How Sweet It Is by Kate Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

too.”
    “Amen to that,” Rowdy piped in.
    They both looked at him.
    He picked up his teacup, little finger in the air, not bothering to pretend he wasn’t listening. “Don’t mind me.”
    She looked back at Jasmine, who looked at Rowdy like she’d never seen a man before. Vi smiled. “I fed him once and now I can’t get rid of him.”
    “Ouch,” Rowdy said.
    “I completely understand.” Jasmine stood, elegant, tall, and slim. Slipping into her coat, she turned her back to Rowdy and faced Vi. “I want you to contact Finn.”
    “I definitely will.”
    The brunette smiled. “Good.” She gave Rowdy a curious smile and, with a toss of her hair, sauntered out.
    “Now that’s a woman,” he said, his eyes following her. Then he turned back to Viola. “What was all that about?”
    “My new business.” She grinned to cover her nerves. “I’m going to open an art gallery. Her friend is an artist.”
    “Hmm.”
    She frowned. “What does that mean?”
    He shrugged, popping another macaron in his mouth. After he chewed, he said, “Viola Summerhill? Not Lloyd?”
    She hadn’t used her maiden name in so long she was almost surprised she remembered it. “It’s time I took my identity back, don’t you think?”
    “I’ll drink to that,” he said, holding out his teacup for her to tap.
    She clinked hers to his, a shiver of anticipation raising the hair on her arms. Because of the prospect of signing Phineas Buchanan, of course, and not at all because of the way he’d looked at her.

Chapter Six
    Chloe sat on a step close to the front entrance of school, waiting for the last period to end so she could go home. Her history teacher never cared if she skipped class, so she’d decided to sit and read.
    She pulled out her phone. She had a physical copy of The Night Circus at home, of course, but she also had a digital copy on her phone for times when she needed inspiration.
    Like now, because she was out of magic.
    She’d managed to avoid Hunter Vicks all week. It was easy—she just arrived late and hurried away as soon as class was dismissed. She couldn’t shift time or create complex illusions like Celia in The Night Circus , but Chloe was pretty good at disappearing when she wanted.
    Only they were supposed to work together on their project, so it wasn’t like she could avoid him forever. She sighed. Maybe he’d talk to her via text. Over text, she wouldn’t be able to humiliate herself by trying to kiss him.
    “Hey.” Someone sat down next to her.
    She didn’t have to look to know who it was—she could tell by the way her palms went sweaty and her tongue tied up. But she lifted her head anyway.
    Hunter Vicks smiled at her. “I’ve been meaning to catch up with you and introduce myself. We haven’t met.”
    As if they needed to—everyone knew who he was, especially the girls. But Chloe just shook her head and tried not to stare at his lips.
    Except they were so close . She wondered how it would feel, to touch them with her own.
    “You’re Chloe Lloyd”—he held his hand out—“and I’m Hunter, your new science partner.”
    She blinked in shock. “You know who I am?”
    “Of course.” He looked at her like she was insane. “We have three classes together and, even if we didn’t, I’d notice you.”
    She frowned. “Is that a good thing?”
    “It’s a great thing,” he said cheerfully. “Watley paired us together for this term’s project, so I figured we should talk about how we want to play it.”
    She glanced at his mouth as he talked. When she was six, Joey Wright had tried to kiss her on the playground every day. She’d thought it was gross and shoved him to the ground each time.
    If Hunter Vicks tried to kiss her, she wouldn’t push him away.
    “Chloe?” He looked at her in question.
    She realized she was leaning toward him, and she jerked back. “I—uh, I—”
    Everyone started streaming out of the classrooms, so she grabbed her bag and hopped up. “I have to go. My