Reluctance by Cindy C Bennett Read Free Book Online Page A

streamed down her face as she pulled back slightly.
    "I love you, Cam," she said.
    She gave him one final kiss, one she would remember for the rest of her days, the thing that would get her through her despised life. A kiss Cam would not remember.
    "Forget," she whispered.

    * * * * *

    Cam watched Dahlia from across the cafeteria. Something about her drew him, something he couldn't quite define. He hadn't had much interaction with her, nothing beyond polite pleasantries, but for some reason he felt like he was missing something when it came to the quirky girl.
    She walked behind Jace toward his table. She stumbled and nearly dropped her tray. Cam grinned, amused, but the grin turned to a scowl when Jace turned and shot her a dirty look. Dahlia smiled apologetically, a smile completely unacknowledged by Jace. Then she did an odd thing—she looked toward Cam. She shifted her gaze away quickly, but Cam's heart lurched at the eye contact.
    Dahlia wore tight, black jeans, a red shirt, and flat boots. Her hair was pulled back into a fashionably smooth ponytail. Beneath the thick fall of hair he spied a rhinestone-laden barrette, tacky and gaudy, and yet somehow more appropriate for her than the rest of her outfit. He wasn't sure why he thought it, but he would have bet his life someone else was in control of how she dressed. His eyes went to Jace.
    Dahlia did not seem the type Jace usually went for. She was beautiful, no doubt.
    He thought she might be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. But Jace's girlfriends were usually more traditionally beautiful, like a supermodel or actress—like Tabby. His stomach tightened as it always did when he thought of her. Not because he still loved her or wanted her—that boat had sailed—but because Jace had targeted her simply because of him. Dahlia . . . he could understand if she had been Cam's girlfriend because Jace would take her just to prove he could.
    Jace sat at the table, not even glancing to see if Dahlia was still with him or had gotten safely to her own chair. Cam couldn't pin them down. They didn't seem to like one another at all, and, yet, with a glance toward Cam, Jace slung his arm over Dahlia's shoulders and pulled her near. Cam bristled, jealous. Jealous ? Why in the world would he be jealous of Jace and Dahlia when he didn't even know the girl?

    * * * * *

    "Let's stay in tonight."
    Dahlia felt relief flow through her that she wouldn't be required to go out and keep up the public image Jace demanded. She suspected the reason he wanted to stay in had to do with Aster, who sat across from Jace, casually draped across the sofa, as if posing for a magazine. Aster glanced at Jace with an alluring smile, and Dahlia felt her warning bells go off.
    "Fine," she said, more sharply than she had intended.
    Jace flicked a look her way, with brows lifted.
    "What do you want to do, then?" she asked, not acknowledging his look.
    "I rented this great new movie I'm going to watch if you two want to join me."
    Aster purred.
    "No, tha—" Dahlia began.
    "Sounds great," Jace's voice overran hers.
    "Super. I'll make popcorn," Dahlia said.
    Neither her sister nor her future mate acknowledged her. "Want to help me, Aster?"
    Aster rolled her eyes. "I hardly think it's a two-person job, Dal."

    Dahlia nearly gagged at her use of the pet name Aster hadn't used since she was a very young girl and still had some capacity to love and admire her older sister.
    "Fine," Dahlia mumbled again, turning away from them. She went into the kitchen to make the popcorn and gather some sodas for the three of them. When she returned to the family room Aster and Jace were sitting quite closely together on the sofa. Dahlia seriously considered dumping the popcorn over the two of them. The choice was lost when she tripped and the popcorn fell into their laps.
    "Dahlia!" Aster scolded.
    "She can't help herself," Jace said, annoyed. "I've never met a bigger klutz."
    Aster laughed, and Dahlia felt a fury rip through