Without a Doubt by Lindsay Paige Read Free Book Online Page A

would be back home soon.”
    “You had a girl for a best friend? Are you still best friends or was that a kindergarten-long friendship?”
    Just like that, his back goes rigid and his hands stop moving in the sink. What's wrong with what I asked? Emerson clears his throat. “Yeah, her name was Kelly. We stayed friends.” He struggles to keep his voice casual. “We dated in high school, but broke up when I left for college. I don't talk to her anymore.” He even adds a shrug for good measures, but I'm not fooled.
    My heart beats faster at what this means. She wasn't simply a high school girlfriend; she was his childhood best friend. That's a serious bond and it's supposedly over? Just like that? This is my chance to ask questions. The topic is here and if I want to know more, I could ask.
    But I don't.
    I don't want to know anything else that will make me more scared to continue hanging out with Emerson. If I ask questions, that's exactly what will happen, especially if Emerson decides he doesn't want to answer them.
    “That sucks,” I say quietly. “Did you set the timer for the brownies?” I ask to change the subject.

 
     

     
    “WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE thing about living on your own?” Eva asks as she takes a bite of her third brownie. The girl seriously loves them.
    “I like knowing that I'm solely responsible for my success and failures. I feel like I was before, but it's more true now. And I like living by my own rules. What's your favorite thing about not living with your parents?”
    She stretches her legs out in front of her and rests her hands on her stomach now that the brownie is gone. “My parents were pretty flexible to start with, so I don't know. I don't feel like much has changed. I do my own laundry and pick up after myself. I did that when I lived with them.” She releases a heavy breath. “I shouldn't have had that last brownie. I'm overstuffed.”
    I laugh. “Me too. I think you have the stomach of a guy.”
    Eva glares. “You don't know how to flirt, do you? Or you don't know there's a list of things to not say to a girl.”
    “I didn't say you looked like a guy,” I point out.
    “Doesn't make it any better, Emerson.”
    “Either way, I think it should be noted that I can flirt.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “I can,” I repeat. “If you don't think so, then I still have to be doing something right. You're here, aren't you?”
    Eva rolls her eyes. “Don't be so smug. Maybe I have an ulterior motive.” She turns to rest her back against the armrest and props her feet on my lap.
    “What would that be?” I ask, completely amused.
    She thinks about it for a second. “You've fed me, taken me horseback riding, and made me laugh. I needed someone to do those things for me, and here you are.”
    A smile is begging to appear on my face, but I hold it at bay. “Does this mean you got stung and ran into my truck on purpose then?”
    “That was just fate helping me out.”
    “You believe in fate?”
    Eva shrugs. “Sometimes. Plus, doesn't it sound better to say fate brought people together than pure coincidence? It has a better ring to it. Not to mention that all our choices lead us closer to the next choice, so fate makes more sense. If we had done something differently, made a different choice, then other aspects of our lives would change, too.”
    “You seem like you've thought about it before.”
    “That was all off the top of my head, actually.” She grins. “Older, wiser, and quicker on my feet, Emerson.”
    “One year older can't make you too much wiser than I am.”
    “Well, I'm a girl, so that helps my case, too.”
    I laugh. “You...” I shake my head, at a loss as to how to describe her.
    “I'm too much?” she tries.
    “Yes, you are,” I agree.
    Her grin widens before she turns to lie on her side. “Let's watch a movie.”
    I didn't turn my gaming console off earlier and the controller is still on the end table next to me. After changing the channel and