Perfectly Misunderstood (The Perfect Series Book 4) Read online

  “Psh, no. The first one was free, but he’s got to work for the rest. Now what’s this about getting married?”

  Jayden laughed as she answered. “Long story short, Joy was upset when I told her I couldn’t be her sister anymore, because that would make Mike my brother, and you can’t date your brother. Then someone *cough* told her if Mike and I got married, we could still be sisters. She basically spent the rest of the day planning our wedding.”

  Becca pushed Mike playfully on the arm. “You crafty devil. I like the way you think.”

  I held my hands up, pleading innocence. “Don’t look at me. It was my mom’s suggestion.”

  Becca’s eyes widened. “Even better! Once you have the mother-in-law’s approval, you’re in for good.”

  “Will you stop already?” Jayden shook her head in exasperation, but she was smiling.

  “I’d love to keep chatting,” I said, “but I’m hungry. Which brings me back to my original point. No fiancée of mine is eating without me.” I grabbed Jayden’s hand and laced our fingers together, pulling her toward my friends. Becca didn’t move, so I waved her forward. “What’s the holdup? If I come back without you, I’ll get my butt kicked. Bianca’s practically in love with you, for heaven’s sake. You work in the story about Logan, and I bet she elevates you to hero status before the end of lunch.” Becca’s eyes shined as she bounced with excitement, and then she took off for the other side of the room.

  Jayden was still quiet. “If you really don’t want to go, you don’t have to,” I offered.

  “I want to be with you…I’m just not sure about them.”

  “You haven’t given them a fair chance,” I insisted. “One more lunch. Please? Today will be different, you’ll see.”

  She sighed, then steeled herself, squaring her shoulders and holding her head high. We reached my friends, and I pulled a chair out for Jayden, but she wouldn’t sit.

  “Hi, Jayden,” Bianca said, then stuck her tongue out at Beth.

  “Okay, we get it. You know her name.” Beth huffed at Bianca, then turned it off instantly to smile at us. It was so automatic that it was comical. “Hey, Jayden, I’m glad we still haven’t driven you away.”

  “If this big dummy hasn’t done it, I think we’re safe,” Cam said, laughing as he pointed to me. Bianca elbowed him in warning. He grimaced. “Babe, why’d you do that? It wasn’t a dig on Mike. It was a commentary about his dumb move last night and on the size of his… Hey, Mike, how do you say balls in Spanish?”

  Bianca groaned. “You did not just ask that.” Then she looked at Jayden and offered a very Bianca-esque apology. “I’m sorry my boyfriend is a Neanderthal. It’s contagious at this table.” Jayden’s grip tightened around my hand.

  “Seriously, Bebe. I’m giving him props. If I’d had…” Cam looked up at me, waiting for me to supply the correct word.

  “Bolas.” I filled in the blank for him.

  “Thank you.” He nodded. “If I’d had bolas as big as this idiot, I’d have walked right up and planted one on you in the ninth grade. Think of all the time and trouble it would have saved.”

  “Wait,” Jayden interrupted loudly as she tore her hand from mine. She turned to me and said, “I can’t do this, I’m sorry.” For a split second, I thought she meant can’t do this as in can’t do us, and I started to freak out. But before I could get too scared, she grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me on the lips. “Please don’t be mad,” she said. Then she faced the table and let them have it.

  “Mike only has good things to say about you guys, and I’m trying to take his word for it. But I can’t sit here every day and listen while you make fun of him. He’s not dumb, and he’s not an idiot. He’s an actual person, who should be treated with respect, because he has feelings. He’s funny and witty and amazing and brilliant, and he’s smarter than me and all of you. Did you know he can run eight miles in fifty minutes? Or that he has a 3.9 GPA, with all honors classes? Or that he scored a 1340 on the SAT…and…why is everyone smiling at me?” Jayden trailed off.

  Her rant was disrupted when she looked down at Brady, who couldn’t contain his huge grin. Beth’s smile was almost as big. Cam looked highly amused, and Bianca’s gum had fallen on the table because her mouth was hanging open. Becca was the only one who looked concerned for her friend and the giant spectacle she was making in front of half the newly-elected homecoming court.

