Read When We Kiss for Free Online

their wedding breakfast on Sunday morning but wouldn’t have dreamed of declining. She’d grown close to many of the Archers since Alex died, and of course she’d been quite close with him before that.
    She was able to think of him now without the searing pain in her chest. It had eased into a dull ache, a bittersweet memory that would forever tug at her heart.
    His death had been shocking to everyone, and no one more than her. For nearly a year, he’d enlisted her professional assistance to first purchase the abandoned monastery just outside Ribbon Ridge and then set up a trust for his siblings to renovate it in the event of his death. She never imagined he was contemplating suicide. He’d always been upbeat and charming, a more mellow version of his twin brother, Liam.
    She hadn’t met any of the other Archers until after Alex killed himself. It had been a rude introduction to the family with whom he’d expected her to work so closely. She’d been pissed at him for a long time. Pissed and sad.
    She knocked on the front door, and Emily answered. The matriarch of the family, Emily was petite and blonde, a combination of pixie and firecracker. She’d been devastated by her son’s suicide, which had only contributed to Aubrey’s anger at Alex. He had two loving parents, and he’d completely crushed them. What Aubrey wouldn’t have given for caring, supportive parents like Rob and Emily.
    â€œGood morning, Aubrey!” Emily embraced her in a quick hug. “You’re alone? Where’s your date from last night?”
    Aubrey didn’t realize her invitation was plus one, but she wouldn’t have brought him anyway. They’d only been on a few dates, and this seemed like an intimate event for close friends and family.
    Aubrey smiled at Emily. “It’s just me.”
    That ought to make Liam happy. He’d spent the rest of the wedding reception—after their kiss—scowling at her before disappearing for the night. She’d wondered where he’d gone but decided she was better off not knowing.
    Emily moved across the entryway and looked at Aubrey over her shoulder. “You know you can come in the back door—you’re practically family.” She’d invited Aubrey to do that several times now, but for some reason, Aubrey couldn’t bring herself to make that leap.
    She blamed her ongoing thing with Liam. Or maybe the fact that she still felt like an outsider and probably always would. She wasn’t an Archer, she wasn’t ever going to be an Archer, and at some point she might actually like to close the book on one of the saddest, most challenging chapters of her life. She was ready to move on, at least in terms of her love life.
    She followed Emily into the great room. The reception decorations were still up, and the gifts had been assembled into a pile in front of the windows. Alaina came forward to meet her. “Thanks for coming, Aubrey.”
    Aubrey wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the world’s most famous actress hugging her, but who was she to complain? Alaina was just as real and friendly as the Archers—she fit right in with them. That she’d captured the heart of Evan, who had Asperger’s syndrome, warmed Aubrey’s heart. Alex had worried about him and hoped he’d find someone.
    She could only imagine what Alex would say if he could be here now: Holy shit, Alaina Pierce? Well done, Evan!
    â€œHow are you today, feeling like an old married woman?” Aubrey asked as she pulled back from the hug.
    Alaina chuckled. “Old married pregnant woman, for sure. I’ll be really happy when this morning sickness is done. Although whomever called it ‘morning’ sickness was a moron, because I deal with this nausea all day sometimes. Bleh.” She made a face, but nothing she did could detract from her radiant beauty.
    â€œIt should pass soon, right?”
    â€œI