Sweet Stranger (Sweet Series Book 1) Read Free Page A

was in the parking lot outside the gym. It was true
that she had been receiving considerable more attention from other
men since she started working out and cutting back on junk food.
But Anonymous never brought it up when she sent him
photos.
    Anonymous: Guess it was a
little naive of me to expect that a cheater would be
exclusive.
    Liz re-read his message in
disbelief.
    SweetStranger: Excuse
me?
    Anonymous: Go ahead and
sleep around. Doesn't make sense for you to stick with one
guy.
    SweetStranger: I'm not sure
what your problem is, but I gotta go. See ya.
    Liz quickly switched her phone to
airplane mode and climbed out of her car. She didn’t want to hear
any more bullshit. A wave of cool, air-conditioned air washed over
her as she walked into the gym. She felt the anger in the pit of
her stomach threaten to boil over in the form of tears.
    What the hell is wrong with
him? What right does he have to speak to me like that?
    She walked over to the
free weights and began her routine. This was her time. Her time to relax and
gather her thoughts, but here she was fuming over a faceless man
she had met over the Internet. She couldn't help but think about
him. She loved talking to him, more so than she ever did when she
had first met Michael. He had coaxed out the confidence that her
listless marriage had shattered. She loved coming home to questions
about her day, teasing and bantering, and knowing that she was
desirable; he took a genuine interest in her life. Michael never
bothered asking.
    Liz exhaled sharply and heaved the
weights back onto their stand. She forced herself to think about
something else and remembered that Michael had seemed awfully
suspicious yesterday when before she had left with Jen.
    “Where are you going?” he had
demanded.
    “Girls’ night out, Mikey,” Jen replied,
leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms.
    “I wasn’t aware that you needed to put
on a skintight dress and perfume to meet Jen,” Michael
snarled.
    Liz had paused by the door, glancing
between Jen and Michael uncertainly. They were glowering at each
other with such intensity that she almost expected them to begin
circling each other.
    “You don’t give a shit about her unless
it suits your needs,” Jen said, her voice dangerously soft. “Let’s
go, Liz.”
    And with that she had seized Liz and
marched down the driveway, slamming the door in Michael’s enraged
face. Jen described various aspects of Michael as they drove,
painting a portrait of him with strings of colorful expletives as
Liz listened with a small smile on her face. They pulled into the
parking lot of the bar, and Liz walked around to pull Jen into a
hug.
    “Thank you.”
    “Don’t you dare thank me,” Jen mumbled
into her hair. “That asshole has had it coming for a
while.”
    After the bars, Liz had gone home with
Jen and spent the night at her place. She groaned now, thinking of
what she would come home to when she returned tonight.
    Still, she found it odd that Michael
had expressed a hint of… jealousy? He hadn’t paid her any attention
over the course of an entire decade, much less cared where she
went. She doubted whether he even knew what she looked
like anymore or noticed the changes in her physique.
    Do I even give a damn if
he's suspicious? It’s not like he’s ever been straight with me in
this marriage. It’s only a matter of time before it
ends.
    Liz wiped the sweat from her face with
the collar of her t-shirt and grabbed her bag. As she walked back
to her car, her thoughts wandered back to Anonymous. A slight itch
in the back of her mind nudged her towards an explanation that
would explain his behavior, but she immediately dismissed the idea
as a result of narcissism on her part.
    Sighing as she climbed into her car,
she pulled out her phone and tapped an icon to turn airplane mode
off. Within a few seconds, a message from the SilentMeet app popped
up.
    Anonymous: Stranger. I
apologize sincerely for my rude behavior. I had