The Moment We Began (A Fairhope New Adult Romance) by Sarra Cannon Read Free Book Online Page A

he’s
still trying.
    “Yeah,” he says. “It’ll be
enough just to be with you.”
    I smile, but suddenly have the overwhelming urge
to cry. I would give anything to hear words like that from Mason, but
from this guy, they mean nothing.
    Still, I wonder if I’m being too hard on
him.
    I shrug my shoulders and start walking toward the
door. He takes a few long steps to catch up with me, opening the door
just before I get to it.
    “Wait,” he says. “Is that a
yes?”
    I turn to him. “Tell me something, Braxton.”
    “Okay,” he says, shifting his weight.
    “Why did you really want to go out with me
tonight?”
    His gaze darts toward the shore, but it’s
too dark for us to see the water from here.
    “I thought you were gorgeous in your
pictures,” he says. “I really wanted to meet you.”
    “Bullshit,” I say, my lips buzzing
slightly from the alcohol. I’m not drunk, but I’m on my
way there if I can get to another glass before the buzz wears off.
“You probably see pretty girls all the time up in Atlanta. I
bet you have them knocking down your door. So why me? Why does a
handsome guy like you go on a blind date?”
    He puts his hands on his waist, pushing his blazer
back. “I’ve heard really great things about you from my
mom,” he says. “I’m not seeing anyone in particular
right now, so when she mentioned a possible date, I was excited to
meet you. It’s not every day I get to go out with a beautiful,
intelligent woman like you.”
    I smile and shake my head. He’s not actually
going to be honest with me right now, and I guess I wasn’t
really expecting him to be.
    “Come on,” I say, reaching for his
hand. “Let’s go have some real fun.”
    He takes my hand and we walk together to his car.
    “Are you always this blunt on a first date?”
he asks.
    “No,” I answer truthfully. The only
guy I’ve ever just been able to be myself with is Mason, but
he’s never actually taken me on a date. “But I’ve
always wanted to be.”

Chapter Ten
    Leigh Anne shouts and waves me over toward the
bar.
    It’s crowded in here still, but we’re
early. Knox isn’t closing the bar until ten, so most of our
other friends aren’t here yet.
    She stands and gives me a huge hug. “I’m
so glad you made it,” she says. She buries her face in my hair
and whispers, “He’s cute.”
    “Cute and perfect,” I whisper back.
“And completely wrong for me.”
    She makes a face.
    “What can I get you guys to drink?”
Knox asks from behind the bar.
    There’s country music playing through the
speakers. He’s decorated the place with balloons and a big
welcome home sign. There are two dozen red tulips sitting on the bar
in front of Leigh Anne with a little note sticking out that says ‘I
love you’.
    I swallow down a bit of jealousy and turn to my
date. “Braxton? What are you drinking? And no more bullshit red
wine tonight. We’re drinking real drinks from here on out.”
    “I’ll take an IPA,” he says.
“What do you guys have here that’s good?”
    I shrug. I guess beer is better than nothing. He
and Knox start talking pale ale and Leigh Anne pulls me onto the bar
stool next to hers.
    “Jenna and Colton and some of the other
servers should be here soon,” she says. “Summer’s
here, but she went to the bathroom. Is Preston coming?”
    “I’m not sure,” I say, thinking
back to the sadness I’d seen in his eyes. “He said he’d
try to stop by.”
    Braxton finally picks his beer and then,
surprisingly, asks what he can get for me.
    “Jack and ginger,” I say.
    Leigh Anne’s eyebrows go up and I smile. I’m
determined to have a good time tonight. I’m so over being
depressed about Mason all the time. Why can’t I get him out of
my head? He has me so turned around, I can’t even get through a
single night without thinking about him.
    But if he doesn’t want me, then fuck him.
His loss.
    Of course, I’ve given myself this little
pep-talk several times over the course of being