Page 3 of Tainted Beginnings (Dark Syndicate 7)

“We all saw him looking at you, sugar, so don’t deny it.” Georgia giggles

“People are allowed to look at each other.” I try to sound nonchalant, but I barely pass. “That’s what eyes are for, right?”

“Also for assessing your next hookup. And believe me when I say he was totally checking you out.”

Their heads all bobble in unison like dashboard dollies.

“Girls, please.”

“Don’t you dare ‘girls, please’ us.” Bree lifts her chin and rivets her gaze to mine. “Remember the conditions of this trip.”

“How could I forget.”

Open mind.

That was the promise I made before we boarded the plane. I was to keep an open mind to all possibilities and adventures that came from being here, and I wasn’t to shy away from anything like I have been all year.

Honestly, my head is still all over the place after this week’s debacle, so I probably would have agreed to anything.

Vegas is the last place I should be. I’m not here to hook up. Okay—yes, according to my friends, I am, but I’m not.

I can’t.

My presence in Sin City is only to humor them and show my appreciation for their support. Each of them has been my rock during this difficult, horrible time of my life, and I would have felt guilty if I hadn’t said yes to this girls’ getaway. They each have busy lives yet organized this weekend just to cheer me up.

Quinn and Bree both have husbands and babies back in Wilmington—the place I used to call home.

Georgia is my cousin but is more like a sister to me. So, while she’ll claim it was a given she would always support me, she didn’t have to.

Above everything, I’ll admit the thing that pushed me to come here the most was their loyalty to me.

When I found out Kurt, my now ex-husband, was cheating on me with Mary, my now ex-best friend, there was a clear divide in our group of friends.

The girls and their counterparts chose me.

No one will ever know what that meant to me.

I’ve known Quinn, Bree, and Mary since we were kids. Quinn and Bree have always been close. Mary was that for me. Mary and I were so close our husbands worked together at the law firm.

She worked for them both as their secretary, and that’s probably how the affair began. Although my heart tells me it began before they started working together, and I was just the blind fool.

“Remember, the purpose of this trip is to let go of the shit that happened in Wilmington,” Quinn points out, cutting into my thoughts. “Besides, it’s been nice hanging out. Now that you’re going to be in Charlotte, we won’t see you as much.”

A pang of guilt pulls at my insides when I think of my move. Charlotte isn’t that far from Wilmington but far enough with a three-hour drive on a good day without traffic. For the last couple of years, we’ve been as close as we all were in high school. The last two days spent here in Vegas proved that we were the same bunch of crazy girls—even without Mary.

I’ll be working with Georgia in her catering company as a joint owner. We’ve already signed contracts. The only thing to come out of my acrimonious divorce is the money.

Kurt comes from an uber-wealthy family anyway, but he’s also one of the top lawyers in this country. I put the money from my share of the divorce settlement into this new venture with Georgia and starting over—whatever that might mean for me.

The first step was moving. There was no way I could stay in Wilmington after what happened. It’s not as small as some of the other towns in North Carolina, but the gossip is just as toxic.

“It would be great to see you have some fun while we’re here together,” Quinn adds, giving me a saucy smile.

“Depends on what kind of fun you mean.” I know what kind of fun she’s talking about. I just can’t remember what fun like that feels like.

I’m going to jump ahead and guess that any fun with a man like Mr. Perfect would be the sort to land me in sinful trouble.

“Tennessee Patterson, we’re all big girls here,” Bree declares. “You know what sort of fun we mean. This isn’t even the case of forgetting one guy with another. It’s a necessity.”

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