How to Steal Your Best Friend's Fiancé (How to Rom Com Series Book 2)
How to Steal Your Best Friend’s Fiancé
London Casey
Contents
A quick note
How to Steal Your Best Friend’s Fiancé
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Epilogue
How to Have Your Boss’s Secret Baby
FREE STUFF
More from London!
A quick note
Just like with Jackson and Callie’s story, I hope you’re as excited as I am that you’re holding this book right now!
Liam and Emily will always have a special place in my heart.
I really can’t say why. ;)
This one felt like such a journey. Being able to touch on moments from the past while cheering on the future.
If you don’t mind, when you’re done reading, tell me the funniest part of the book. If you don’t have my email address saved yet, here it is again - LC@LondonCasey.com.
Now go enjoy and read!
LC
How to Steal Your Best Friend’s Fiancé
Emily
Hello, world. My name is Emily and I am your doormat. No surprise, really. They say the past makes your future. Or something. Mine’s a perfect recipe of missed chances—like the ones I missed with Liam. The first kiss in high school that never happened because police sirens. That moment of panic in college that made me practically throw my best friend at him.
Now he and Miranda are engaged. Of course I smiled at her ring. Of course I smiled my happiness for them. They’re perfect for each other. So, when Miranda’s too busy, I smile and agree to help Liam pick out flowers. Even though I just got publicly dumped by my own boyfriend, right when I thought it was time to pick out my own.
Liam
On paper, I’ve got everything I worked my butt off for. The career in patent law that may not be glamorous, but it feeds my need to help out the little guy. The fiancée who’s racing up the corporate law ladder faster than a speeding skateboard.
Emily remembers when a skateboard was my only mode of transportation. She’s the same old Emily, putting everyone else first. And when the perfect life I’d envisioned falls apart, Emily’s there just like a good friend should.
And that’s right about when everything hits the proverbial fan…
Prologue
(Emily)
Meet at the big tree.
I couldn’t stop reading the note all day.
He snuck it into my locker at some point.
He was probably skipping class to do so.
That’s just how cool he is.
I know I shouldn’t be into the whole bad boy thing, but he’s different. He’s so different. He’s not bad like Tommy Wilson is. Tommy just does stuff to do it. Some say it’s for attention. Others say he’s seriously evil. But now that Tommy got Stacy pregnant, things are going to change.
But anyway… this isn’t about Tommy.
Not at all.
Just one quick note though - I dodged the bullet of a lifetime there.
Last summer at Bec’s party (when her parents took a cruise for a week and left her home alone) I had a chance to be with Tommy. He set his sights on me and it was kind of intense. Everything about him screamed dangerous, and when he took me down to Bec’s basement and touched my hand, I just knew I had to leave. So I faked being sick and left.
Whew.
Okay, back to the note.
Meet me at the big tree.
I don’t know why it has to be secretive.
I guess in a way there’s been enough people that wanted us together that it just seemed so inevitable. Like if we do this, everyone will take credit for it. When, in reality, it was us who always wanted it.
From the second I saw Liam in ninth grade, it was ohmygod…
I’m talking instant jaw drop. Instant feelings. Writing notes about him to myself. Writing his last name as my last name. All that stupid cliché girly stuff that I fell into because of him.
Now, why didn’t anything ever happen?
We stupidly friend zoned each other.
By accident.
We were paired up on a science project, and instead of it becoming a make out session in my parents’ basement, we took the project seriously, and ended up as friends. That was right around the time I started dating Devan.
He was nothing but a blond haired, blue eyed surfer babe kind of guy… no brains, but a nice body.
And of course Liam had girls all over him all the time.
He’s got that bad side, but he’s smart.
I’m talking doctor or lawyer smart.
Meet me at the old tree.
That’s like the best spot to meet someone.
Getting an invite there is a front row seat to your own fun.
And fun means everything going through your head.
But Liam isn’t like that. He’s not jumpy.
Some guys are just hand up the shirt, giggle, forget anything else and make a mess in their own pants.
That’s not Liam.
Tonight…
“Wow,” I whisper.
