“You think he’s the manipulator and he’s the bad person, but he’s not the only one, Trihn. You are too. You don’t care about me,” she said, taking a step away from her sister.

“I do care! Of course I care!” Trihn said.

“If you cared, then why didn’t you tell me when you first knew I was dating Preston? Why did you wait several days? How could you fuck him behind my back? I was at the party, waiting for him to return, and you had sex with him.” Lydia looked at her like she didn’t even know her own sister.

Trihn couldn’t explain. “I loved him,” she whispered.

But it was the wrong thing to say.

“Of course you did,” Lydia said sarcastically. “That’s the reason you slept with him that night…because you loved him. Are you sure it wasn’t because you wanted something that was mine, just like you always have?”

Trihn’s mouth dropped open. “I didn’t.”

“Save it for someone who will believe you.” Lydia wiped a tear from her eye. “You know I was coming here to tell you to come home. I was going to tell you that if it meant that much to you…I wouldn’t work things out with Preston. I like him—a lot,” she said, her eyes going wide, “a lot more than anyone else I’ve dated. Maybe I love him. But I would have ended it because I love my sister that much. Now…I think maybe you should get on that plane.”

“Lydia, you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious.”

Trihn stared at her sister in shock. “I made a mistake. I slept with a guy who I thought I loved and who I’d dated seriously all summer. My first real boyfriend. I was—I am heartbroken. I went to tell you what happened, Lydia, and your response went from breakup to make up in a few short hours. You didn’t care about my feelings. You don’t care about how I’m feeling right now.”

Trihn crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away from her sister. “And then you chose him over me without hesitating. So, maybe you’re right. Maybe I should get on that plane. Because I know what is waiting for me if I stay,” she said, turning to boldly stare at her sister, “and it’s not so welcoming.”

“I told you that I didn’t think it had to be a choice. You’re the one who chose,” Lydia said.

“Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that. What did you expect me to do? After what happened at the beach house, there was no going back, not with the kind of person Preston is. I mean, what kind of guy leaves his girlfriend who is perfectly willing to have sex with him to seek out her drunk sister in the middle of the night?” Trihn raised her eyebrows in question.

When Lydia didn’t have an immediate answer, Trihn nodded her head. “That’s what I thought.” She picked up her suitcase off the ground where she had left it and headed for security.

“So, you’re just going to leave?” Lydia cried.

Trihn turned back to her sister and shrugged. “You left first.”

As she walked into the line and handed her boarding pass to the person at security, a sad smile hit her face. She knew she was moving in the right direction even if she felt like she was in a free fall. Her plans were uncertain. Her potential career choices might be going up in flames. Her life was a total mess.

But she couldn’t be happy here.

“Final destination, Las Vegas.” The woman smiled at her. “Business or pleasure?”

Trihn smiled back. “Both.”

The End

THANK YOU to each and every one of you who helped me write this novel. It was hands-down one of the hardest things I’d ever written because I was so busy getting married and moving. So, thank you to the people who put in the hours to ensure I got through this book and helped every step of the way: Jessica Carnes, Rebecca Kimmerling, Diana Peterfreund, Lori Francis, Polly Matthews, Christy Peckham, Katie Miller, Lauren Blakely, all the girls of FYW, Jovana Shirley of Unforeseen Editing, Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations, Jenn Sterling, and many, many more!

K.A. LINDE is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding series and the All That Glitters series as well as seven additional novels.

She grew up as a military brat traveling the United States and even landing for a brief stint in Australia.

She has a master’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia and is the current head coach of the Duke University dance team.

An avid traveler, reader, and bargain hunter, K.A. currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband and two super adorable puppies.

K.A. Linde loves to hear from her readers!

You can contact her at kalinde45@gmail.com or visit her online at one of the following sites:

www.kalinde.com

www.facebook.com/authorkalinde

@authorkalinde

OTHER TITLES BY K.A. LINDE

AVOIDING SERIES

Avoiding Commitment (#1)

Avoiding Responsibility (#2)

Avoiding Intimacy (#2.5)

Avoiding Decisions (#1.5)

Avoiding Temptation (#3)

RECORD SERIES

Off the Record

On the Record

For the Record

TAKE ME DUET

Take Me for Granted

Take Me with You

ALL THAT GLITTERS SERIES

Diamonds

Gold

Emeralds

ASCENSION SERIES

The Affiliate

STAND-ALONE

Following Me

TURN THE PAGE TO REVEAL THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE CONCLUSION TO TRIHN’S STORY IN:

PLATINUM

RELEASING SPRING 2016!

READ THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE ALL THAT GLITTERS SERIES HERE:

BRYNA’S STORY

Diamonds (#1)

Gold (#2)

TRIHN’S STORY

Platinum (#3)

STACIA’S STORY

Silver (#4)

THIS WAS A VERY BAD IDEA.

Trihn’s sighed heavily as she stared at the name on the screen of her phone and avoided the knowing looks from her best friends, Bryna and Stacia.

“Just don’t invite him,” Bryna said irritably.

“I’m not inviting him,” Trihn snapped back.

Trihnity Hamilton had been dating her boyfriend, Neal, for over a year and a half. They had met and fell for each other over their mutual love for artistic endeavors. He was a graphic design major while she studied fashion design with a focus in art. Unfortunately, that lifestyle didn’t exactly fit with Trihn’s love for partying.