Damage Control Read Online Free Page A
Author: Elisa Adams
darkened even more, reminding her of a storm at sea. âFine. Whatever.â With another shake of his head, he turned and stalked out of the room.
Andrea didnât move when, two minutes later, he came out of the bedroom fully dressed. She didnât say a word as he stormed out of the apartment, not even sparing her a glance before he slammed the door so hard the pictures on the entryway walls rattled. Once he was gone, she rubbed her hand over the back of her neck and sucked in a couple of deep breaths, trying to quell the nausea rolling in her stomach. Brian didnât get pissed often, but she understood him so well. The man knew how to hold a grudge, and sheâd just blown him off. It would take him days to cool down enough to even speak to her now. She really should have tried talking to him to see if they could sort things out.
Who was she kidding? She never should have slept with him in the first place. There would be nothing to sort out if she hadnât made that single, huge mistake. Since she spent most of her time either at the office or working on various projects sheâd brought home, she didnât have a lot of friends. The few she had were as near and dear to her as family. To lose one of themâespecially her closest oneâwas tearing her apart inside.
She slid a glance toward the microwave clock and let out a soft curse. As much as sheâd love to sit around wallowing in her sudden misery all day, she hadnât been lying when sheâd told Brian she had plans. She and her sister Claire had a meeting downtown with their younger sister Lena, a.k.a. Bridezilla, in less than an hour. She had to shower and make herself look at least presentable first, or Lena would never forgive her.
All she needed today, on top of everything else, was Bridezilla having another one of her fits.
Chapter Two
Family loyalty was a very ugly thing. Especially when one was hung over, running on very little sleep and zero breakfast. Andrea leaned her head back against the wall and parted her lips in a silent groan. This day promised to be one of the longest in her life.
The dress shop smelled of dust and a cloying rose perfume. The place was tiny, bursting at the seams with rack after rack of wedding and special occasion dresses in all colors and sizes. Classical music played softly from hidden speakers, and Andrea was thankful it wasnât country music blaring through the room like the shop theyâd visited a few weeks earlier.
Today, Lena had told them at the start of the morning, they would have to help her settle on the ârightâ dress for her attendants to wear walking down the aisle. Carson, Vermont was a small city surrounded by even smaller towns. In the past two months, the three Ray sisters had exhausted the area dress shops looking for what Lena described as the perfect dress. The shop sheâd dragged them to today was the last one left.
Andrea and Claire had found a couple of chairs tucked into a quiet corner of the shop, planted their butts there, and hadnât moved in at least twenty minutes while Lena swept the racks, seeming to pick out dresses at random. One of these times, she might actually choose a decent one, but the odds were just as great that the wedding party would be marching down the aisle in glorified circus tents. Lenaâs taste seemed to have evaporated, along with her common sense, when Jerry had slipped the ring on her finger.
Andrea shot a glance at Claire, who was picking at the hem of her skirt. She nudged her older sisterâs arm. âWhy are we doing this again?â she asked in a whisper.
âBecause Lena is our sister and we owe it to her. Besides, she would do the same thing for us.â Claireâs robotic explanation was almost verbatim what their mother had been pounding into their heads for the three months since Lena had gotten engaged and subsequently lost every shred of her sanity. Andrea had heard of the
Andrea didnât move when, two minutes later, he came out of the bedroom fully dressed. She didnât say a word as he stormed out of the apartment, not even sparing her a glance before he slammed the door so hard the pictures on the entryway walls rattled. Once he was gone, she rubbed her hand over the back of her neck and sucked in a couple of deep breaths, trying to quell the nausea rolling in her stomach. Brian didnât get pissed often, but she understood him so well. The man knew how to hold a grudge, and sheâd just blown him off. It would take him days to cool down enough to even speak to her now. She really should have tried talking to him to see if they could sort things out.
Who was she kidding? She never should have slept with him in the first place. There would be nothing to sort out if she hadnât made that single, huge mistake. Since she spent most of her time either at the office or working on various projects sheâd brought home, she didnât have a lot of friends. The few she had were as near and dear to her as family. To lose one of themâespecially her closest oneâwas tearing her apart inside.
She slid a glance toward the microwave clock and let out a soft curse. As much as sheâd love to sit around wallowing in her sudden misery all day, she hadnât been lying when sheâd told Brian she had plans. She and her sister Claire had a meeting downtown with their younger sister Lena, a.k.a. Bridezilla, in less than an hour. She had to shower and make herself look at least presentable first, or Lena would never forgive her.
All she needed today, on top of everything else, was Bridezilla having another one of her fits.
Chapter Two
Family loyalty was a very ugly thing. Especially when one was hung over, running on very little sleep and zero breakfast. Andrea leaned her head back against the wall and parted her lips in a silent groan. This day promised to be one of the longest in her life.
The dress shop smelled of dust and a cloying rose perfume. The place was tiny, bursting at the seams with rack after rack of wedding and special occasion dresses in all colors and sizes. Classical music played softly from hidden speakers, and Andrea was thankful it wasnât country music blaring through the room like the shop theyâd visited a few weeks earlier.
Today, Lena had told them at the start of the morning, they would have to help her settle on the ârightâ dress for her attendants to wear walking down the aisle. Carson, Vermont was a small city surrounded by even smaller towns. In the past two months, the three Ray sisters had exhausted the area dress shops looking for what Lena described as the perfect dress. The shop sheâd dragged them to today was the last one left.
Andrea and Claire had found a couple of chairs tucked into a quiet corner of the shop, planted their butts there, and hadnât moved in at least twenty minutes while Lena swept the racks, seeming to pick out dresses at random. One of these times, she might actually choose a decent one, but the odds were just as great that the wedding party would be marching down the aisle in glorified circus tents. Lenaâs taste seemed to have evaporated, along with her common sense, when Jerry had slipped the ring on her finger.
Andrea shot a glance at Claire, who was picking at the hem of her skirt. She nudged her older sisterâs arm. âWhy are we doing this again?â she asked in a whisper.
âBecause Lena is our sister and we owe it to her. Besides, she would do the same thing for us.â Claireâs robotic explanation was almost verbatim what their mother had been pounding into their heads for the three months since Lena had gotten engaged and subsequently lost every shred of her sanity. Andrea had heard of the
Readers choose
Ross Turner
Lurlene McDaniel
Garland
Glen Tate
Sydney Landon
J.D. Robb
J.T. Ellison
Jennifer Beckstrand
Margaret Weis