Her eyes widened, surprised that he'd offered. It wasn't like they knew each other that well. Of course, he did have an honorary little sister, her friend Mad Campbell. Maybe he was used to female drama. Still she had more tears in her and would prefer not to have a witness to her breakdown. “No, thank you.”
“Okay.” He hesitated, staring at her for a long moment before walking away, looking back at her several times and then disappearing back in the ballroom.
She walked in the opposite direction, turned the corner to an empty hallway and took a seat on the floor. Who cared if her dress got wrinkled? Nobody that was who. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on top. She felt like a complete fool the way she'd built up Dean in her mind and what they'd had. Those four years together meant nothing to him. How could he love her and not love her? She still loved him. You couldn't just turn love off, he'd always have a place in her heart. The tears came again and she let them, the world going blurry. All of her three older sisters were married. Her friends were all finding their forever loves and she had nobody.
Finally she finished crying and wiped her eyes with a tissue from her purse. She stood and took a deep breath, contemplating if she should bail on the reunion or go back in and prove she was just as over Dean as he was over her. He'd probably be back inside of ten minutes, she thought uncharitably. He hadn't been all that in the bedroom.
Her pride had her taking a step back to the reunion. She halted in surprise.
Ethan was standing at the end of the hallway, where she'd just spent the last several minutes crying her eyes out. Had he seen?
She crossed to him. “What're you doing here?”
“Same as you. Taking a breather. Come on, they're serving dinner. You can sit with me and Cali.”
Suddenly there was nothing she'd rather do. Ethan was a connection to her friends, a comforting oasis in this treacherous territory. “Okay, thanks.”
They walked in silence for a few moments before Ethan said in a mock growl, “Say the word and I'll give the guy who made you cry a fat lip.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Thanks.”
“Men suck,” he said and ruffled her hair.
She didn't even care that he'd mussed it. “They do.”
“Being single's not so bad,” he said gently.
Easy for him to say, he had a girlfriend. “What're you doing here anyway? I mean, the reunion. I know you weren't at UConn when I was here. You're too old.”
He bumped her with his hip. “Take that back, young'un.”
She laughed. “You're thirty-something, right?”
“Yeah. Cali went here.”
She searched her memory and came up short. “Huh. Guess we didn't have any classes together.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “You'll get along with her great. She thinks men suck too.”
“Even you?”
He cracked a rare smile that lit up his face in an astonishingly gorgeous flash. “I'm the exception.”
Preorder Mess With Me now!
You’ve just read book #5 in the Happy Endings Book Club series. The books in the series are Hidden Hollywood (Jake & Claire), Inviting Trouble (Parker & Mad), So Revealing, (Ty & Charlotte), Formal Arrangement (Alex & Lauren), Bad Boy Done Wrong (Zach & Carrie), Mess With Me (Ethan & Ally), Resisting Fate, and Chance of Romance. I hope you enjoy them all!
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Other Books by Kylie Gilmore
The Clover Park Series
The Opposite of Wild (Book 1)
Daisy Does It All (Book 2)
Bad Taste in Men (Book 3)
Kissing Santa (Book 4)
Restless Harmony (Book 5)
Not My Romeo (Book 6)
Rev Me Up (Book 7)
An Ambitious Engagement (Book 8)
Clutch Player (Book 9)
A Tempting Friendship (Book 10)
The Clover Park STUDS Series
Almost in Love (Book 1)
Almost Married (Book 2)
Almost Over It (Book 3)
Almost Romance (Book 4)
Almost Hitched (Book 5)
Happy Endings Book Club Series
Hidden Hollywood (Book 1)
Inviting Trouble (Book 2)
So Revealing (Book 3)
Formal Arrangement (Book 4)
Bad Boy Done Wrong (Book 5)
Mess With Me (Book 6)
Resisting Fate (Book 7)
Acknowledgments
Thank you awesome reader goddesses! Thanks also to my family, Tessa, Pauline, Paul, Mimi, Kim, and Jenn for all you do. Special shout out to the bad boys with a heart of gold!
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks are not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Bad Boy Done Wrong: © 2017 by Kylie Gilmore
Excerpt from Mess With Me © 2017 by Kylie Gilmore
Digital Edition 1.0
Cover design by Kim Killion
Published by: Extra Fancy Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN-10: 1-942238-31-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-942238-31-7
About the Author
Kylie Gilmore is the USA Today bestselling author of the Happy Endings Book Club series, the Clover Park series, and the Clover Park STUDS series. She writes quirky, tender romance with a solid dose of humor.
Kylie lives in New York with her family, two cats, and a nutso dog. When she’s not writing, wrangling kids, or dutifully taking notes at writing conferences, you can find her flexing her muscles all the way to the high cabinet for her secret chocolate stash.
Click here to sign up for Kylie’s Newsletter and get a FREE book. You’ll also get new release info, exclusive excerpts, and lots of subscriber-only giveaways. For more fun stuff check out Kylie’s website http://www.kyliegilmore.com.
Kylie can be found on Twitter @KylieGilmoreToo and on Facebook.com/KylieGilmoreToo. Contact Kylie at [email protected]
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