Rising from the Ashes by Jessica Prince Read Free Book Online

was so bad that my other friends were picking up on it.
    “What the hell am I supposed to do? I’ve got Charlotte on my ass all the damn time, riding me about being so close to Savvy. But it’s not like I can just stop talking to Savannah, you know? Past relationship aside, she’s my best friend. I can’t just cut her out of my life because Charlotte is insecure. I don’t want to cut Savvy out.”
    “Looks like you’ve got yourself a real dilemma,” was all he said.
    “You know, if that’s all you’ve got to say, then you can head on out. Stating the obvious isn’t doing jack to help me.”
    Luke threw up his hands in surrender and let out a loud laugh. “All right, man, all right. I just like givin’ you a hard time.”
    “I’m having a hard enough time already. I don’t need you to add to it.”
    Luke rubbed his chin, dropped his feet to the ground, and rested his elbows on his knees. “You love Charlotte?” he asked.
    I didn’t even bother speaking my answer. I just shook my head back and forth.
    “Then, why go through all this?”
    And that was the question wasn’t it? Why was I subjecting myself to all this misery if I knew Charlotte and I weren’t going to make the long haul? “I don’t know, Luke. I’ve been asking myself the same questions lately.”
    “Look, I’m not claiming to be an expert on relationships here, but I will tell you that if you can’t picture spending the rest of your life with this chick, maybe it’s time to cut your losses.”
    “Is that why you came back for Emmy?” I asked.
    “Hell yeah, man!” Luke exclaimed. “I don’t have a life without that woman in it. My suggestion—find a woman you feel like that about and hold on to her for the rest of your life.”
    Luke knew what he was talking about in matters like that. Years ago, he’d walked away from Emmy after just one night. He’d left a ton of destruction in his wake that he wasn’t aware of until he’d moved back to Cloverleaf, but after trying to live without her for eight years, he had finally sucked it up and come crawling back. It had taken more work than most men would have been willing to put in, but he’d finally gained back her trust, and eventually, he’d fixed their relationship. I’d never seen two people more crazy about each other than Luke and Emmy.
    The only problem with his suggestion was that the one woman I couldn’t picture living without had ended our relationship a long time ago, and she wouldn’t take me back even though she knew we were perfect for each other.
    “If Savannah is it for you, then you need to do everything in your power to make her see that.”

For some insane reason, I’d decided I was going to start running that morning. The only thing I had working for me in my attempt at a three-mile jog was the fact that it was November. In Texas, that meant it was a comfortable sixty-five degrees outside with only eighty percent humidity as opposed to the standard thousand percent.
    About a mile in, I decided I was a complete idiot, but I had the type of personality that wouldn’t allow me to quit something once I’d started, so I finished the three miles. I’d walked a lot, but I’d finished, damn it! It was nothing short than a miracle that I was able to shower and get myself ready for work later that morning.
    And for that reason, I was currently sitting in my office at work with my head on my desk, feeling like I was going to die. Maybe Emmy had been right. Maybe I was allergic to exercise.
    “Everything okay in here?” I heard from behind me.
    I didn’t even have the energy to lift my head. I just turned it to the side and looked up at Ben standing in the doorway.
    “You okay, Savannah?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.
    “I think I’m dying,” I responded in a weak voice.
    At my pathetic declaration, Ben’s concerned expression morphed into a smile, and he started to laugh. “What did you do?”
    I slowly pushed myself off my desk and