Damaged and the Knight (Damaged #2)

Meeting his gaze, I shrugged. “Why?”


“He came in a few weeks ago and asked for an angel tat.”

“Oh,” I mumbled.

“Seemed like he was basing the face on a specific girl.”

“Was he with anyone?”

Aaron grinned. “Judd doesn’t do the girlfriend thing, Tawny. He just sleeps with women. I’ve never even heard of him going on a date.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Aaron’s grin widened. “Coop would never let this happen. Besides, I’ve already been someone’s second choice before and I’m not a fan.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Having a pretty girl show interest isn’t something a guy needs an apology for.”

Smiling awkwardly, I sighed. “I wanted Judd, but he didn’t want me. I’m trying to get over him.”

“I understand.”

“You had your heart broken too?”

“Yeah,” Aaron said, rolling back on his chair to his computer. “She held my heart in her hand. Unfortunately, she held a lot of guys’ hearts in her hand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Life is about disappointments. Without the pain, how will we appreciate the good stuff?”

“True.”

“You and I are young. We’ll find someone else who won’t shit on our hearts.”

Smiling, I tried to imagine being close to someone like I felt with Judd, but it seemed impossible. Even Aaron with his pretty blue eyes and easy smile didn’t inspire me to be in his arms. Yet, maybe I could learn to want someone else with enough practice.





Chapter Ten


David’s Bridal smelled rich with flowers and Bailey frowned at me like she was prone to do when things stunk. Farah stood on my other side, looking ready to run for the door. The place was filled with so many dresses and accessories that I understood why Farah felt overwhelmed.

“How will I choose?” she finally muttered.

“Pick something that doesn’t make you look like a slut. That’ll narrow it down,” Bailey said, now frowning at a headless mannequin wearing a tiny wedding dress with a long train. “Oh, and stay away from too much lace. Don’t want to look like someone’s grandma.”

A wide-eyed Farah looked at me as I took her hand. “This is fun. We’re going to look at them all and pick our favorites. Then, you’ll try them on and narrow them down. With so many to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect dress.”

“I just don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard.”

“You’re an idiot,” Bailey snorted. “Try too hard to what?”

“Look fancy.”

“You’re wearing a fucking wedding dress. You’re supposed to look fancy. It’s not like you’re ever getting married again. If things don’t work out with Coop, he’ll never let you go. Nope, you’ll be heading for a shallow grave.” While Farah rolled her eyes, I stared at Bailey who shrugged. “Too honest?

“Is that a real question?”

Bailey grinned. “What I meant to say was Farah and Cooper are so fucking perfect for each other that they’ll never get divorced, so she should wear the fanciest damn dress she can find. It’s what I would do if I was once dirt poor and now had money.”

“Great effort, but you lost a little bit of your fake niceness at the end.”

Bailey grinned. “Great effort is still something.”

“Yes, it is,” I said, taking Farah’s hand. “Let’s start narrowing things down. I’ll show you a dress and you decide if it’s too poofy or not poofy enough. We’ll eventually hit the right level of poofy.”

Farah laughed. “I want a good amount of poofy. It’s rare that a girl can be poofy without looking stupid.”

“Maddy will be poofy no matter what she wears,” Bailey said as Maddy entered with Jodi and Sawyer. “I don’t even know how she can get a bridesmaid dress if she’s going to swell up more before the wedding.” Everyone frowned at Bailey who glanced at me then back at Maddy and added, “You’re swelling with the gift of life.”

Maddy laughed. “Was that you being nice?”

“That was me trying, yes.”

“Ah,” Maddy said, forcing Bailey into a hug. “I get so emotional these days. I sure hope I don’t get snot on you.”

Bailey glared at me over Maddy’s shoulder. “Snot away. It’s the least I can do when you’re cooking my niece.”

Leaving Maddy to snot up Bailey, I joined Farah at the racks. We quickly narrowed down the not poofy enough dresses and the sales clerk helped us towards a more poofy section of the store. The too poofy dresses were soon added to the no-go list. Finally, we narrowed it down to around ten dresses.

“What about the bridesmaids dresses?” Bailey asked, leaving Sawyer to twirl from a sugar-induced high.

Farah glanced around and bit her bottom lips. “It’s a Valentine’s Day theme, so the dresses should be a deep red.”

“Like blood?” Jodi asked. “Classy.” Unable to tell if she was being sarcastic, the three of us looked at the older woman who suddenly frowned. “Where the fuck is Skye?”