Friday I'm in Love by Mari Carr Read Free Book Online Page B

comment.”
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    Mari Carr
    “My mother lives her life looking absolutely perfect while sitting on a pristine white couch in an immaculate house. She loves the illusion of it, I suppose.”
    “And the gin?”
    “A bottle a week, every week. More over the holidays. So much for perfection.”
    Ewan wanted to ask more, but he could see from the tightness around her eyes, she wouldn’t go any further with this conversation than she already had.
    “You said something about your dad never taking his daughters fishing. I assume that means you have sisters?” he asked.
    “Had a sister. Just one. She died in a car accident.”
    He could tell those words were being pulled from her with every ounce of strength she possessed and he knew he should let the subject stop there. “I’m sorry, Nat. My mom died of cancer when I was twelve. I don’t think there are words to really describe…” His words fell away. He rarely talked about Sunday, his mother, to anyone—least of all his siblings.
    He was worried they’d figure out how much he’d forgotten about her.
    Sometimes he lay in bed and tried to force his memories of her to return, but most of the scenes he could recreate were made-up versions of the stories his older brothers and sisters liked to tell about their mother.
    “You’re right,” she said softly, pulling him from his troubling thoughts. “There aren’t words. So let’s don’t try.”
    He narrowed his eyes at her short response. Natalie could flash from red-hot to ice-cold in less than a millisecond. But in this instance, he wanted to change the subject as much as she did.
    “Don’t worry about what you said on the boat. The more you talked, the more apparent it became to those guys that it’s just your way.” He grinned as he spoke and she scowled.
    “Is that your way of saying I’m cynical?”
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    Friday I’m in Love
    He turned, lifting one of her legs and pulling it over his head until her legs were wrapped around his waist. Her eyes darkened with desire and he felt the same wave knock him down as well. “Let’s just say you’re cynical with the right amount of romance.”
    She snorted, a genuine snort, and he laughed. “I think I missed the day they gave out romance.”
    “Haven’t you ever been in love?” he asked, curious about her past relationships.
    He’d never heard Teagan or Sky mention Natalie having boyfriends or even dating.
    “Well, I suppose I have.”
    “You suppose?”
    “I’ve had boyfriends, Ewan. Done a bit of dating. Just not lately. Work keeps me busy and, well…there’s that case of bitchiness we’ve discussed.”
    “Dating’s not love, babydoll.”
    She looked at him, biting her lower lip. “Semantics,” she said.
    “So you’ve never been in love.” His comment wasn’t a question and she didn’t bother to refute it.
    “Too busy. Not interested. Men annoy me.”
    He laughed at her list, but decided to let her off the hook. He lowered to his elbows, trapping her beneath him on the couch. He could see her chest rise and fall as her breathing accelerated.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “Time for a little pop quiz. What did you learn from today’s lesson? One kiss for every right answer.”
    “A kiss?”
    He kissed the end of her nose. “Just a kiss.”
    He watched myriad emotions fly across her face as she considered his offer and he wondered if she remembered kissing him on the dance floor last night. He was fairly 47
    Mari Carr
    certain she did. He’d caught her looking at him a few times today on the boat, a slight flush on her cheeks.
    “I learned how to relax.”
    He bent forward to kiss her but she pressed her fingers to his lips before they could touch hers.
    “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” she said.
    “Why not?” He wanted to move out of this just-friends hell she’d placed them in the past three years. He knew she didn’t give a shit about their age difference but something was definitely holding her back, and if her