My Best Friend's Ex

She loved him first, but her
best friend married him. Now, divorced Brooke must choose between her best
friend and the man of her dreams.

Brooke Janson has loved
Garrett Sawyer since she met him on her first day of high school. Now, he’s
free to love her too.  Except, his ex-wife happens to be her best friend.

How can Brooke choose between
a friend she’s known since kindergarten and the man her heart wants?

(This is part of a box set
with 6 other authors call #Fling)

(A hot short story)

By Tina Gayle

Dedication

To everyone who’s ever gotten a divorce, I hope you
find your one true love.

Also special thanks to Fling authors:

Kathleen Rowland, Michele Barrow-Belisle, Geralyn
Corcillo,

Elena Dillon,L. Kirk, and Tracy Reed.

It’s an honor to have this book included in the Fling
box set.

Dear Reader, at the end of this book, you will find a
link to the Fling collection!

* * * * * *

Published by:  Tina Gayle

Text copyright © May 16, 2015

 Tina Gayle

All Rights Reserved

This
is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are
fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to
reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

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for respecting the hard work of this author.

Strolling down the grocery aisle, Brooke Janson
spotted a familiar man dressed in black. Garrett Sawyer was the one person in
the world, she didn’t expect to meet, see, or run into in a huge superstore.

Memories flooded through her mind, and she adjusted
the spaghetti strap of her shirt.  Unable to pull her gaze from his lean,
muscular frame encased in a black T-shirt and jeans, she silently wished she’d
worn something sexier than an old pair of jeans and a tank top. She glanced
down and remembered what she looked like in high school when they met.

As an overweight teen, she’d worked hard to get his
attention, had even helped him pass a few classes.  They had become friends,
and she’d decided he was everything she ever wanted in a man.

At the end of the school year, he’d left for college.
After graduating, he’d returned. They had reconnected at a party where she
introduced him to her best friend, Janet. They started dating and married not
long after her first year of community college. Sadly, less than a year later,
it ended in a divorce because she cheated on him with one of her classmates.

Suddenly unsure how to handle the situation, she choked
out his name. To her ultimate horror, he turned.

His forehead wrinkled into a frown before he smiled
and pushed his cart down the aisle. “Hello, Brooke.”

Ignoring the sudden butterflies in her stomach, she
waved a casual hand. “Hi, Garrett. It’s been awhile.”

 “I believe it was just a few weeks before Janet moved
out. It’s been almost a year.” He stepped forward.

“Janet told me about the divorce. I debated whether to
call, but, well...I didn’t know what to say.” To cover her awkwardness, Brooke allowed
the words to flow from her mouth as if she had vocal diarrhea. “I always
considered you, my friend, too. We had such fun together.  I wanted to see if I
could do anything for you, but I...”

Embarrassed by her rambling, she stared at the stuff
in her cart; lettuce, fruit, protein bars, each one good for her.

Man, I need to pick up a box of cookies.

Forcing back the urge to binge on any tasty treat
available, she recalled how his face lit up when he was excited, his deep belly
laughter, and his willingness to listen when she had a problem.

Damn it
, she
didn’t blame him for the breakup. Well, maybe for not listening to her warning.
She had told him that her friend had a natural tendency to throw responsibility
to the wind. Still, Brook hadn’t wanted to take sides. Because it was
incredibly hard to choose between two people she cared about, one a friend
since kindergarten and the other the man of her dreams. Guilt sparked inside
her.

Why? Did she still want more than just to be his
friend? Was this her chance?  

“Don’t worry, I’m over it now. I bought a house, which
requires most of my time. I spent last weekend putting in a new hot-water
heater. The old one leaked.” Garrett brushed a hand through his dark, curly
hair. The silky strands fell back into place without distracting from the
perfect picture he represented.

Sexy, hot, and totally off limits.

Brooke gripped the handle of her cart
and fought the overwhelming urge to touch him. Instead, she asked about the
house and listened with interest to the changes he’d made. Janet had hated the
way he’d helped his friends and family with their home improvement projects.

“Excuse me.” A woman with two small
children edged passed them. 

“It looks like we’re holding up traffic.” Brooke
pushed her cart to one side and allowed them room to pass. “I’m sure you also have
other shopping to do.”

He nodded and hesitated a moment. “Maybe we can get
together and do something fun?”

Thrilled with the idea of pursuing a relationship with
him, Brooke tempered her enthusiasm with a breezy reply. “Sure, call me.”

Fighting not to look back, she made her way across the
store to the pharmacy area. She needed to pick up toothpaste and deodorant.
With each step, she relived the fun times she had with Garrett and Janet. Her pulse
danced at the possibilities of him calling.  The man of her dreams with his
incredible, sexy, teddy-bear-brown eyes and friendly attitude made everyone
feel special.

If he called, would Janet be upset if they went out?

Damn, this could get complicated.

“It really doesn’t matter,” she muttered to herself.
“He won’t call.”

Fifteen minutes later, Brooke stood staring at the DVDs
on display in the electronic section of the store. By only taking one class at
the community college this spring semester, she had a little more time on her
hands and wanted a movie to watch when she had nothing else plan. Sadly, she
spent way too many evenings alone.

