Plotting to Win by Tara Chevrestt Read Free Book Online Page A

Two,” she raised her middle finger to go along with the other digit, “so everyone can have a happily ever after.”
    “But it’s not like that in real life.”
    Felicity reeled back a bit. “Say what? Sure it is,” she argued, lowering her hand to her hip. “My parents had a happy-ever-after. They were married for forty years, and every day before I left home, I saw them shower each other with respect and love. They never lost that loving feeling, you know?” She peered up at him, for some reason she couldn’t explain, wanting him to get it. It was a struggle not to get misty-eyed, remembering her parents, their playful arguments around the kitchen table, the silly slaps on the butt when they thought no one was looking, the giggles from behind closed doors. At the time, it had seemed gross, but looking back, Felicity knew that was love. She wanted to recreate that, wished she could find it herself. There’d been a few times she thought she had, but something deep inside her balked. None of the men had felt right , perfect.
    “No. I can’t say I do. I’m afraid I didn’t see that growing up. My mom raised me alone … along with some bad boyfriends.” His jaw hardened, and she imagined his eyes did too behind his shades. “But she was a good mother, the best,” he added quickly, his posture becoming defensive. “She provided for me and kept me out of trouble.”
    Felicity wasn’t sure what to say. The man obviously felt strongly for the woman who had raised him, but there were bad memories from some poor choices she had made. Too many women went down that path — one of the reasons Felicity never rushed into relationships, at least never had. “I’m sure she had quite the task raising a kid as stubborn as you,” she said in an attempt to lighten the mood. “You must get that from her.”
    He laughed. “I guess so.”
    Throughout their conversation, they’d inched closer and closer to each other, until he was close enough that she could kiss him if she just rose on her tiptoes, but that would be ridiculous. Where was her mind going?
    She took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her lower region and turned around to look over the balcony. “It’s true we tend to use what we grew up around as an example, but just because your mom didn’t have a great relationship, doesn’t mean you can’t. You could have a happy-ever-after too, but not if you close yourself off to the possibility.”
    He made a scoffing sound, and she decided to change the subject. “Where do you live?”
    “Miami, born and bred.”
    “Aw. That explains your crime writing. You get a lot of it there.”
    “Never a dull moment.” He smiled. “I like hard, cold facts. I like to analyze and piece things together. I also get to go to some seedy places at times.” A waggle of eyebrows accompanied his words.
    A vision of him in a strip club with a couple of women on his lap caused a pang of jealousy — sharp and deep — to pierce her. She shook her head at herself. Getting way too carried away, girl .
    “So, forty years. What happened after that? You said they were married forty years. He traded her in for a younger model at some point, right?”
    And there it went. The easy camaraderie they’d just had going on disappeared. Did he have to be so callous ? Why would he be such a jerk? What did she think she saw in this guy? Felicity blinked back tears and firmed her resolve as she pushed away from the railing. “No. They lived together, loved together, and they died together. Car crash. Drunk driver. Three years ago.”
    She didn’t stay outside to see his reaction, didn’t care what he thought. How would a guy like him understand that in her writing, she gave her parents a happy-ever-after over and over, time and time again?
    A man like that wouldn’t get it.
    Had she had the energy, she’d have slammed the sliding door to the balcony behind her.

Chapter Five
    “Welcome to your first elimination challenge.”