[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
she likes it that way.
Corrine s eyes flared again. Damn it, I should have kept my mouth shut.
As if you d know what Mom is or isn t. When do you ever go home, Belinda? Or talk to her about
her life? When s the last time you came back for family dinner? You re still walking around pretending
Mom and Dad are just like they used to be, but they re not. They love each other better now. Things have
changed. He s changed. The only one still the same is you.
Something that felt like instant hives formed in the middle of Belinda s back, just like they always did
when she thought about her father and the guilt he d stained her with.
As much as she hated to admit it, Adam and Amanda Riggs did love each other. Desperately. But
their love consumed them. It ate up everything good in their lives as they searched out ways to hurt each
other. Until the day Belinda found a way to use that love to her own ends. The day no one but her father
knew anything about.
After that, Adam Riggs had straightened up, if only outwardly. He came home to his wife, he agreed
to join AA and not so much as a beer had come into their house since. Of course, he and Belinda still
fought. She maintained the upper hand and he resented the hell out of her for it. Her mother had let the
abuse fall into a deep dark hole of forgetfulness, pleased that her husband acted nearly like a decent human
being for once, admonishing Belinda for not acknowledging the man s efforts.
To everyone else, Adam had overcome his addictions.
To Belinda, he was still the same selfish bastard who hated her because she d ruined his life.
If she gave in, how long would it take Lucas to develop the same opinion?
How long would it take her to lose her strength and beg him not to look at her with empty eyes? How
www.samhainpublishing.com 83
Dee Tenorio
long would it be before she ignored his hours away from her side, pretending to herself she didn t know he
was with others? Pretending her love for him wasn t eating at her like acid.
Fear made Belinda curl her fingers into fists, but they trembled anyway. She could never give in.
Never.
There s no talking to you. Corrine sighed, probably mistaking the action for anger, and started the
car as if it were punctuation for emphasis. You re just as unreasonable as Dad.
Don t compare me to him, Belinda said, her voice deadly quiet in the tense atmosphere. You re
probably right about your husband. About the way I treat them all. But I don t do it on purpose, so don t
ever compare me to him.
Corrine shook her head, looking behind the seats as she pulled out of the parking space. At least he s
been able to change. Can you say that about yourself?
Belinda began to tell her what she could do with her ability to change and not in words Corrine
would appreciate but thankfully her cell phone rang, saving her from getting in any deeper. She d barely
answered before Kyle s panicked voice interrupted hers. What?
I can t do that thing with you tonight. A friend of mine is in the hospital. I have to stay here until her
son arrives.
What? Belinda covered her eyes. Kyle, the Cultural Artists dinner has been planned for months.
You got me into this. You can t just drop out.
It s an emergency, Belinda. I don t have a choice.
What am I supposed to do, go alone? She pictured the various people she d have to see and talk to
and something inside her withered further. It d be smarter not to go at all. She d have a better chance at
landing the commission.
Ask Lucas.
Are you insane? Lucas? I have to impress these people, not inspire them to take hacksaws to my art.
He s not that bad in social situations, Kyle mumbled, but he didn t even sound convinced. Tell
him to do the arm candy thing.
She snorted.
Sorry, kid, but I can t leave. Lucas is your best bet. But you already knew that, didn t you?
She narrowed her eyes, even though he couldn t see it. This was apparently her day for confrontation.
What are you getting at?
Belinda, come on. Be honest. When something goes wrong, I call you. Probably won t be the case
anymore, but that s the way it s always been.
It s been the same for me. Sort of.
Sure, you call me. Who do you think of first? Who do you want to call?
Lucas. Damn it. And damn him for knowing. For knowing her answer right now just by her silence.
84 www.samhainpublishing.com
All or Nothing
Call him. He ll be there for you, like he always is.
I can t. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, finding the dent where it broke when she was eleven with
practiced ease. It s not my turn to dare him.
Who cares about the dares? Ask him.
Who cared? She cared. She wouldn t be putting herself through this hell in the first place if it weren t
for their game.
For once in your life, trust him. He s your friend and he s never let you down before.
Yes, he had. Once. But, she admitted at the pang in her heart, she d let him down, too. She couldn t
hold prom night against him forever.
She ignored her sister s oddly concerned look and stared up at the ceiling of the car while Corrine
pulled into traffic. If this is one of your idiot plots, Kyle, I ll string you up by your own tendons, I swear to
God.
