Undeniable by Abby Reynolds Read Free Book Online Page A

always withdrawn before but now I want everyone to stay away from me. My heart has already been broken. I couldn’t bare it if it broke again.”
    She processed my words for a moment. “Your sister passed away?”
    “No. Worse.”
    “What?” she asked gently.
    I hated saying the words. It made me sick. My sister was happy with Scotty. She didn’t seem haunted by her past, but it still killed me inside. I should have protected her. I was at that party. If I wasn’t busy being a jackass, I could have protected her. But I didn’t. “She was raped.”
    Sadness came into her eyes. Then she reached out and grabbed my hand. “I’m so sorry, dear.” She seemed genuine. Her eyes squinted and her lip quivered.
    “Thanks…I love her a lot. And I feel responsible for not protecting her.”
    “Sometimes things are out of our control.”
    I regretted a lot of things afterwards. I was a dick to her, constantly putting her down for becoming so reclusive to the world. Instead of helping her get back on her feet, I pushed her down. Even if I didn’t know why she was behaving that way, I should have been more sensitive. “She’s better now but…it still gets under my skin. I have nightmares about it.”
    She rubbed my knuckles. “Your pain will pass in time.”
    I had a feeling it wouldn’t.
    My pager went off again. “Sorry, I have to go.”
    “It’s okay,” she said. “Until our next meeting.”
    “Yeah…”

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Alaska
    When I got a call from Livia, I didn’t know what to expect. All she said was she wanted to meet me. She didn’t explain why. What could a renowned artist have to say to me? We dealt with different mediums, but she was still a much better artist than I was. She captured images from her mind, not from reality. And that was an accomplishment in itself.
    She walked into the coffee shop, wearing a purple sundress. I knew it was she the moment she stepped through the door. All the guys turned their heads, looking at her legs. Even I was looking.
    She came to my table and greeted me. “Thanks for coming.”
    “Thanks for inviting me.” I expected to shake hands, but she hugged me instead. I was surprised by her warmness. Artists tended to be cold and withdrawn.
    She sat across from me. “So, how’s it going?”
    “Great. I’m just trying to pick out my favorite pieces to put in the gallery.”
    “That could take a while,” she said with a laugh. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”
    I hoped this wouldn’t be bad news.
    “I know this is a little weird, but I was inspired by your pictures.”
    Okay…
    “What if you took a picture and then I painted it? We could sell the photograph and the painting side by side. People would see an artist’s interpretation of reality, and they could have two opinions of the same idea.”
    It was very unorthodox.
    “I thought it would be cool to do for a showcase, not forever. It could be a collaboration of two artists, something that hardly ever happens. I ran the idea by Rydell and he liked it. He’s always looking for new ways to attract new people to his gallery.”
    It was an idea I never would have conceived in a million years, but that didn’t make it a bad one. “I think we should do it.”
    She smiled. “Really? That would be so much fun.”
    “It would be an art project.”
    ‘Then let’s do it.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “I don’t know where you live but I have a house and there’s a lot of room there. We could work on it there. Unless you preferred your place, of course?”
    “No, that sounds great,” I said immediately. “I live in an apartment so space is definitely limited.”
    “Cool. Do you want to come over tomorrow?”
    “Sure.”
    “By the way, I live with my boyfriend so he’ll be hovering around somewhere.”
    “I assumed he would be there based on your painting.”
    She blushed. “Well, I’m glad you don’t have a problem with it.”
    Not at all, other than jealousy.
    “Then