Fall From Grace

“I don’t do yoga. I’m not very athletic.”

“Pshh. Everyone can do yoga. It’s so fun. Anna even got Noah to do it.”

“Once,” Anna chimes in. “And all he did was stare at my ass the whole time.”

I laugh. “You do not want to see me do yoga. Unless you want a good laugh. I am sure all I will do is fall over and make a fool of myself.”

“Nah. You can do it! Besides, with me as your instructor, you’ll do great.”

Anna laughs. “Sera, you don’t need to lie to her.”

Sera sticks her tongue out at Anna. “I’m a great instructor!”

Anna looks over at me, changing the subject. “Carson seems to be doing well. I think you have been very helpful for him. He seems less stressed.”

I give her a smile when all I can think about is the reason he is less stressed is because he is taking all of his stress out on me with his dick. “Well my dad’s a big-shot corporate lawyer in New York City. So even though I didn’t go into law like he wanted, I know a lot about it. And I have a paralegal certificate so I have been able to take a lot off Carson’s plate. I think.”

Faye shoots Anna a look and Anna bites her lip and shakes her head like she is trying to tell her not to say something.

Anna looks at me instead. “I was talking to Carson last week at family dinner and he was smiling for the first time since Tiffany. It was a change of pace for sure. You really are changing him.”

“Who’s Tiffany?” I ask.

“You don’t know?” Sera asks.

I shake my head.

“His ex-fiancée. She left him two weeks before the wedding,” Faye answers.

“Wow.” I am shocked to hear that. Neither Owen nor Carson has said a word about an ex.

“Broke his heart,” Anna says. “He really loved her, and ever since then, he’s been an asshole. Well more so than his usual cocky assholeness.”

“How long ago was this?” I ask.

“Over seven months ago.”

My hand goes to my chest. “That’s so sad.”

“It really is.”

I think back to all the conversations I’ve had with Carson. The hints he made of not fucking anyone in a long time. Maybe I am the first person he has slept with since her. Is that why he is so attached to me? Because he is just looking for what he had. But that can’t be. We both decided what we are doing is just sex. Nothing more.

The rest of dinner goes by quickly. Sera cracks me up and Anna and Faye are so sweet. I love Faye and Hunter’s story of them being high school sweethearts and breaking up and then getting back together years later. I love a good love story. Even though I’ve never had one. My taste in men has been terrible. And it’s not to say they weren’t good in bed or attractive. They just all broke my heart. And I won’t let Carson do the same.

* * *

Seraphina orders us another round of shots at the bar. I know exactly what Carson was talking about now with her, but I like her. Her free spirit and personality are hard not to like. She knocks her shot glass against mine when Liam brings them back.

“God, he is so nice to look at. If only he wasn’t gay,” she jokes, then tosses her shot back.

I’m slightly tipsy, okay, very tipsy, but I don’t care. I am having so much fun. And I really like Anna and Faye too. I look over at them at the high-top table we were standing around. Both of them on their phones, no doubt texting their husbands.

We grab the drinks and walk them over to the table. Anna’s face is flushed and I don’t know if it’s from the alcohol or whatever conversation she is having.

Seraphina rips her phone out of her hand. “Oh my god, you two are so cute it’s sick.”

“Hey!” Anna shouts at her. “Those are private messages!”