An (Almost) Perfect Love Story (Love Story Book Three) Read Free Page B

what’s on the agenda tonight?”
    “I’m not sure,” I said. “Ryan is pushing pretty hard for dancing.”
    “What else is new?” she muttered. Ryan was forever trying to get us to go dancing with him. I was usually happy to comply, since I enjoyed dancing myself, but Emily and Chris were generally much harder to convince.
    “Well what do you want to do?” I asked. “And don’t say something lame like you want to go to the movies. Or stay in. We all barely see each other anymore, I want to go out.”
    “You’re right,” she said. “I think we should make a night of it, too. You’ll notice that I took a shower.”
    I laughed. “Oh, lucky us. You actually bathed.”
    She tossed a napkin at me. “Funny. I just meant that I was gonna let you do my hair and makeup. But if you’d rather tease…”
    “No, no, I’ll do it!” I said eagerly. Forever the tomboy, Emily’s personal style could best be described as casual. Maybe even hyper-casual. Whenever she agreed to let me help her get ready, I jumped at the chance. She was way too pretty to be forever dressed down in jeans and T-shirts, though her boyfriend, Elliot didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.
    “When are the boys coming over?” I asked, looking up at the clock over the sink. “Do I have time to shower, too?”
    “Ryan said he’d be here around seven,” she said. “You have plenty of time.”
    Since I had so much time, I decided to take a bath instead. I was kind of a sucker for baths. Give me a bottle of bubble bath and a good romance novel, and I was a happy girl. Chris liked to tease me about my ever-increasing collection of exotic bath oils, but I still couldn’t help buying them whenever something new caught my eye. I brought my wine glass in with me and waited while the tub filled with hot water. I added my favorite bubbles and sighed with happiness when I sank into the foamy hot water, enveloping myself in the heady scent of jasmine.
    As I sipped my wine, I found myself thinking about the conversation I’d had with Susan at school. I knew she was cynical in nature, and that her attitude about her marriage probably had little to do with the institution itself. She’d gotten married very early and had struggled to raise her first born while going back to school for her teaching degree. I know it wasn’t easy for her, but I was sure she really felt it was all worth it. It was probably just her way, to complain like she did.
    I, on the other hand, had always believed firmly in true love. Emily teased me for being too romantic, but I couldn’t help it; I had always been that way. It wasn’t my fault, not really, not when I grew up in the house that I did. My parents had the perfect marriage, the perfect relationship. They had been high school sweethearts and had stayed together ever since, neither dating anyone else. They’d been in love since the moment they laid eyes on each other. Now they had the perfect life, the perfect house, three happy kids, and a full social life filled with friends. I felt a happy little thrill, thinking about them. I knew that a lot of people didn’t think that kind of fairytale love existed anymore, but how could I doubt it? It was impossible when I grew up watching it in real life.
    The best part was that I had now found my own fairytale romance, my own perfect love story. It had been love at first sight for Chris and me, too—though it took us years to admit it. Now that we were together, I realized that every other relationship that I’d ever had was a joke in comparison. Chris and I were the real deal.
    I felt a little pang of discomfort, which I tried to ignore. Though I was hopelessly in love with Chris, and generally pretty happy with my life, it was hard not to admit that I was ready for more. I had been thinking about it more and more since dinner with my Mom the other night. Chris and I had talked about marriage, of course, but despite my mother’s proclamation that it was coming, I knew he