SNEAK PEEK: THE SIX, BOOK 3

THE SIX: LAUREN

“I made a mistake. I never should have said yes to your proposal. I feel sick saying that aloud. I’m sorry. But I can’t go through with this wedding. It breaks my heart to say this, but I just . . . can’t. Ben, I’m so sorry. But I can’t marry you.”

I looked back at my reflection in the mirror. Shouldn’t I be crying, or look somewhat more . . . emotional when I tell my fiancé, my partner of ten years, that I couldn’t marry him? That our wedding, less than five months away, had to be cancelled? That our families were going to be so disappointed, that our friends were going to question what went wrong? Shouldn’t I be scared that I was going to ruin the only relationship I had ever been in, that I was about to be twenty-six and alone? Shouldn’t I feel awful I was going to break Ben’s heart?

I splashed some water on my bare face and left the bathroom. I had been practicing my speech to Ben the last four mornings in a row. I had put off this discussion for far too long. And there was a tiny part of me that hoped we would have a sitcom-worthy moment, where Ben forgot something he needed for work and came back to our apartment to overhear my speech and confront me himself. Because I was clearly doing a shit job bringing this up.

I stepped into our bedroom and started looking for work clothes. I was an interior designer assistant for a design firm here in Chicago, and I knew from my calendar today that I would mostly be at the studio and not doing as much traveling on location today, so I still wanted to dress nice but I didn’t need to amp it up today. I picked out slim-fit green trousers with a thick sash paired with a long-sleeved white bodysuit and beige blazer. I sat at my vanity to apply my minimal makeup – just a little concealer, powder, neutral eyeshadow and mascara, with a lip balm to help my poor chapped lips from this brutal Chicago winter that was never-ending, and turned to my hair.

As I ran my straightner through my dark locks, my thoughts wandered back to Ben. I had to face the music. If I went through with this wedding, I would be unhappy. I knew it. I also knew I had no one to blame but myself. Ben was nothing short of an amazing man. He was faithful, strong, always there for me, determined to make me happy, supportive of my career. He was good-looking and made me laugh and we had a few common interests, like our love of Mexican food and strong cocktails and our ability to Netflix binge for hours on end. We started dating in high school, came to Chicago together for college, moved in together shortly after graduation, and Ben had proposed to me the previous May. Sure we had our on and off times, especially right after starting college, but neither of us had seriously dated anyone when we were “on a break” nor had either of us even slept around – not even a one night stand! – during our breaks either. We had lost our virginities to one another when we were sixteen years old and now I was twenty-six and going to marry the only guy that I had let penetrate me. I mean, that sounded great and all, but when I thought about it – how did I know what else was out there? I never had a wild side, I never had a streak of rebellion in me. I chose the safe route from the get-go, and while there had been a few moments that I truly thought Ben and I might be done for good, we always found ourselves back together. I had once convinced myself it was fate, but now I realized . . . I think I was scared to be without him. And I settled.

Thank you for reading a clip from book 3 in THE SIX series! I hope you are looking forward to Lauren’s story, and the book is tentatively scheduled to release in early 2019. Book 2, Scarlett, is scheduled to release Fall 2018, and if you haven’t read the first novel in this six-part girlfriend series, Kristy is now available in print, eBook, and also audio on Amazon! You can also pre-order a signed print copy of Scarlett!

Buy Now: https://amzn.to/2OqDLBI

Pre-order Scarlett: http://chicklitplus.com/pre-order-the-six-scarlett/