can answer, and then I never ever want to see or hear from you again. Why?”
    He took a deep breath, shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and lowered his gaze to the ground. “I don’t know, other than I guess I was tired of waiting.”
    Fury almost choked her. How dare he try to blame her? “You’ve got to be kidding. You can’t do better than that?”
    “I wanted things to work. I really did. That’s why I gave you the key.”
    “And not a ring. You were never going to make that kind of a commitment. I mean, how could you? You had two women—two women with keys to your apartment. A fatal mistake, Dan, and I thought you were smarter than that. Guess I misjudged you in more ways than one.”
    He shuffled his feet back and forth. “I didn’t give her a key. She took it, and I—”
    “Stop! Stop!” Zoe couldn’t believe her ears. “So now you’re blaming Maggie.”
    “No, no. That’s not it.”
    “You know what, Dan, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to hear anything more from you. Whatever feeble excuses you come up with aren’t going to change a thing. You’re a liar and a cheat, and I deserve better. Way better than you. I think Maggie has done me a favor.” With that said, Zoe raised her window and sped away, leaving a dirt cloud around Dan’s shocked face.
    When she got home, she was glad that her mom had already had dinner and was in her room. The last thing she wanted was food or to have a conversation. She’d held her emotions in check for about as long as possible—thankfully she’d been dry eyed during the scene with Dan—but that was all about to change.
    Once inside her bedroom, she flopped onto the bed and let the tears flow. She’d known years ago that her decision to wait until marriage would be off-putting to a lot of men, but she’d truly thought Dan was okay with it. If she’d thought otherwise, she never would have given him her heart.
    Obviously, what happened tonight had happened for a reason—Dan wasn’t the man for her—but that didn’t make it any less painful. She felt used and betrayed by someone she had trusted completely… Just like Ariana had been by Phil. Oh Lord! How was she going to tell her about Maggie? Ari had been through so much already.
    Zoe thought back to the other day when Katie, Ariana, and she had been giddy with joy at the opening of the Rosebud. How quickly things had changed. Luckily, Katie and Jake were still crazy in love. That thought left her a little fearful, though. Didn’t they say bad things always happened in threes?

Chapter Six
     
     
    Katie took one last bite of sesame chicken, then put her fork down and closed the lid on the Chinese takeout. “I can’t believe how stuffed I am.”
    Jake, who’d finished eating a good ten minutes ago, looked up from the computer he had balancing on his lap. “Me too. We haven’t had Chinese in a while. Maybe that’s why it seemed especially good tonight.”
    “Maybe.” Katie got up off the couch and carried their leftovers into the kitchen when the cell phone tucked in her jeans pocket vibrated. Her first thought was Ariana hadn’t turned off her phone and must be having another issue with Phil. But the text wasn’t from Ariana. It was from Zoe.
    “Oh no,” she cried after she’d finished reading the message, and then quickly sent a text back asking if Zoe wanted her to come over. However, her answer was no. She was going to bed. They’d talk in the morning at the shop.
    “What’s wrong?” Jake yelled from the living room.
    She put their leftovers in the