The Love Handles Club (Love in the City Short)

The Love Handles Club (Love in the City Short) by Liv Morris Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: The Love Handles Club (Love in the City Short) by Liv Morris Read Free Book Online
Authors: Liv Morris
in front of him. He swore there was never any true love between them. It started as a partnership and ended as a failed business agreement.
    His share of the business had been substantial as he’d helped to take the company public. Once that had happened, his personal portfolio had become worth millions. But his personal life had added up to nothing. And before long he and his wife were sleeping on opposites ends of the house. This part of his story was difficult to hear. I knew all too well what it was like living inside a passionless marriage. It left a person hollow with a sadness that couldn’t be lifted. Memories of that hopeless feeling still haunted me.
    He and I had been through some shitty years. We’d both married the wrong person and it had taken years for us to realize or admit to our mistake. I told him how Joe had been waiting for me when I arrived back at Baylor after leaving UT so many years ago. Mentioning that fateful day was difficult, I could feel the tension between us increase, but it had to be said. There was no moving forward without speaking about our past.
    I softly spoke of the day I’d left him standing in his fraternity room. I told Bradley that I ’d called Joe in tears as I tried to drive back to Waco. Joe almost talked me into pulling over and waiting for him to come get me, but somehow I’d pulled myself together and made the two-hour trip. Once he’d seen my car pull into my dormitory's parking space, he’d come running toward me full speed. My tears had starting falling in streams again too. I found myself engulfed in his arms. He’d comforted me, hushed my whimpering sobs.
    But now looking back at that young, vulnerable girl, I knew the truth about Joe’s comfort. It was a cold and calculating love meant to get him what he wanted to possess... me. I’d never quite figured out why Joe decided that I was the girl for him. The one. The only. And once he’d put on his charms, I was really no match for him. I was sad and broken. He’d been too eager to fix me, so I’d let him. It became a pattern for us. Joe, deciding what was best. Joe dictating what I would do.
    I remembered Bradley trying to apologize to me. He begged me actually, but I told him that we were both young and needed to look beyond that day. I shouldn’t have run off, but I had. We each had regrets and if we were going to continue to be friends, I felt the past should be buried along with our past marriages. We needed to start our friendship or whatever we had anew.
    Initially, I worried that our reconnecting was on overdrive, progressing far too fast. But after a couple weeks of trying to keep things between us as friends, I decided to give in and follow my heart, throw caution to the wind.
    And I was so thankful that I did as it led me back into the arms of the most beautiful man I’d ever known.  Every time we talked on the phone, exchanged texts, or got together in person, our relationship grew, became stronger.  He was patient and didn’t push me, and under the circumstances I found myself in, I appreciated his restraint. I could tell he wanted more between us from almost day one of our being back in each other’s lives. However, it took me a little time to come around. I was pregnant, newly separated from Joe and facing a wall of problems trying to divorce him.
    All my troubles, not to menti on the pregnancy, didn’t seem to bother Bradley. He took all the insanity I was dealing with in stride. He held my hand and encouraged me every time I felt like giving up, which happened countless times a day. He kept my head above water when I felt like I was drowning. I owed him so much... especially after today.
    We were on a plane heading to Atlanta to have a meeting with Joe and his attorney. My stomach felt queasy at the thought of facing Joe again. It was D-Day for me, and Bradley too.
    Joe had stalled on every attempt to settle our divorce quick and painlessly. He wanted m e to suffer and his threats had

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