Chapters (48)
- 1. One
- 2. Two
- 3. Three
- 4. Four
- 5. Five
- 6. Six
- 7. Seven
- 8. Eight
- 9. Nine
- 10. Ten
- 11. Eleven
- 12. Twelve
- 13. Thirteen
- 14. Fourteen
- 15. Fifteen
- 16. Sixteen
- 17. Seventeen
- 18. Eighteen
- 19. Nineteen
- 20. Twenty
- 21. Twenty-One
- 22. Twenty-Two
- 23. Twenty-Three
- 24. Twenty-Four
- 25. Twenty-Five
- 26. Twenty-Six
- 27. Twenty-Seven
- 28. Twenty-Eight
- 29. Twenty-Nine
- 30. Thirty
- 31. Thirty-One
- 32. Thirty-Two
- 33. Thirty-three
- 34. Thirty-Four
- 35. Thirty-Five
- 36. Thirty-Six
- 37. Thirty-Seven
- 38. Thirty-Eight
- 39. Thirty-Nine
- 40. Forty
- 41. Forty-One
- 42. Forty-Two
- 43. Forty-three
- 44. Epilogue
- Afterword
- Also by
- Acknowledgments
- About Author
My knees bounced against the table when a waitress came up to us. She was wearing a tight pink top that showed off her chest and black pants that accented her waist. She had short black hair and gave me a devilish smile. I knew that look. It was a look that I had seen before, eyes trailing up and down me and lashes blinking innocently. I used to not mind it. I liked the idea of attracting women my way and feeling like I could have them without any complaints. But now that I had met Olive, I was at the mercy of a woman who acted a little disgusted by my presence. Apparently, my taste buds were maturing.
“Good evening! What can I get you?” She smiled at me, not acknowledging Olive. I frowned, putting my hand on the back of her chair and scooting it closer to me. The metal scraping against the floor captured the attention of other diners, but I didn’t care. Olive deserved to be more than a second thought or complete ignorance. Affectionately, I placed a hand on her legging-covered thigh. The tiny waitress looked between Olive and me, down to my hand and back to my face.
“We would both like a hot chocolate for now. Thanks.” I said in a clipped tone. I had no interest in anyone other than the Grinch sitting on my right. The waitress hesitated a beat before leaving to get our drinks. Olive stared at the rink, ignoring my hand on her leg. The mood had shifted since the waitress took our drink order. I tapped my finger on her leg to get her attention.
“You all good?” I tilted my head and looked into her pretty green eyes.
She hesitated but said, “Yup, I’m fine.”
Oh gosh. That was not what I needed to hear. If I learned anything from my mother, it was that when anyone said they are fine, it usually meant they weren’t.
“Did I do something?” I leaned closer to her, hoping she would meet my eyes.
“No, no. It’s just…does every girl flirt with you the second they see you?”
Ahh, so that’s what it was about. I grinned mischievously at her. “You jealous, Little Grinch?”
Olive opened her mouth like she was offended, and I grinned harder. “Absolutely not. I just think it was rude of her, if we were together, I mean.”
Her arms crossed, and I tried to avoid looking at how her chest moved when she did so. I gave her a look that said suuuuure, and she continued. “I’m serious, Finn. I don’t care because we’re not actually together. I just think it was rude.”