Immediately, her thoughts turned to her best friend. Over
the last year, they’d grown apart.  Even though, they talked and got together,
occasionally. With Janet enrolling and moving into a dorm room at Creighton this
fall, they weren’t as close. She had other interest and new friends.

Brooke had even met a few, and they were a fun group. Still,
she had an eight-to-five job, classes to attend in the evenings, and a rigid
workout regimen. Janet, on the other hand, went to school during the day and partied
at night. Their schedules just didn’t mesh anymore. 

Shifting her gaze between the two movies in her hands,
she debated which to buy.  The good-looking actor on one tempted her, making
her think of Garrett. What did he do in the evenings, on the weekend, or at
night?

DIY projects or was he dating someone?

Didn’t Janet say he was seeing a woman he worked with?

“I’d pick the comedy. The heavy drama stuff is too
depressing.” The rich, baritone voice over her left shoulder caught her off-guard.

Spinning around, she brushed against Garrett’s muscular
bicep. The brief contact shot through her, and she fought to control her
intense response to his sensual presence. “Fancy meeting you here.”

His quick grin and the spark of interest in his eyes
lightened the discouraging possibility of spending another night alone.

“I decided I wanted to watch a few movies this
weekend. With it the middle of the week, I thought I beat the crowds and get
them today.” She offered both DVDs to him to see which one he’d choose.

He studied them both for a moment, then plucked the
comedy from her hand and dropped it into his cart. “I’ll buy this one. Then you
can come over Friday night and enjoy it with me.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. What if I’m busy?” She stared
into his eyes, trying her best to calm her racing pulse. It’d been over a year
since they’d spent any time together.

Also, what if Janet found out? Would she end their
friendship over this?

“Okay, we’ll make it Saturday night. I’ll even grill
steaks if you want?” The smile on his face indicated he had no doubt of his
ability to convince her to accept his offer.

She shook her head, trying to give herself more time
to think. “I’m not sure us getting together is a good idea. Janet might...”

“Janet doesn’t care what we do. She so busy partying
and going to school, she doesn’t keep in contact with any of her old friends.”
He yanked the other DVD from her hand and tossed it into his basket, too. Before
she had a chance to react, his hands slid around her waist and he drew her to
his chest.

The hard line of his body offered such warmth, she
found herself leaning into him. Her arms automatically circled him. Her head
hit his shoulder. She snuggled closer as her mind raced with how much she’d missed
their spontaneous hugs.

Yes, he was her best friend’s ex-husband, but he was
also her friend.

His grip tightened when she shifted back to study his
face. A few extra lines marked the corner of his eyes and revealed his tendency
to laugh at life. His bright smile softened his resistant to comply with her
demand to be free. “I’m not letting you go until you agree to come over this
weekend.”

His words exposed his desire to reconnect and fought
against the sound reasons she’d compiled to keep her distance. Her traitorous
body joined forces with him and responded to his alluring touch. Her nipples
tightened. Her skin tingled. She wanted nothing more than to stay exactly where
she was for as long as she could.  “Garrett, I’m sure your new girlfriend
wouldn’t like you standing here with your arms around me.”

He chuckled, “I don’t think she’ll mind, seeing as I’m
holding her.”

Brooke blinked and curled her fingers into his T-shirt,
clutching the fabric to keep herself upright.  Air fled from her lungs. She
gasped, “Garrett, you don’t even know me anymore. We haven’t seen each other for
over a year.”

“That means nothing. You were in my art class in high
school. You sat right next to me and help me finish that awful clay vase so I
wouldn’t flunk the course.” He rubbed his hands over her back. The soothing
touch didn’t exactly cool the need raging inside her. Instead, it incited ideas
of how great it would feel to have her shirt off and have his hand against her
naked skin.  

“Yes, and you thought I was a real pain in the ass.”
She released her hold on his shirt and worked her hands up between them. “You
told me so multiple times.”

“Yes, well, I was a cocky S.O.B.” He tilted his head
to the right and gave her a shit-eating grin, “But that also proves I know you.
Everyone else thinks you’re a sweet, young thing without a care in the world. I
know better.”

“Watch it. You’re not winning points here.” She rested
her hands on his chest. Pictures of spending time at his and Janet’s apartment
flashed through her head. The three of them had discussed many times what they
wanted to do with their life. He respected her dreams of getting an education
and becoming a teacher.

“I don’t need points because I know where the bodies
are buried.” He leaned closer and whispered, “By the way, you’re looking very
sexy.”

She ignored the compliment and pretended to be angry. “Very
funny, the weight I lost might be enough for another person, but I guarantee no
one will ever go looking for it, especially not me.”

“Yes, well, I think we both can say we’ve lost some
dead weight. Yours was from sweat and exercise, mine with a divorce.” He
shifted his hold and clamped his hands around her wrists. “Now, what time are you
coming over?”

Amused by his stubborn persistent, Brooke stared into
his velvety brown eyes and melted. “Okay, on one condition.”