War Wounded (The War Trilogy #2.5) Read Free Page B

the paper on one side and take a bite. Oh. My. God. I close my eyes and groan in pleasure. This is the absolute best cupcake that I’ve ever had! I swallow and open my eyes then glare at Arianna.
    “What?” She laughs.
    “I hate you! I hate you and your damn deliciously addicting cupcakes. You’re going to make me fat!” I bark and shove the rest of the cupcake in my mouth before grabbing the other one and peeling the wrapper down. “ ‘Believe me, you’ll want two ,’” I mimic her earlier words around a mouthful of red velvet.
    Arianna bursts out laughing, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. I eat the other cupcake while muttering about hating her. She’s laughing so hard that she has tears running down her face. I don’t care, as long as those are happy tears not sad tears. I really am going to despise the day that I have to tell her that her fiancé is cheating on her. Because just going by what she’s told me so far, in my professional opinion, I can almost say with absolute certainty that he is. And now, that little flicker in his eye the other day when I mentioned my cheating spouses makes all the sense in the world.
     
     
     
    ~ Arianna ~
     
    Duke is hilarious. I’ve never had someone tell me that they hate me because they love my cupcakes. I guess there is a first time for everything. He polishes off the second cupcake in record time, all the while glaring at me.
    “Would you like some more to take home?” I giggle.
    “Fuck no! Do you know how much cardio I’m going to have to do just to work off the two I just ate? Shit,” He huffs.
    “I do have healthier selections that taste just as good,” I offer.
    “No! No more cupcakes, woman!” he practically shouts.
    I laugh, unable to tear my gaze away from his. His hazel eyes are beautiful. They have green rings around the pupil that branch out into a light brown color. I’m sure he would disagree that anything about him is beautiful. He’s a big, tough, manly kind of guy. He also has really nice lips. They are full - but not in a girly way - with the bottom being slightly bigger than the top. And his teeth are white and straight. His smile is sexy and infectious.
    He’s wearing a long sleeved, dark green Henley that looks like it’s glued to his body, and a pair of dark jeans that hug his thickly muscled thighs. There is no doubt that the man is sexy.
    “So, let me get some more information before I go,” he says, interrupting my appraisal of him.
    “Oh, yeah, sure,” I stutter.
    Duke asks me a bunch of questions like: What hospital does he work at? What kind of car does he drive? What is his cell phone number?
    He writes down everything in his notepad.
    “Do you need to see a picture of him?” I ask, grabbing my phone in preparation of pulling up a picture for him to look at.
    “No. I actually met him the other day at the gym with your brother,” he says, still writing in his notepad.
    I blink in shock. “Oh! Okay then.”
    Duke glances at me. “I will compile as much evidence, cheating or not, so you can make an informed decision either way.”
    I nod in understanding.
    “How much is this going to cost me?” I ask.
    Duke shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
    “Duke, no. I want to pay you for your services.” I frown.
    He gives me a crooked grin. “You can pay me in cupcakes.”
    I laugh at how cute that smile looks on him. “No, I insist on paying you real money.”
    “Fine. Since you used to date Tucker and Dennis, I’m giving you my family discount. It’ll be $200.”
    I bark out a laugh and give him a shove. “You dick! Make me sound like a slut, why don’t you?”
    Duke grins sheepishly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
    “I know.” I snicker. “And I’m sure you charge way more than $200.”
    He nods. “I do, but not for you.”
    I make an aggravated noise. “You are such a pain in the ass.”
    “Get used to it.”
    I roll my eyes. “Fine,” I huff.
    “I have your number, so I will call