I check my hair in the bathroom mirror.
Only two periods left until that Friday bell rings.
Then I’m out of here…
For good.
Which is why tonight, Liam has to show up.
Everyone calls him Zen but his name is Ezekiel. Zeke is his father. He’s the chief of police in town and everyone and their brother knows what happens in the barn and woods behind the house. The rumor is Zeke doesn’t mind the parties because he can keep everyone contained and keep things under control.
And honestly, nothing bad ever happens.
I think everyone knows who Zeke is and shows up a little scared. So they don’t get stupid drunk.
I’m at the party with Mel, Kelly, and Robin.
Of course Mel and Kelly are already off with their boyfriends.
Kelly is in a serious relationship. She’s been with Scott since tenth grade.
Which is wild.
Mel goes through guys like we go through coffee while studying for tests.
Her new love interest is a guy named Hank from a rival school.
Now that’s scandalous.
I wander around the barn, pretending to dance and drink and have fun.
Robin talks but I don’t listen.
She’s upset about me leaving.
I am too.
&n
bsp; I’ll miss my friends.
I’m not like leaving the state or anything.
Just going to a different school.
In our world that’s a big deal though.
I waste about thirty minutes before getting a drink and sneaking my way out of the barn.
I walk to the tree by myself, my heart racing.
I’m so nervous.
It’s so hard to calm down.
I’ve had a thing for Liam since…
You already know that.
I have to tell him everything I’m thinking and feeling tonight.
There’s no way I can just slip away without saying anything.
It might mess up my entire life.
At the very least…
I just want him to kiss me.
(Liam)
“This guy is just breaking our balls,” I whisper to Steve.
“Cut it, Liam,” Steve growls. “He knows my father.”
“Everyone knows everyone around here,” I say. “We just have to run. Fuck it.”
“Don’t you dare run,” Steve says.
“I’m running, man,” I say. “If you pussy out, you’re going home in the back of a police car.”
“Please, don’t run,” Steve says.
“I have to get to Zen’s,” I say. “I have a thing.”
“What kind of thing?”
I look at Steve and shrug my shoulders.
“You have a date?” Steve asks.
“Yeah.”
“With who?”
Officer Prickfuck comes strutting back, still wearing his sunglasses even though it’s dark out.
This guy is William Prinfin.
I call him Prickfuck and he hates it.
He’s been chasing me all over town since I was ten years old.
Always breaking my balls over the dumbest stuff. And the serious stuff.
Tonight he didn’t like that Steve and I were walking side by side in the dark.
My car is in the shop getting fixed.
If I had the damn car, I would have picked up Emily from the party and we would have gone somewhere much more secluded.
“You two are mine,” Prickfuck says and clicks his tongue.
“What did we do?” I ask.
“Everything,” he says.
“You can’t touch us without cause,” I say. “We were walking on the sidewalk. No drugs or alcohol. We passed your tests. You’re out of line right now.”
“Liam, shut up,” Steve growls.
“I’m out of line?” Prickfuck asks.
“That’s right,” I say. “Do you know what you’re up against if I file a complaint with the department? My lawyer will have access to all your reports and logs. I’ll dig through every arrest and ticket personally and find something on you.”
“You’re threatening me?” Prickfuck replies. He laughs. He points to Steve. “You believe this guy?”
“Please just let us go,” Steve says. “We’re going to Zeke’s for a party.”
“Don’t tell him shit,” I say. “He’s just getting hard thinking he has something.”
“You’re done, Liam,” Prickfuck says.
“Try me,” I say.
Steve elbows me.
Prickfuck walks back to his cruiser.
I look at Steve.
“He’s going to arrest us,” Steve says.
“No, he’s not. He’s not going to do shit.”
“How do you know?”
I smile.
Then I say one word.
“Run.”
I see Emily standing against the tree and I smile.
This girl is pretty.
No, not pretty.
She’s beautiful.
No, not beautiful.
I don’t know what comes after beautiful but she’s it.
She’s innocent.
She’s so nice.
I sometimes feel bad for her because everyone overlooks her.
