When You're Ready by Britni Danielle Read Free Book Online Page A

wanted to shoot myself for making her sad.
    “Nola, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—“
    She waved me off. “It’s okay, Scout, you didn’t know. Anyway, that was a long time ago. I should be over it by now, right?”
    I stroked her face and wiped away an escaped tear. “Baby, some things you never get over.”
    I should certainly know.
     
    * * *
     
    Nola
     
    I felt like my head was going to explode.  Everything about Scout told me I should run away, and fast. First, he had about a million tattoos etched into his skin: Chinese characters, names, quotes, and even a skull and crossbones. What kind of normal, good guy has one of those? Then there were the scars. Motorcycle accidents and street fights meant he probably had some kind of death wish, and getting involved with a man like that was certainly out of the question.
    What the hell was I saying? Scout and I were not going to be getting involved, no matter how much I wanted to kiss him.
    Still, I had to admit there was something about Scout that told me he was more than his sketchy-looking body art and hard muscles let on. Behind his gorgeously rough exterior lay something deeper that kept sucking me in, no matter how hard I wanted to fight it.
    We rode up the tram to the top of the hill and I held my breath the entire time. Scout stood so close I could smell his musky cologne and feel the heat jumping off his body. I didn’t dare speak during the slow climb up the hill, fearful I’d say something stupid or start crying like I did when Scout asked about my parents. I wanted to kick myself for letting those tears flood my eyes, but I couldn’t help it, thinking about my dad always made me so sad.
    While my parents weren’t traditional, and we constantly moved around, those years my dad was alive were the absolute best times of my life. Back then my mother smiled constantly and my dad treated me like I was the most precious, most beautiful girl in the whole entire world. Even when he got high he never yelled or got angry, just nodded in the corner with a dumb grin on his face until he drifted off to sleep.
    After he died, my mom went to pieces and fell into a terrible depression. I had to grow up fast, learning how to cook and take care of myself just to keep from starving to death. After a couple years, my mom seemed to finally snap out of her funk, but things were never the same. Instead of doing mother-daughter things with me she turned her attention to an endless stream of trifling boyfriends to fill the hole my dad left in her heart. I knew she was in pain, but she didn’t even seem to notice I was hurting too.
    The tram doors slid open, and Scout put his hand on my lower back to guide me out. I immediately stiffened at his touch, and then relaxed into its tenderness. Everything about Scout was a contradiction. He looked like a runway model, but wasn’t full of himself at all. He was covered in scary tattoos, but didn’t seem like a maniac. As a matter of fact, he’d been incredibly kind and caring with me, which was further confirmation that the saying, “Never judge a book by its cover,” was true.
    Scout was like a complex puzzle that frustrated the hell out of you, but made you want to figure it out anyway. I just hoped I didn’t end up hurt if I decided to try to put all of his pieces together.
    “Wow,” Scout breathed when we stepped off the tram and into the glorious day. The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was a vibrant blue that usually only happened after the rain had cleared out all the smog. Scout gazed at the travertine steps that led up to the cluster of art galleries and his eyes doubled in size.
    “Amazing, right?” I said. “Kinda takes your breath away.”
    He turned to me and smiled. “Yeah,” he said, dropping his eyes to mine. “Just like you.”
    Scout’s compliment made me feel lightheaded and giddy. It was very easy to like him. He was undeniably gorgeous and seemed to be reading from a film script with his