Because You Love Me (Falling for You, Book Three) by Ava Claire Read Free Book Online Page A

mother used to tell everyone that we could have been mistaken for twins growing up, whipping out pictures to support her theory when people warily looked back and forth between the scowling six year old and the tiny, red faced tyrant. Marie had inherited my mother’s once honey gold locks and the soft, gentle roundness that my mother had spent the last ten years nipping and tucking away.
    I remembered the blonde, Shirley Temple curls and blue-green eyes Marie would bat to get her way, hair ribbons taunting me as she flitted around like a butterfly. She cycled through hobbies and interests like trying on dresses and my father chalked it up to Marie just being Marie. When I wanted to sit out a summer session of Little League and try summer theatre instead, I earned myself a lengthy lecture on responsibility and honoring my commitments.
    “Just in case we have the misfortune to run into her, I want to let you know that my sister had something to do with Jenna being at the wedding.”
    Penny frowned. “Your sister? I don’t-” Her eyes widened. “Because she wants the company.”
    I nodded glumly. “Nothing like family, huh?”
    I eased the car to the gate, leaning out the driver’s side to punch in the security code. It was a date that was practically a holiday at the Wade estate: my sister’s birthday.
    Before you write me off as some whiny brat who didn’t get enough hugs as a child, or claim that it’s not my sister’s fault that she was my parent’s favorite, you should know that she is literally the antichrist. Whether I wanted to or not, thoughts of my sister always dragged me to the first time I realized something was genuinely wrong with her.
    We had a black lab puppy for a few weeks when we were kids. My mother was going through one of her charity phases and fell in love with one of the rescue puppies, and agreed to foster it until a permanent home could be found. One day, I caught Marie in my father’s study. She’d found the old man’s box of cigars and matches, and had arranged the furniture in a semi circle. She wore a cotton candy pink dress, her blonde hair in pigtails. I smelled the sulfur, and my heart nearly burst from my chest when I heard the puppy whimpering. When I heard the hiss as Marie struck the match, I stormed forward, shoved her aside, and scooped the puppy in my arms. I protected it until my dad came home early from his trip and the dog had to go. When I told my parents what she’d done, they barely scolded her. From that day forward, it was war between us.
    I gripped the steering wheel as I pulled into the driveway, my mind already weaving conspiracy theories. Was she behind this whole thing? I could see her perched on my father’s bed, spewing all kinds of venom. Offering ‘helpful’ advice.
    “Xander?”
    Penny’s voice lured me from my angry thoughts, but I snapped at her anyway. “What?” When she pursed her lips and arched an eyebrow that said, ‘Not today, mister’, I apologized. “I’m sorry.” I killed the engine, dread swirling in the pit of my stomach. “Just in case its not obvious, home is definitely not where the heart is.”
    “That’s right.” She reached over and placed her hand over mine. “Your heart is right here.” She squeezed my fingers. “I’m beside you and no matter what happens when we walk inside that house, you’re going to be okay.”
    This woman, my woman, who taught me how to love and accepted all the broken pieces of me...I didn’t know how I’d gotten so lucky. But I had my own fears, my own insecurities. The fact that I was sitting in the car, wishing that I could just say to hell with them all and put my family in the rearview felt like weakness. Even now, with Penny clutching my hand like she was trying to lend me some of her strength, the little boy that was told over and over that vulnerability was unacceptable almost pulled away. "What kind of a man is so afraid of facing his family that he'd rather chew his arm off than