Convincing Cara (Wishing Well, Texas Book 2) by Melanie Shawn Page B

very strong, very obvious play for Trace. From what I’d seen, it had been unsuccessful, but that could change in a blink of an eye if Trace’s track record held true.
    The green-eyed monster had visited me on a much more regular basis lately. Over the past couple of years, whenever I’d been confronted with Trace’s flavor of the month—or sometimes week or day—jealousy had erupted in me with volcanic force. Hot, envious lava had flooded my senses. I’d even snapped at Destiny when I’d mistakenly thought that Trace had sent her a bouquet of flowers. They’d actually been from JJ. But, for a few seconds before that info had come to light, I’d been ready to lose it.
    I wasn’t stupid. Naïve, maybe, but not stupid. I knew he was not one to spend his nights alone. Not that he got into serious relationships. No, it was more like he was frog-jumping from casual lily pad to casual lily pad. There was a very good possibility that Lizzy’s lily pad was going to be his next hop.
    “Okay. So, why the sudden public display of affection?” Harmony asked, sounding suspicious.
    It was a hug. Calling it a “public display of affection” was a bit dramatic.
    “Because I told him that the magazine offered me a full-time position in their digital department with my own byline.”
    “They did! When? Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my god, congratulations!” Her face enthusiastically bounced up and down in the frame.
    “Thanks!” I smiled. “It was a few weeks ago—”
    “A few weeks ?! Why am I just hearing about this now?” she asked before I had a chance to answer just that.
    Shaking my head slightly, I explained, “I didn’t tell anyone. I found out a few days after my doctor’s appointment. Actually, it was the same day Colton got cast in that new show. I guess I just… It kind of got lost in the shuffle.”
    “Well, damn, girl. Your life is seriously coming together! First your health, then your career, and now your personal life. You are on fiyah!”
    I didn’t feel like I was on fiyah . I felt like I was living someone else’s life. Maybe it was that I’d been so conditioned for getting bad news. I was really good at coping and surviving , but my living skills were lacking. I was so used to my life being put on hold that, now that the play button had been pushed, I wasn’t sure I recognized the song as the soundtrack to my life.
    “Okay, well, we are definitely going to need to celebrate your new position.” Harmony clapped her hands. “But we’ll need to back-burner that for now and deal with more pressing matters, like what you’re going to wear tonight.”
    Setting down the phone, I held each dress up to me so that Harmony could see them.
    “Red one. No contest,” she stated firmly.
    I was keenly aware that my friend had called under the guise of helping me pick out what to wear. Her true motivation had been to find out info on the gossip. Still, I figured I would take her advice and go with the crimson dress. She’d always had really great fashion sense, and I was suddenly feeling incapable of making even the simplest life decisions. My first real date was in less than two hours, and I was freaking out.
    “Did you get the pictures of Peter I texted you?” Harmony asked.
    I nodded. She’d sent several shots of him. Not that she’d really needed to, I’d already known what he looked like thanks to a little light Internet stalking. At first, I’d felt kinda creepy, but that quickly went away when it turned out to be so much easier than I’d expected. In a few clicks, starting with finding him on Harmony’s friends list, I was able to not only see pictures of Peter, but also what his interests were, what movies and music he liked, and all the places he’d “checked into” over the past month.
    From what I’d gathered, he loved barbeque and the gym. Which I guessed made sense. If you were going to eat barbeque every day and you wanted to stay in shape, then you’d better be hitting