Stolen Wishes by Lexi Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

move on. You become the
best man you can and you do it for them.’”
    “That’s terrible. Grief shouldn’t have a
timeline. And you were just a kid.”
    “She loves me. I don’t want you to think any
differently. But her loving me meant that she didn’t want me
hurting, and if she didn’t have to see me hurting, she could tell
herself I wasn’t.”
    “What was it like? Growing up without your
parents?”
    His hands, already in my hair, tighten
before he speaks. “I had everything I needed, so I don’t want to
make it out worse than it was.”
    “You can tell me.”
    “It sucked.” He forces a laugh. “I love my
grandmother, but she wasn’t a mother to me. She didn’t know how to
be, not when she was so filled with grief over losing her own son.
She wanted so much for the son she’d lost, and I was expected to
fill that void. The grades, the sports, the perfect behavior. I
need to get out of here for college. She wants me to go to
Sinclair, but I know what that means. She’ll want me to live at
home. She’ll want to control how I spend my days.”
    “You could go anywhere, do anything.”
    He hooks a leg behind mine and rolls us
until he’s on his elbows hovering over me and his lips are a breath
from mine.
    “What are you thinking?” I ask.
    “That I can’t wait to tell everyone you’re
my girl.”
    Then he kisses me for a long time, slow and
sweet. We look at the stars after, side by side, his fingers
tangled in my hair. Then we see it. A shooting star, skating across
the sky as if it were put there for us.
    I can’t help but wonder if my time with
William will be like that. A precious but temporary gift.

Chapter Six
    William
     
    Eleven Months Later
     
    “Open it!” Cally says, her eyes bright.
She’s grinning at me, and we both know very well what a fat
envelope from a college means.
    “I don’t want to.” I chuck it to the floor
and nudge her backward until the bed hits the back of her thighs.
She’s so damn beautiful when she smiles. Just the idea of not
seeing that smile every day makes me want to scrap all my plans for
college. Ten months ago, the idea of getting a fat envelope from
Notre Dame would have sent me over the moon. When it came today, my
first thought was of the long drive between here and there.
“There’s one more application I’m waiting on.” I slide my hands
into her hair.
    She frowns. “From where? I thought you’d
heard from everyone already.”
    “Sinclair.”
    She presses her hands against my chest and
pushes me back. “No. William. No. Absolutely not.”
    I hang my head. This is why I hadn’t told
her. I knew how she’d feel about me sticking around for her. “I
don’t want to leave you.”
    “But you need to,” she protests. “You need
to get away from your grandmother and have a chance to live your
life without her constant meddling. You told me that’s what you
wanted, and I think it’s what you need.”
    I grab her hand and bring it to my lips.
“That was before you.”
    Her eyes fill with tears. “I can’t let you
do this. I love you too much.”
    “I love you too,” I whisper, then I dip my
head to kiss her.
    “Don’t change the subject,” she whispers
against my lips.
    “I wouldn’t dare.” Our mouths meet again,
and I sweep my tongue across her lips until she opens for me and
makes that little kitten mewl at the back of her throat. I nudge
her again, and she lowers to the bed, her dark hair fanned against
my blue sheets. “You’re so beautiful.”
    She’s wearing cut-off jean shorts that show
her long legs, and one of my old practice jerseys. Her back arches
as she reaches for me, and the jersey slides higher, revealing a
narrow strip of creamy skin right above the waistband of her jeans.
The part of me that loves her and understands her hang-ups resists,
but there’s a part of me that’s ready to push, a part that wants
her too much not to ask for more.
    I know my friends think we have sex. Hell,
other than Cally and