All-American Girl by Justine Dell Read Free Book Online Page A

was quite fascinating—petite features, creamy skin, bright green eyes, and thick, auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. Little tendrils had escaped, some covering her right eye, and his fingers itched to brush it away. No matter the stained clothes, she looked amazing, just as he remembered her.
    “How is Dorothy?” Candice asked.
    “Good.” Samantha put the cup to her lips and took a slow drink.
    “I went to see her last week and meant to go this week, but with summer coming up, the diner is getting really busy.”
    “Umm…”
    “So tell me. What’s life like for a busy New York writer? I’ll bet you have tons of fabulous stories.”
    Samantha’s shoulders slumped over the counter, and she frowned deeply. Life must not be so good in New York; maybe that’s why she was so irritable. New Yorkers had a tendency to be rude; at least that’s what he’d heard. Maybe it had rubbed off on Samantha.
    “I’ve missed you,” Candice said kindly after Samantha didn’t answer her. “I’d love to hear all about it.”
    “Yeah.” Samantha stared at her coffee. “Well, I’d better go. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do.”
    As Samantha got up from the bar stool, Candice reached out and took her hand. “Wait. Don’t go yet.”
    Samantha tugged her hand out of Candice’s grasp. “Really,” Samantha said, brushing the hair out of her face. “I need to get to Gram’s before it’s too late.”
    “But you just got here.”
    Frustration flashed in Samantha’s eyes. Lance guessed she didn’t like anything touchy-feely or small talk in general. She jammed her hands into her pockets and shook her head. “Listen, Candice, it’s been a long day and the last thing I want to do is play catch up right now.”
    “But—”
    “I haven’t seen you in ten years, so please don’t act like we talked yesterday. I wasn’t planning a trip down memory lane when I walked in here. I’ll be around for a few weeks, so I’ll stop and see you another day—when I feel more up to it.”
    Lance was about to swing the door open and hassle Samantha for being so rude to his sister—her old best friend—when something stopped him in his tracks. Samantha, with her dirty clothes, agitated posture, and angry eyes dropped into the bar stool again. Her head fell into her hands.
    Was she having a panic attack?
    But when she lifted her head, there was no panic to be seen. There was fear and pain.
    When she spoke, her voice was choked. “God, Candice…don’t listen to me. I’m a mess right now.” She shuffled back to her feet, swiping shaking hands over her shirts and jeans. “I didn’t mean those things. Really. You just caught me at a bad time.”
    Were her eyes getting teary?
    “Jesus.” She shrugged, not meeting Candice’s wary expression. “I should go. You don’t need to see me like this. No one should.”
    She spun around as Lance swung open the door and stepped out. “Is everything okay out here?”
    Samantha snapped her head around. The gloomy face from moments before was wiped away in an instant. Now she faced him with an ice cold glare.
    “You know, you are really good at butting in where you don’t belong,” she grumbled, her voice back to that aggravated pitch.
    Lance shrugged carelessly as his eyes wandered over her outfit. Yes, it was dirty, but the curves of her body distracted him. She’d filled out well. He let his gaze travel back up to her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and shuffled her feet. Did he make her uncomfortable? Nervous? She’d just been on the verge of tears, almost apologizing to Candice, and now she looked like she could scratch his eyes out. Did she just really not like him? The answer didn’t matter. He’d known from the first moment he saw her that something was wrong.
    “I was just leaving,” Samantha said.
    Shaking his head, Lance stalked in her direction. He paused when she took several steps back. Space. She needed her space; he got the point. But he needed to know if