close to the door. “It’s our turn, bitch. So get your happy ass on out here.”
Jake cradled my head and smiled down at me. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”
“You have,” I reassured him. “And that was a nice way to show me, as well.”
“Well, you just wait until I get you home.”
“There’s more?” I teased.
“Oh, yeah.” His grin widened. “A lot more.”
One
ONCE UPON A TIME…
Oh, who the fuck was she kidding?
Once upon a time only happened in fairy tales, and Kora Madison’s day-to-day was anything but. Sure, perhaps her life bore an eerie resemblance to Cinderella’s, but not in the sense of Prince Charming coming in to save the day.
If that were the case, Kora would be getting hot and sweaty in her Honda Civic with a sexy guy wearing leather and smelling like sin. Riding him hard and fast, making him gasp and moan, the same way he would be making her gasp and moan. All while they rocked the wheels of her tiny car on their way to oblivion.
That clearly wasn’t happening.
The only part Kora resembled was the hot and sweaty, but it had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with her nerves. Last she’d checked, she was the only one in her car in the middle of a crowded restaurant parking lot. So, it looked as though intensely satisfying public sex was out of the question.
For now, anyway.
Okay, and no, she didn’t have a stepmother, either, wicked or otherwise, but she did have a sister. And well … wicked was one way to describe the woman who’d purposely slept with Kora’s longtime boyfriend, the man Kora had mistakenly believed one day she would marry. Granted, Sam Brashwood wasn’t innocent in all of this, either—nor was his dick. In fact, the guy was a prick, a prick who had—behind Kora’s back—been banging Kora’s sister for months.
The mere thought made Kora’s stomach churn, making her feel nauseous. She briefly wondered if that feeling would ever go away. If she would ever be able to look at Trina and Sam and not want to vomit on their shoes.
Ick.
But Kora didn’t have time to dwell on that shit. She had more important things to focus on. Much more important. Like, how she was going to get past all the scathing glares when she walked into the restaurant where her sister’s baby shower was being held.
Had she mentioned that not only was her sister wicked, she was also pregnant?
Yep, she was.
With Sam the Prick’s child.
Kora sighed and reached for the door handle.
One breath at a time, she managed to push open the door, step out into the cool evening breeze, adjust her skirt, then force her legs to carry her away from her car.
You can do this, the little voice in her head muttered.
God, she hoped that was the case.
Taking another deep breath, she continued to put one foot in front of the other.
It was a little cold for the outfit she’d chosen, with January temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark this week, but Kora had a purpose, and at this point, the outfit offered a much needed confidence boost.
She straightened, tilting her head up, pretending the Nazi butterflies weren’t invading her stomach.
It would be so easy to hop back in her car, pull out of the lot, and never look back, but unfortunately, she had to go in. Everyone would think she was the devil incarnate if she didn’t. Since she was already half an hour late, she was sure they’d come up with a million reasons as to why, none of which would paint her in a flattering light. After all, her family and friends already believed she’d been the one to break up with Sam the Prick, the one who had all but pushed him into her sister’s arms.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
No, she wasn’t at fault, but for some godforsaken reason, Kora had taken the wrath of her family and friends, allowed them to believe the lie because it had been easier than the truth. In their eyes, she was the one who couldn’t be tamed. Wild and uncontrollable was how most people described her. Oh, and unfaithful. That one had been added to the short list, though Kora had never cheated. Not on a test, not on a diet, and certainly not on the only man she’d ever been in a relationship with.
However, the consensus was that Kora couldn’t stay committed to one man.