That s what I ve always liked about you, Belinda. You re so feminine and sweet.
That s not a denial, she chimed.
No, it s not. But it s not one of my plans, either. Fate just happened to work in your favor this time.
Had it? She let him end the call and waited for her sister to get nosy.
Something wrong? Eight whole seconds. Had to be a record. At least Corrine was finished being
angry. Nothing switched her sibling s mood like good gossip.
No. Well, not for you. This is your lucky day. Belinda fingered the numbers she d have to dial.
Oh yeah? What d I win?
Belinda leaned her head against the seat headrest and wished she didn t have to do this. Trust him.
Trust him. God, was there ever a harder gig on the face of the earth?
He won t let you down. He s your friend. This wasn t about being lovers or players in a game. This
was simply a friend asking for a favor. Just like when she asked Kyle.
But Lucas was never Kyle.
And for one night, she d have to ask him to be.
He was really going to hate her for this one. She swallowed, but her mouth was too dry to do anything
but rasp. In a vague way, she was aware of Corrine s slight frown, but it didn t matter. She was dialing.
Belinda? Hey, what d I win? Corrine asked again.
Belinda finally answered before putting the phone to her ear. Not only did you get to chew on me,
now you get to hear me grovel.
www.samhainpublishing.com 85
Chapter Eight
You re frowning again.
Lucas maneuvered his car through traffic, feeling strung tight on so many levels and they hadn t even
gotten to the damn banquet yet. Getting it out of the way.
Oh. She was probably smiling, but he didn t dare look over. Looking at her on his own two feet was
difficult. Looking at her while he was driving& that was just suicide.
Her hair was cut into a pixie style that made the most of the tiny wave. Her eyes were made up with
graceful arcs of soft rosy peach shades and artful lines that made her lashes seem impossibly long. She was
an adult version of the girl he hadn t seen in twelve years. The dress was like sunset ice cream, if such a
thing existed. Blended shades of afternoon light wrapped around her in a strapless gown so touchably soft
he actually asked who she stole it from.
She threw her purse at him and had him tie the silver skull choker she d made around her neck, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
she likes it that way.
Corrine s eyes flared again. Damn it, I should have kept my mouth shut.
As if you d know what Mom is or isn t. When do you ever go home, Belinda? Or talk to her about
her life? When s the last time you came back for family dinner? You re still walking around pretending
Mom and Dad are just like they used to be, but they re not. They love each other better now. Things have
changed. He s changed. The only one still the same is you.
Something that felt like instant hives formed in the middle of Belinda s back, just like they always did
when she thought about her father and the guilt he d stained her with.
As much as she hated to admit it, Adam and Amanda Riggs did love each other. Desperately. But
their love consumed them. It ate up everything good in their lives as they searched out ways to hurt each
other. Until the day Belinda found a way to use that love to her own ends. The day no one but her father
knew anything about.
After that, Adam Riggs had straightened up, if only outwardly. He came home to his wife, he agreed
to join AA and not so much as a beer had come into their house since. Of course, he and Belinda still
fought. She maintained the upper hand and he resented the hell out of her for it. Her mother had let the
abuse fall into a deep dark hole of forgetfulness, pleased that her husband acted nearly like a decent human
being for once, admonishing Belinda for not acknowledging the man s efforts.
To everyone else, Adam had overcome his addictions.
To Belinda, he was still the same selfish bastard who hated her because she d ruined his life.
If she gave in, how long would it take Lucas to develop the same opinion?
How long would it take her to lose her strength and beg him not to look at her with empty eyes? How
www.samhainpublishing.com 83
Dee Tenorio
long would it be before she ignored his hours away from her side, pretending to herself she didn t know he
was with others? Pretending her love for him wasn t eating at her like acid.
Fear made Belinda curl her fingers into fists, but they trembled anyway. She could never give in.
Never.
There s no talking to you. Corrine sighed, probably mistaking the action for anger, and started the
car as if it were punctuation for emphasis. You re just as unreasonable as Dad.
Don t compare me to him, Belinda said, her voice deadly quiet in the tense atmosphere. You re
probably right about your husband. About the way I treat them all. But I don t do it on purpose, so don t
ever compare me to him.
