Mini Bonus Chapter Three
The Night Everything Changed
Wednesday night, back in the middle of May
“How hard is it to answer a damn call or text?” Cassidy said out loud to herself as she drove across the bridge into King Lake.
She was normally a fairly patient person, but her patience was frayed thin after sitting alone at the restaurant she and her bestie Juliette had agreed on for their weekly Wednesday dinner.
She’d ended up ordering, sending the occasional text because she was worried about her and it wasn’t like her to not answer calls.
Well, that wasn’t true.
Since Juliette met her wolf shifter mate, she’d felt less like a best friend and more like an acquaintance.
She followed her GPS to The Amber Howl, where she knew she’d find Juliette.
Parking, she turned off the engine and got out, slamming the door with a little more force than necessary.
Wednesdays were sacred.
They’d been getting together for dinner on Wednesdays for years, talking about work, trying new restaurants, and hanging out.
They talked about books and coffee, about their hopes for the future, and their plans for the weekend.
She cherished the time, and hadn’t realized just how much she cared about it until she was stood up for the second time.
But right now, she felt freaking ridiculous.
Like she was a child with a toy snatched away.
Was she really going to storm into the tavern and demand her friend come and hang out with her?
She leaned against her car and rubbed her temple. The truth was, Juliette was moving on with her life and that was okay. If Cass had found her forever guy, she’d be moving on too. But she hadn’t, and she was alone.
She should just get back in the car and go home. Send Juliette a text and let her know that they’d talk tomorrow and she hoped she was okay.
But when she put her hand on the doorhandle to get back into her car, her gaze strayed to the building. She could hear music coming from inside. As she stared at the building, she had the strangest feeling that she was standing on the edge of something amazing.
But that was absurd. It was just a tavern with her best friend inside.
Had she really driven all the way here to yell at her friend for flaking on her?
No. She was a big girl. She might be missing her best friend, but that didn’t mean that Juliette’s life was supposed to revolve around her.
Maybe there was a perfectly good reason for Juliette’s absence waiting for her beyond the tavern’s door. But maybe she should just leave.
Her hand tightened on the handle.
She couldn’t bring herself to get into her car.
“Fine,” she said quietly.
Then she started toward the front door.
And just like that, everything was about to change.
The End For Real