  “They know,” Brady said.

  “They know?” Jayden asked skeptically.

  “Yep.” Beth nodded happily at the same time Cam said, “Know what?” Beth and Brady simultaneously gave Cam the really? look.

  “Oh, right,” Cam said. “You mean that Mike has a brain under his ball cap? That’s so last Friday. Though, honestly, who would have guessed? Am I right, Bebe? Becca?”

  “Yes,” Becca mused sarcastically, “who would have guessed?” An I told you so was clearly implied in her expression.

  Bianca was the only one still silent. “Holy crap on a cracker, Mike! Did you really score a 1340 on the SAT?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged casually. “I was having a bad day.”

  Bianca picked her gum off the table and threw it at me. I ducked in time for it to sail past, hitting a kid one table over. He snapped his head up, looking for the offender, and Bianca hid behind Becca. They giggled, and everyone started making fun of Bianca for her bad shot.

  I used the momentary distraction to sit down, pulling a stunned Jayden onto my lap. She looked at me bashfully, and I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me. “So…you were really letting them have it.”

  “Don’t get a big head over it.” She huffed. “I figured you told my dad off, the least I could do was stand up to your friends.” Jayden pulled away. “But you’d already told them? What made you come clean?”

  Brady had been listening, and he answered the question for me. “He didn’t so much tell them as he accidentally showed them on Friday. Even Beth was surprised. Bianca was teasing him, like she does to everyone, and for some reason, he snapped. He started spouting off something about deductive reasoning and parasitic organisms, and I thought Bianca’s head might explode.”

  “Oh man, that was so money.” Cam laughed at his girlfriend, who glared back at him. “Come on, babe, even you have to admit it was good.”

  Bianca rolled her eyes. “Fine. It was pretty good.”

  Cam continued with Brady’s story. “When he was done putting Bebe to shame and we’d pulled our jaws off the floor, we took a vote. The old Mike was out, and the new Mike was in.”

  “Not that we didn’t like him before,” Beth added.

  Jayden swiveled so she was mostly facing me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Are you telling me that after I begged and pleaded and cried, all it took was a little taunting?” she asked with a frown.

  “And a giant pain in my butt. There was this girl named Jayden—you might know her—that was constantly nagging me to stop acting like an idiot and be myself.”

  “She couldn’t help it. You were just so tragically misunderstood. I’m glad you finally listened to her.”

  I shrugged. “Once I decided to make her my girlfriend, I figured I had to. Girlfriends like that kind of stuff.”

  “Yes, we do.” Jayden laughed. “You know what else we like?” she asked quietly as she leaned in close and planted a chaste kiss on my lips.

  “I think I can guess, mi novia, mi amor.” I rolled my R extra hard, then stole another kiss.

  Jayden leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I know what that means.”

  I pulled her close as I answered, “I was counting on it.”

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Having lots of reviews can make or break a book. So, if you enjoyed Perfectly Misunderstood, please leave a review on Amazon and spread the word. The Perfect Series may be coming to an end but that brings the beginning of something new—hopefully in the summer/fall of 2018.

  If you’d like updates on my newest projects or suggest
ions for good books by other indie authors, follow my blog or sign up for my newsletter at www.robinsbooksandblogs.com

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I’m making this short and sweet, but that doesn’t mean these people aren’t worth a whole page of individual acknowledgements. A special thanks to my editor Jen at Literally Jen, my agent Sarah and her staff at Hershman Rights Management, my cover and formatting guy Josh at Bluefields, all my helpful beta readers, all my devoted fans and last but not least, my supportive husband. Without you guys, none of this would be possible. You’re the best!

  Robin Daniels lives outside Phoenix Arizona with her amazing husband and five crazy kids. When she’s not writing books or reading books, she’s probably on social media talking about books. She enjoys coaching and playing volleyball, drinking Diet Coke and occasionally drinking Diet Coke while coaching volleyball… Rounding out her favorites list are Christmas, pedicures, Arizona winters and spending time with extended family.

  Table of Contents

  TITLE

  ALSO BY ROBIN DANIELS

  CONNECT WITH ROBIN

  COPYRIGHT

  DEDICATION

  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

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT ROBIN DANIELS