Corrine shook her head, looking behind the seats as she pulled out of the parking space. At least he s
been able to change. Can you say that about yourself?
Belinda began to tell her what she could do with her ability to change and not in words Corrine
would appreciate but thankfully her cell phone rang, saving her from getting in any deeper. She d barely
answered before Kyle s panicked voice interrupted hers. What?
I can t do that thing with you tonight. A friend of mine is in the hospital. I have to stay here until her
son arrives.
What? Belinda covered her eyes. Kyle, the Cultural Artists dinner has been planned for months.
You got me into this. You can t just drop out.
It s an emergency, Belinda. I don t have a choice.
What am I supposed to do, go alone? She pictured the various people she d have to see and talk to
and something inside her withered further. It d be smarter not to go at all. She d have a better chance at
landing the commission.
Ask Lucas.
Are you insane? Lucas? I have to impress these people, not inspire them to take hacksaws to my art.
He s not that bad in social situations, Kyle mumbled, but he didn t even sound convinced. Tell
him to do the arm candy thing.
She snorted.
Sorry, kid, but I can t leave. Lucas is your best bet. But you already knew that, didn t you?
She narrowed her eyes, even though he couldn t see it. This was apparently her day for confrontation.
What are you getting at?
Belinda, come on. Be honest. When something goes wrong, I call you. Probably won t be the case
anymore, but that s the way it s always been.
It s been the same for me. Sort of.
Sure, you call me. Who do you think of first? Who do you want to call?
Lucas. Damn it. And damn him for knowing. For knowing her answer right now just by her silence.
84 www.samhainpublishing.com
All or Nothing
Call him. He ll be there for you, like he always is.
I can t. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, finding the dent where it broke when she was eleven with
practiced ease. It s not my turn to dare him.
Who cares about the dares? Ask him.
Who cared? She cared. She wouldn t be putting herself through this hell in the first place if it weren t
for their game.
For once in your life, trust him. He s your friend and he s never let you down before.
Yes, he had. Once. But, she admitted at the pang in her heart, she d let him down, too. She couldn t
hold prom night against him forever.
She ignored her sister s oddly concerned look and stared up at the ceiling of the car while Corrine
pulled into traffic. If this is one of your idiot plots, Kyle, I ll string you up by your own tendons, I swear to
God.
That s what I ve always liked about you, Belinda. You re so feminine and sweet.
That s not a denial, she chimed.
No, it s not. But it s not one of my plans, either. Fate just happened to work in your favor this time.
Had it? She let him end the call and waited for her sister to get nosy.
Something wrong? Eight whole seconds. Had to be a record. At least Corrine was finished being
angry. Nothing switched her sibling s mood like good gossip.
No. Well, not for you. This is your lucky day. Belinda fingered the numbers she d have to dial.
Oh yeah? What d I win?
Belinda leaned her head against the seat headrest and wished she didn t have to do this. Trust him.
Trust him. God, was there ever a harder gig on the face of the earth?
He won t let you down. He s your friend. This wasn t about being lovers or players in a game. This
was simply a friend asking for a favor. Just like when she asked Kyle.
But Lucas was never Kyle.
And for one night, she d have to ask him to be.
He was really going to hate her for this one. She swallowed, but her mouth was too dry to do anything
but rasp. In a vague way, she was aware of Corrine s slight frown, but it didn t matter. She was dialing.
Belinda? Hey, what d I win? Corrine asked again.
Belinda finally answered before putting the phone to her ear. Not only did you get to chew on me,
now you get to hear me grovel.
www.samhainpublishing.com 85
Chapter Eight
You re frowning again.
Lucas maneuvered his car through traffic, feeling strung tight on so many levels and they hadn t even
gotten to the damn banquet yet. Getting it out of the way.
Oh. She was probably smiling, but he didn t dare look over. Looking at her on his own two feet was
difficult. Looking at her while he was driving& that was just suicide.
Her hair was cut into a pixie style that made the most of the tiny wave. Her eyes were made up with
graceful arcs of soft rosy peach shades and artful lines that made her lashes seem impossibly long. She was
an adult version of the girl he hadn t seen in twelve years. The dress was like sunset ice cream, if such a
thing existed. Blended shades of afternoon light wrapped around her in a strapless gown so touchably soft
he actually asked who she stole it from.
She threw her purse at him and had him tie the silver skull choker she d made around her neck, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]