Love Me Crazy by Camden Leigh Read Free Book Online Page A

lived near when I was young. Sugary, sweet, and smoky. I pull the hardened coating off the marshmallow and slip it in my mouth, gooey white fluff drips down my chin.
    He wipes it, then licks his finger, dissolving the sugar with the heat of his tongue. Oh, to be fluff. To be on his lips. To be tasting that tongue.
    I drop my gaze back to the marshmallow. “What’s the norm,” I ask, putting the focus back on his family instead of a wanting, panting me, “when you guys sit around drinking?”
    “We play card games and are always one-upping each other, trying to win. Covingtons never lose, remember?”
    “Someone loses.”
    He shakes his head. “Not when we bend the rules.”
    “Do Covingtons ever screw up?” I roll my eyes as I sling the skewer tip back over the flame. Must be nice to be sure of yourself and know you’ll win because losing isn’t an option.
    “Weren’t you at dinner?” He drags a slow line over one of his tattoos. “Maybe things would’ve been different if I’d stuck around after Dad died.”
    “Like what?”
    “Maybe Kat wouldn’t hold a grudge against the world, and Ellie wouldn’t be so gullible.” He pauses like he’s wondering if directions are printed on his sisters’ foreheads like a box of brownie mix. Crack, liquefy, stir, and bake.
    “ And if you’d stayed, what about you?” I lower my skewer, heating the sugar until it melts off.
    “Life would suck.”
    “So you like your life?” I prop the telescopic rod against the chair and turn toward Quinn, unsure why he’s so hard on himself. His dad died; nothing was supposed to be easy for any of them.
    He nods but doesn’t look at me. Instead he stares into the darkness gathering beyond the magnolia limbs. Shadows and light dance across his face, shift his features, making him appear less omnipotent. More human. Vulnerable even.
    I nibble the inside of my cheek as shadows roll across Quinn’s face. His silhouette against the faint light shares his pain, slouching as if he’s crumbling on the inside.
    I should’ve kept my distance, isolated myself in turkey hell and declined dinner. I shouldn’t get involved with family drama. But I already am.
    I reach across the space between us and squeeze his shoulder for comfort. “I know you hardly know me, and I’m not pretending to know what it’s like to lose someone you love, but death is
the
side effect of living. It’s not fair but moving on is part of the deal. Maybe your sisters would’ve turned out as you described regardless.” I tug on his shoulder until he turns to face me. “Maybe Kat’s angry because she doesn’t have a sounding board. Maybe attacking you is easier than dealing with her own problems. Maybe she needs someone to blame for her anger.”
    “You mean me.” He squints his eyes and peers at the flame.
    “I’m just saying, they might be like you described but that doesn’t necessarily mean you made them that way.” I shy away from turning this into a therapy session.
    I slip down in the chair and angle my knees to the side so they don’t touch his. I want so badly to reach out and press my fingers against his cheek, to tell him to stop letting the past affect his present so deeply. I don’t know the whole story. I don’t know how the Covingtons actually reacted to their dad’s death, though Kat’s anger at Quinn gave me a pretty clear picture in the kitchen. I don’t know what they went through. But it seems like everyone walks on eggshells so as to not disturb the grief and guilt lying below.
    I push to my feet. “I need to nurse this headache with some sleep.”
    He rises, too. “Wait.” He slips his hand over my hip and pulls me a step closer.
    I shake my head. No, that’s not going to happen. No touching, no kissing, no—
    “Cassidy,” he whispers, ducking his head closer, eyes piercing mine with a solid, intense gaze. “Thanks for the talk. For tonight.”
    I roll my lips in but his breath warms my face, luring me to relax and