Broken Love (Broken #4) by Kelly Elliott
NOTHING ABOUT MY relationship with Johnny was normal. We met and fell in love immediately. He asked me to marry him on our two-month anniversary, and I said yes. My mother cried, and my father lectured me for three hours straight. He kept repeating, “This isn’t normal, Ava.”
What was normal anyway?
According to my father, knowing someone at least six months before agreeing to marry him or her was normal. I, of course, disagreed and let my whirlwind relationship with Johnny totally blind me of what I couldn’t see before my very eyes.
As I stood in front of four different cakes, I couldn’t help but glance around the bakery. Johnny and I were having a small wedding, held at his parents’ country club in Austin. His mother had insisted we not elope, which was exactly what we had both wanted to do.
Turning my attention to Johnny, I watched as he talked to the young redhead who had been helping us.
“So, have you narrowed it down?” she asked, as she smiled brightly at Johnny and barely acknowledged I was there.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Johnny turned to me and said, “Ava, could I possibly talk to you outside for a moment?”
I gave Johnny a slight smile as I nodded my head. “Of course.”
Johnny placed his hand on my lower back and guided me out of the bakery. I frowned as I thought how his hand on my lower back should cause my stomach to dip. At least that is how it was for the girls in the romance books I read. The touch of his hand on my body should ignite my body in flames.
Ha! I’d never experienced those feelings before in my entire life. There was a reason it was called fiction.
As we stepped out of the bakery, I flashed him a smile as I decided maybe what we needed was some afternoon delight. Placing my hand on his chest, I licked my lips and purred, “I know something else I’d rather be tasting.”
Johnny looked away as he stared down the street with an empty look in his eyes. “Ava, I need to talk to you.”
My smile faded as I instantly gnawed on my lower lip. His voice was serious and I had a terrible feeling he was about to say something that was going to prove my father right.
“Okay, right now or after we pick out a cake?”
Johnny looked into my eyes and shook his head. “I need to be honest with you, Ava.”
My heart sank as I held my breath involuntarily before finding the air to speak again. “Honesty is always nice.”
As he closed his eyes, I fought to hold back the tears I knew were about to fall.
“There’s someone else. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. She’s amazing and she makes me feel alive.”
Anger quickly raced through my body as I took a step back. “Is that so? Kind of like how I made you feel alive? Or does she make you feel alive in some other kind of way?”
Shaking his head, Johnny let out a sigh. “I’ve known Lisa almost my whole life. We ran into each other about a month ago and well, things just sparked between us.”
I placed my hand over my stomach and let out a moan. “Oh. My. God. You’ve been cheating on me?”
“No! Well, I mean it wasn’t like I did it on purpose. We fell in love, Ava, and I can’t deny how I feel about her. I’ve only slept with her twice.”
My mouth dropped open as I stared at him with a blank expression. “Are you kidding me right now? Are you really that big of a dick that you would actually tell me you’ve only slept with her twice? Is that somehow supposed to make me feel better, you dickhead?”
Johnny glanced around as he took me by the arm and started walking toward his Audi. I hated that car. I hated him. I hated that my father had been right.
“I would have thought you’d be happy that I told you this before we got married.”
Holy freaking hell.
What did I ever see in this jerk?
Letting out a chuckle, I nodded. “No, you’re right. Better you told me before I went off and married you and God forbid had a child with you.”
“Ava, you have to admit this was all rushed. We got caught up in the whole romance side of things and lost focus on reality.”
“Reality? You think I’ve lost focus on reality? You know what’s real, Johnny?”
He lifted his hand and gently placed it on the side of my face. His thumb moved ever so slow as his eyes softened. “The pain you’re feeling right now, Ava. I know this hurts, but baby, you’re going to find someone else.”
He did not. No. He. Did. Not.
“You got one part of that right. Pain. But it’s not the pain I’m feeling, it’s the pain you’re about to feel, you *.”
I lifted my knee and hit him right in the balls. I hadn’t seen a guy go down on one knee since I accidentally hit Walker in the balls with a golf club.
Johnny doubled over as he cried out in pain.
“Have a happy life with Lisa.”
Turning on my heels, I walked away quickly. Not sure whether I should cry or scream, I pulled out my phone and dialed the one person I knew would understand.
My mother.
“Hey, baby girl. How did the cake tasting go? Did you pick out a cake?”
Pressing my lips together, I tried to figure out how to deliver the blow. “No. But I did kick Johnny in the balls out on the sidewalk in front of the bakery.”
Silence.