Summer Break (Love Nibbles Book 4) by Bonnie Dee Read Free Book Online Page A

shorts, but no shirt, and helped her get the food from the kitchen to the patio. By the time the steaks were seared, he’d single-handedly eaten most of a plate of spinach and goat cheese canapés and downed two bottles of beer.
    The sun was deep red on the horizon and the torch lights flickered to life around the garden by the time they sat down to the salad, steak and potatoes.
    Brianne lit a candle on the table, the glow illuminating her face. “I even made a dessert for later,” she told him proudly. “Cake from a box, but still.”
    He wolfed down a bite of steak. “What if I hadn’t come over?”
    She rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “I knew you’d come.”
    “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
    “You know I usually am.” She leaned her elbows on the table, rested her chin on her folded hands, and regarded him. “The question is what do I know about you? Two years of being around you and I only know a few things.”
    “Like what?” He wanted to hear her take on him.
    “You’re about the only person on the planet who doesn’t like Chinese food. You hate cats. You never wear anything but jeans and T-shirts, and from your wardrobe, I’d guess your favorite color is black, gray or olive drab. You like running. You listen to rap and sometimes heavy metal. But that’s all surface stuff. What I don’t know about you could fill a book.”
    “I like red,” he said. “I just don’t wear it. And I don’t have a problem with cats, only when they scratch like yours does.” He’d never admit in a million years that in the privacy of headphones he listened to indie songs about thwarted love with a softly weeping guitar.
    “What do you know about me, besides I’m pretty?” Brianne asked.
    “You don’t worry about what people think. You express every opinion you have, and you have an opinion on everything. You throw yourself into everything you do. You’re not afraid of anything.” He paused. “Except maybe being alone.”
    She squinted. “So we’re going a little deeper? I’d say you have the opposite problem. You’d rather be alone than trust anybody. You don’t share anything about what you really think or feel, but go along with what other people want. I bet you have opinions, but you don’t think they’re worth anything so you keep them to yourself.”
    “Or maybe I’m just so boring I have nothing interesting to say.” He forked up the last bite of his potato, glanced at her plate and realized she hadn’t even started her meal.
    “I don’t believe you’re boring.” Brianne pushed her plate toward him. “Have mine too, if you’re still hungry. I’ve been snacking all day.”
    She sat back in her chair as Eric started in on her steak. “I know your mom left like mine did and that’s why you moved here to stay with your brother, but you’ve never said anything about your dad.”
    “It’s no secret. I never met the guy. His name was Steve. That’s all I know.”
    “And Carl’s your half-brother?”
    “Yeah.”
    “How could I hang around you for two years and not know something so basic? It’s because Josh and I both talk too much, that’s why. We never gave you a chance to say anything.”
    “Somebody’s got to be the audience.” He smiled, but was only partly teasing.
    “You’re a good listener,” she agreed. “But right now I want to know more about you. If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?”
    “Not the career questions again.” He focused on his food.
    “I’m not talking about a job necessarily, just anything. Sail around the world, be an astronaut, climb a mountain, or collect Barbie dolls.”
    He smiled. “I don’t know. All of the above?”
    “I’m serious. Close your eyes and see yourself where you want to be.”
    Eric closed his eyes. Nothing came to him except an image of the pair of them sitting at the umbrella-shaded table under the twilight sky.
    “Right here and now is pretty perfect,” he finally answered.