Night After Night Read Online Free Page A

he’d put a ring on her finger with the intention of her becoming his wife. He’d always say the comments in a way that made her believe he was teasing, until she’d been slapped in the face with the evidence of the double life Ian had been living. One that included another woman and made a complete mockery of everything Zoe believed in when it came to a committed relationship: trust, honesty, and fidelity.
    Because of Ian’s betrayal, Zoe found herself questioning her judgment when it came to men and their sincerity. While she still believed in love and wanted it for herself, there was a wall around her heart and emotions that she knew would take a very special guy to break through. As a result, she vowed to be more careful before getting intimately involved with another man—definitely more aware and not so naïve.
    But right now, she really didn’t have the extra time to dedicate to any kind of relationship when her sole focus was opening her first boutique and building a name for herself as a designer. The first boutique of many, she hoped.
    “By the way, when was the last time you went out on a date?” Zoe asked, turning the tables on her friend.
    Deliberately avoiding Zoe’s gaze, Jessica checked out her freshly manicured nails. “We’re talking about you here, not me. ”
    “Yeah, well, maybe you ought to take your own advice,” Zoe said softly, but with heart and meaning behind her words.
    “No time.” Jessica waved a hand in the air between them, the simplicity of her reply belying the deeper issues that kept her from allowing any man to be anything more than a friend. “It’s kind of hard to date anyone when I’m touring all the time. And right now, I have a new album out, music videos to shoot, and an insane schedule of interviews and guest appearances.”
    All excuses, even if they were legitimate. “Okay, okay,” Zoe conceded, knowing when to back off of what was a touchy subject for her friend. “I get your point.”
    Jessica glanced out her tinted window, and Zoe sighed beneath her breath. She and Jessica had been best friends since high school, and Zoe was the only one who really knew just how deep Jessica’s emotional and physical scars ran. Even though Zoe’s parents had gone through a bitter divorce during her sophomore year, she’d never doubted that her mother and father loved her—even if her mother hadn’t been overly demonstrative with her affection, verbally or physically.
    In comparison, Jessica’s childhood had been unstable and filled with volatile situations, and the awful things that had happened to her had shaped Jessica into the woman she was now when it came to men.
    Guarded. Cautious. Cynical.
    There was so much pain in Jessica’s past, and she poured all her emotions into the songs she wrote and sang. Her soulful lyrics and the underlying theme in some of her songs told her life story—the good memories, the bad times, and the difficult choices she’d been forced to make. In that regard, she wore her heart on her sleeve, though she insisted in interviews that the words and verses in her songs were purely fictional.
    If there was ever a woman who needed a white knight to sweep her off her feet and give her a happily ever after, it was Jessica Morgan.
    “So, do you have anything fabulous to wear to dinner with Sean?”
    Glad to see that things with Jessica were back to normal, Zoe played into her friend’s not-so-subtle change of subject. “Itching for a little retail therapy, are you?”
    Jessica flashed her one of those dazzling grins that made her appear as though she didn’t have a care in the world. “What can I say? It’s my cure-all for everything.”
    Unfortunately, tangible items didn’t make up for the love and affection Jessica needed and deserved, but Zoe wisely kept that thought to herself. “Sure, I’m up for a bit of shopping. I just received the samples for my new Eye Candy collection, and they’re stunning. I’d love to find a dress to