Catch by Michelle Congdon Read Free Book Online Page A

smokin’ hot in that dress. If you had been wearing that on the night we’d met, veil and all, I’d have had you bent over the bar in a matter of seconds.”
    Seeing her delicate face turn from pink to bright red was just about the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I grinned, turned away and walked toward the exit knowing whatever happened today no longer mattered. She’d just made my day.

Chapter 6
     
    “You like her, don’t you?”
    I turned my head to face Annabelle and frowned. “Shut up, will you?”
    An annoying little smirk rose on her face. “Oh, my God, you do! I can tell.”
    “As if you can, Annie,” I said with a snort, then turned back to face the window. “And anyway…I don’t even know her.” I shrugged.
    “Yes, but you want to, and it bothers you that she doesn’t behave like the rest of them.” Ugh. Sometimes I felt like my baby sister was too smart for her own good.
    We were in the car on our way to the funeral. I’d been staring blankly out the window for a few good minutes before Annabelle had decided to interrupt.
    “It won’t take her long before she does. Women can’t resist this for too long,” I joked, trying to lighten my strange mood.
    “But here’s the thing,” she began, ignoring my smart-ass remark. “You don’t want her to, do you? You don’t want her to be like the rest of them. There’s something about her.”
    I turned back to face her. “Who are you? And what have you done with Annabelle Lyndsey Fox?”
    She giggled then smiled. “I’m just reading the clues, which are plainly obvious to see.”
    Plainly obvious? Was I really giving away that much? No, I wasn’t. It was just Annabelle and the scary ability she had to read people; read me in particular. I turned away back out toward the window, and watched the traffic go past. Annabelle was like me in a lot of ways. Besides having blonde hair, our personalities and mannerisms were very similar. She was just a much sweeter-looking, more innocent version of her older brother.
    “I can’t wait to be loved by somebody,” Annabelle muttered absentmindedly.
    My head jerked very quickly in her direction and I glared. “We, your family , love you, Bambina ,” I replied, calling her by the nickname I’d made up for her when we were younger. I didn’t understand much Italian, but I knew that word meant ‘little girl’. When we were younger, I used it to tease her, but we’d both grown attached to it as the years passed.
    “You know what I mean. I want to have a boyfriend.” She glanced back at me with a dreamy look in her eyes. Oh, no.
    “You’ll never have a boyfriend.”
    This time she frowned. “Yes, I will.”
    “I won’t let anyone near you. No boy will be de-flowering my baby sister. Not while I’m alive, anyway.”
    “Did you just use the word ‘ de-flowering’ ? Okay, gross! You are my brother ! You aren’t supposed to talk to me about this sort of stuff!”
    I grinned slyly, proud my comment made her uncomfortable. It seemed to be the only way to stop my teenage sister from talking about boys these days. “I certainly did. You know what? I’m thinking about buying you a chastity belt for your next birth—”
    “Stop, Ry! I feel sick!” she squealed, slapping my wrist.
    She was trying so hard to be angry but she couldn’t hold the giggles in, which ultimately made me laugh. “You’ll thank me when you’re older.”
    “I’m sure I will,” she groaned. “Now, can we change the subject? You’ve officially freaked me out.” She crossed her arms and pouted.
    “Yes, please.”

Chapter 7
     
    I was relieved when the service finally came to an end. It wasn’t because I got bored, but funerals made me uneasy. They were depressing and morbid and to be honest, Mr. Montgomery knew a lot of people who all wanted to share a few words during the service. To avoid looking disrespectful, I focused on trying to listen as each speaker said his or her words. After the sixth, I realized they were