Love and Learn (Voretti Family Book 2) by Ava Blackstone Read Free Book Online

sixteen.”
    “Exactly. Even then, I had better things to do.”
    “I understand. You’re afraid I’m gonna kick your ass.” He took a slow pull of beer. “And you should be. I don’t like to brag, but I’m amazing at this game. I’m pretty much unbeatable, so—”
    “I’ve never gotten naked with anyone who has a PhD either. Christian has at least another year before he graduates.”  
    “Christian, huh?” He fought to keep his voice level. He’d figured she’d hooked up with the asshat from section, but the positive confirmation still made his blood boil. He didn’t want to think about her in bed with that tool.  
    Annabelle swallowed hard, like she was trying to get rid of the words she’d spoken, but all she said was, “Aren’t you supposed to drink?”
    Ty downed the rest of his beer, but he was still hot and uncomfortable, all the pulsing energy inside him searching for a way out. “I almost feel bad for the guy. Losing someone like you… That’s not something you get over.”
    “Thanks.” She looked away. “But he dumped me, not the other way around.”
    No. Fucking. Way.
    But Annabelle was blinking too fast, the same way Keri did when she was trying to hold back tears, and before Ty had time to think about it, he was on his feet.  
    No one made Annabelle cry. He was going to find Christian and—
    “Where are you going?”  
    Her softly voiced question brought him back to the here and now. Christian wasn’t an insurgent bent on destroying America. He was just a guy too stupid to realize what an amazing woman Annabelle was.  
    Ty sank back in his seat, fighting the adrenaline down. “Nowhere.” He wasn’t leaving ever again. “And if that asshat really dumped you, he’s even stupider than I thought.”
    “Thanks.” She turned back toward him.  
    Instead of the teary eyes he was afraid of, her face was set. Determined.  
    “My turn,” she said. “I’ve never dumped anyone and left them devastated.”
    “Never.” He pointed his beer at her. “Drink.”
    She picked up her glass, but didn’t take a sip. “You…”  
    Aw, hell. He should’ve known they’d have to discuss his broken engagement beyond the one-sentence explanation he’d given her over email. “I was dumped too. After the accident…I guess I wasn’t the same man Bri fell in love with.”
    “She broke up with you because of a little limp?” Annabelle’s nostrils flared.
    “Not the limp so much as…it took me a while to get my head on straight.”
    “She should’ve been there for you.”
    “Maybe. Or maybe she wasn’t the person I needed.” His gaze caught Annabelle’s. Held.  
    You were the one I needed.
    She leaned forward, like she was reading the words from his eyes, and he breathed her in.  
    It wasn’t enough.  
    He wanted her weight against him, solid and real and here.
    Fuck friendship.  
    He reached across the table—  
    —and Annabelle jerked back against the vinyl bench. “Well, I still think Bri is a bitch.”
    She looked so surprised that the curse had come out of her mouth that, despite everything, Ty chuckled. And then Annabelle was laughing too—the kind of full belly laugh that made the entire world a warm, welcoming place.  
    “What?” Annabelle finally managed. “She is .”
    “Won’t argue with you there, sweetheart.”
    He loved seeing her like this—just buzzed enough that her barriers came down, letting her respond without prior approval from that committee inside her head. It reminded him of the way she’d been on prom night. Everything had been easy—the dancing, the conversation, the way her body fit against his when he kissed her—like the universe was telling him she was the one.  
    But the next morning, Sean had shown up on his doorstep. When Sean had mentioned the Navy, Ty had thought he was joking. He’d known Sean didn’t have the same picture-perfect home life he did, but he’d been happily ignorant of how bad it had become. Sean’s