Permanent Bliss by BJ Harvey Read Free Book Online Page B

threatening to hit water after a rather arduous middle of the night feeding—that was a fun one! And now it seems he’s just revealed one more. The inability to say no to his best friend when he wants to invite the she-devil herself to our wedding.
    Actually, she-devil is being nice to the female spawn of Satan. No, Nasty Nikki is a devious slapper who is so deep in denial that she has a shit show in hell of ever being with my Daniel again that she still, more than two years after meeting me, hasn’t accepted the fact that I am the one marrying Daniel.
    I live with him, I wear his over the top but totally gorgeous ring on my finger, and I am the mother to his two mini-superheroes in training. Forgive me for being possessive, but dammit, he’s mine. I could handle the frequent text messages and random, sometimes inopportune phone calls just to say hi, especially since Daniel has always made it clear, in his words and actions, that I am the only woman for him, till death do us part, forever and ever, Amen.
    You get the picture.
    But there is something about that woman that has irked me from day one. The snide looks, that infuriating and heartbreaking hand touch in the café when I was being stupid and trying to fool myself into thinking that I couldn’t be with Daniel, and now this.
    I go to open my mouth, but he beats me to it. “Gorgeous, you have nothing to worry about.”
    Lesson number one to all males out there. Never, ever tell a bride who is straddling the line between insanity and being mildly unamused that she has ‘nothing to worry about.’ It’s like taking away all the chocolate and Midol when she’s got her period.
    In short, don’t do it unless you have a death wish.
    I slowly place my spare hand on my hip, moving into that stance. You know, the one that says you mean business and that most smart men know means that they’ve fucked up, and bad. Lifting my glass to my mouth, I take a slow, measured sip as I will myself down from level ten to level five or at least something close. Not once do I take my eyes off Daniel, who is literally leaning his ass up against the back of the couch, visibly squirming under my damning gaze.
    I put the glass back down and take a deep breath. When I’m confident that the imminent threat of a Mac nuclear meltdown has passed, I plaster a sickly sweet smile on my face to lull him into a false sense of security before moving toward him.
    He’s standing straight, waiting for the expected onslaught by the time I cross the room. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I move forward until my body is flush with his. He visibly relaxes, his previously squared defensive shoulders loosening underneath my touch. Our eyes never leave each other and as I gaze up into his beautiful, yet clearly mistaken orbs, my smile beams even brighter. 
    “It’s okay, Danny Boy,” I murmur as I glide my fingers into his hair at the back of his head, further deepening the illusion that everything is perfectly fine. Because let’s be honest, it’s a woman’s prerogative to twist a situation around to suit herself, especially if it means we get to keep the men folk on their toes. This is something Kate and I have learned very well over the past few years. “But since Nikki is now coming to the wedding, our guest list is a bit uneven. Lucky for us, I have a perfect solution for that …”
    “Mmm?” His hands glide up and down either side of my body, running from my upper back all the way down to my ass as I feel him harden against my front. Daniel’s hair is his kryptonite, whisper soft or early baldness-inducing hard, my hands and fingers running through his hair get him going every single time. “What’s that?” His voice trails off and I can tell he’s totally distracted by my unapologetic and shameless use of my charms. Seriously, girls, you’ve gotta use what your mama gave you and now I know I’ve got him right where I want him.
    I lean forward and gently brush my lips against his,