She’s invisible in the hallways, but not to me.
She doesn’t play sports. She doesn’t do cheerleading. She doesn’t date. There’s no rumors about her. Nothing.
The closest was when that asshole Tommy tried telling everyone he slept with her at a party once.
I jacked Tommy against his locker and told him if he said anything about Emily again I was going to break his jaw.
And I meant it.
The thing is… Emily and I were always good friends.
She was the only person I could be smart around.
And I was the person she could be with to test the edge of the waters.
We’re good friends. And crossing lines isn’t smart.
But time is running out.
I can’t graduate and not know what this could have been.
So I walk toward her, marveling at her beauty.
She’s looking up at the stars and has this little smile on her face.
She’s killing me. In a good way.
“It’s perfect out here,” she says to me.
“Yeah, it is,” I say. “The stars. The music in the background. Sorry about being late. I had to run from the cops.”
Emily jumps at me and grabs my hand. “What?”
I laughed. “It’s nothing. I’m here though. I’m glad you met me.”
“Me too.”
“I have to tell you something.”
“Me too,” she says again.
“What do you have to tell me?”
“I’m moving away,” she says.
“What?” I ask.
“I know,” she says. “It sucks. It’s only like an hour from here. I have to go… this weekend.”
“This weekend?” I ask.
She nods.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want… I don’t know. I only told Robin. I just didn’t want it to be sad. Nothing is going to change.”
Everything is going to change.
“Oh, Em…”
She blushes when I call her Em.
“We can still hang out, right?” she asks.
An hour drive just to see her. It was more than worth it.
But there’s no way it would work.
I’m two months from graduating and then I’m off to college. I’ve got my sights set on law school and then moving right into the city to get a job, make money, and live free.
Emily… she’s… she’s into artsy stuff but hides it. She’s good at drawing. She writes poetry. She plays guitar. And she sings.
I can see her going to some art or music school and thriving.
And if I kiss her right now, it could fuck that all up.
She can’t throw her dreams away for me.
We can’t have a long-distance thing.
Fuck. This sucks.
“Em…”
Fuck it, Liam. Just do it.
I reach up and touch her face.
She puts her hand to my hand and starts to nod.
“It’s been so long… I mean, between us… and… I just…”
I hear an echoed yell of the word COPS and I look back.
Sure enough, there’s Prickfuck charging from the back of the barn, looking for me.
I tell Emily to go somewhere safe.
I don’t want her to get into trouble.
I can smell the booze on her breath.
So I walk toward Prickfuck with a grin on my face.
But my heart hurts a little.
I missed my chance with Emily once again.
And with her moving away… me leaving for college soon…
Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.
Chapter One
Liam
I stood at the dining room table and flipped through the pages of the quiz.
The quiz.
I shook my head.
Why the hell do I have to take a quiz to get married?
Some of the stuff I had to do just felt… weird.
Like the wedding was turning into some big cliché.
I already told myself if someone showed up with birds and set them free, I was going to walk away. For real.
The apartment door opened and slammed shut.
“Tell that little shit stain to get me the deposition by noon,” Miranda growled. “If it’s not on my desk in perfect order, I will take the elevator to your floor and I will shove your head up his ass. Do you understand me?”
I looked at Miranda and smiled.
She blew me a kiss.
“Thanks, Rich,” she said in a bitchy voice. “You’re so kind.”
Miranda ended the call and threw her phone across the apartment to the couch.
“Fucker,” she said.
“Good morning to you,” I said.
“No, it hasn’t been a good morning at all. This phone has been ringing since four. Four, Liam. Four. As in four in the fucking morning. I’m tired of it.”
“So don’t answer the calls,” I said.
“Who will then?”
“Your name isn’t on the building.”
“Yet,” she said. “And when it is, I’m taking three weeks’ vacation. I’m getting a big office. I’m going to buy expensive perfume. I’m going to walk around like my poop doesn’t smell.”
I laughed. “At least you got your favorite coffee.”
She looked at her left hand. “Yeah. I had to get it on my own though.”