FUSE by Deborah Bladon Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Deborah Bladon
life and forced me to face the truth. The people who tell you that they'll love you no matter what almost always have a caveat to go with that. I need a friend. I need a shoulder to lean on and if that shoulder happens to belong to Brighton Beck, so be it.
"I need hope too," I whisper quietly. "I need it so much."
"Let me be your friend, Zoe." He brushes a wayward strand of hair out of my eyes. "Please be my friend."
"Just friends?" I ask for clarification.
He hesitates only briefly. "Just friends, Zoe. It's what we both need."
I nod as a rush of disappointment flows through me. I want more. I'll likely always want more but in the big picture of the life I'm trying to build in New York City I need a friend more than I need a lover and Brighton Beck may just be the most amazing best friend I've ever had.
Chapter 10
B eck
Christ. I am an idiot. Not just your typical run-of-the-mill idiot. I am a world class idiot. I just friend zoned Zoe Cameron. I did it by my own free will. It was actually my idea. What the fuck was I thinking? Shit.
"I said that I'm twenty-four," she repeats as she darts her gorgeous face in front of me to catch my attention. "You just asked how old I am and I told you I was twenty-four."
"Twenty-four?" I repeat back as if I've never heard the number before. Nine years. She's only nine years younger than I am. Zoe is perfect for me. Wait. She was perfect until I fucking friend zoned her.
"You say it like it's a bad thing." She touches my shoulder briefly. "I read online that you're thirty-three."
I nod as I scan her face. I can't remember what I was like when I was twenty-four. I was probably chasing anything that moved. I certainly wasn't planning my life out the way she is. This young woman is nothing like me. "I feel like I'm twenty-four," I say as I lean against the sofa's back.
"I don't know what twenty-four feels like and I'm twenty-four," she jokes. "I need to go soon. I have to be somewhere else in thirty minutes."
I glace at the clock hanging over Albert's desk. He put it there for his benefit. Time isn't part of my world on a day-to-day basis. I've never let it rule me. I keep my eyes on the clock longer than I need to because I'm hit with the sudden realization that she may be leaving because she's meeting someone for a late lunch. "Where do you need to be?"
I can tell that she's weighing her response. I don't want her to lie to me. I need this thing between us to be honest and open. I've never been completely and utterly honest with anyone in my life. She pulls her hands together on her lap as she fidgets slightly.
"Don't worry about it, Zoe." I push myself to my feet. "You don't have to tell me."
She springs to her feet too. "It's not a bad place."
"A bad place?" I can't contain the grin I'm feeling. She's different than anyone I've ever met. It's not just the fact that she is completely comfortable around me; it's the fact that she's so innocent in a way I've never seen before.
She licks her upper lip before she opens her mouth. "I volunteer at a couple of places because it looks good on my law school applications."
Jesus. She's beautiful and she's compassionate and I, in all of my infinite wisdom, have declared her my new best bud.
"Where do you volunteer?"
She shifts back and forth on her feet slightly. "I go down to the office of this non-profit that helps women a few mornings a week. I do clerical stuff there."
I'm reasonably sure I don't need to bring up the fact that it's two in the afternoon but I will if I can learn more about how she spends her time. "Where are you going today?"
She glances towards Albert before her eyes settle back on my face. "Today I'm going to Brooklyn. I visit one of the extended care centers there twice a week."
I've never set foot near a place like that in my life. "How are you going to get there?"
"The subway." Her eyes dart back towards Albert's desk. "Your assistant took my coat when I got here. I need it back if I'm going to get
"I need hope too," I whisper quietly. "I need it so much."
"Let me be your friend, Zoe." He brushes a wayward strand of hair out of my eyes. "Please be my friend."
"Just friends?" I ask for clarification.
He hesitates only briefly. "Just friends, Zoe. It's what we both need."
I nod as a rush of disappointment flows through me. I want more. I'll likely always want more but in the big picture of the life I'm trying to build in New York City I need a friend more than I need a lover and Brighton Beck may just be the most amazing best friend I've ever had.
Chapter 10
B eck
Christ. I am an idiot. Not just your typical run-of-the-mill idiot. I am a world class idiot. I just friend zoned Zoe Cameron. I did it by my own free will. It was actually my idea. What the fuck was I thinking? Shit.
"I said that I'm twenty-four," she repeats as she darts her gorgeous face in front of me to catch my attention. "You just asked how old I am and I told you I was twenty-four."
"Twenty-four?" I repeat back as if I've never heard the number before. Nine years. She's only nine years younger than I am. Zoe is perfect for me. Wait. She was perfect until I fucking friend zoned her.
"You say it like it's a bad thing." She touches my shoulder briefly. "I read online that you're thirty-three."
I nod as I scan her face. I can't remember what I was like when I was twenty-four. I was probably chasing anything that moved. I certainly wasn't planning my life out the way she is. This young woman is nothing like me. "I feel like I'm twenty-four," I say as I lean against the sofa's back.
"I don't know what twenty-four feels like and I'm twenty-four," she jokes. "I need to go soon. I have to be somewhere else in thirty minutes."
I glace at the clock hanging over Albert's desk. He put it there for his benefit. Time isn't part of my world on a day-to-day basis. I've never let it rule me. I keep my eyes on the clock longer than I need to because I'm hit with the sudden realization that she may be leaving because she's meeting someone for a late lunch. "Where do you need to be?"
I can tell that she's weighing her response. I don't want her to lie to me. I need this thing between us to be honest and open. I've never been completely and utterly honest with anyone in my life. She pulls her hands together on her lap as she fidgets slightly.
"Don't worry about it, Zoe." I push myself to my feet. "You don't have to tell me."
She springs to her feet too. "It's not a bad place."
"A bad place?" I can't contain the grin I'm feeling. She's different than anyone I've ever met. It's not just the fact that she is completely comfortable around me; it's the fact that she's so innocent in a way I've never seen before.
She licks her upper lip before she opens her mouth. "I volunteer at a couple of places because it looks good on my law school applications."
Jesus. She's beautiful and she's compassionate and I, in all of my infinite wisdom, have declared her my new best bud.
"Where do you volunteer?"
She shifts back and forth on her feet slightly. "I go down to the office of this non-profit that helps women a few mornings a week. I do clerical stuff there."
I'm reasonably sure I don't need to bring up the fact that it's two in the afternoon but I will if I can learn more about how she spends her time. "Where are you going today?"
She glances towards Albert before her eyes settle back on my face. "Today I'm going to Brooklyn. I visit one of the extended care centers there twice a week."
I've never set foot near a place like that in my life. "How are you going to get there?"
"The subway." Her eyes dart back towards Albert's desk. "Your assistant took my coat when I got here. I need it back if I'm going to get
Similar Books
The Rachel Scott Adventures, Volume 1
Traci Hohenstein
La Petite Four
Regina Scott
The Book Whisperer
Donalyn Miller, Jeff Anderson
The Man from St. Petersburg
Ken Follett
The Partridge Kite
Michael Nicholson
Bill Dugan_War Chiefs 04
Quanah Parker
Jennifer Crusie Bundle
Jennifer Crusie
Deadlock
Robert Liparulo
The L.A. Dodger
David A. Kelly