Beautiful Abyss (California Dreamers #3) Read Online Free Page B

plenty for me.”
    It’s not enough to feed a small child, but I don’t say that. She looks sad that she piled so much food on her plate without thinking about it.
    “Really,” I tell her. “Eat.”
    The corners of her mouth finally turn up slightly when she sees I’m serious. It’s not a big deal. I’m just glad that she’s happy.
    Just as I suspected she devours her meal almost as quickly as she ate the egg rolls. I have no idea where it all goes, but she somehow manages to finish every last bite. She doesn’t even leave a single grain of rice on the plate.
    I actually feel bad that I ate the little bit of rice and beef that she left. She still looks hungry.
    “Do you want desert?” I ask.
    She bites her bottom lip. “Can we go for ice cream?”
    “Of course.”
    Her face lights up. “I know just the place.”
    “The Ice Cream Stop,” we both say at the same time.
    “You have great taste,” she tells me.
    “I am here with you,” I reply.
    That makes her blush. “I meant in food.”
    When the waiter brings the bill I put down the two twenties. Looks like a big tip is out of the question if we’re going for ice cream.
    I pocket most of the change the waiter brings except for two dollars. I don’t want to look cheap, so I also give him the two dollars I had left in my pocket from the change from the nursery.
    “Thank you so much for lunch,” Abby tells me as we both rise from the table.
    “My pleasure,” I reply.
    I just hope my stomach doesn’t growl because now I’m starting to actually get hungry.
    Once we’re outside I’m shocked when Abby grabs my hand. My chest tightens and it’s a little harder for me to breathe.
    Is the girl of my dreams actually holding my hand? I was afraid to even touch her, and she just grabbed my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
    “It’s such a nice day,” she remarks as we head towards The Ice Cream Stop.
    I look down at our joined hands. It just got a lot nicer.
    There’s a small lineup when we get to the ice cream place. We didn’t get a chance to talk very much at the restaurant because she was so busy eating. I hope we can talk a little more while we eat our ice cream.
    Once we make it to the counter I allow her to order first. I only have ten bucks left and I want to make sure that I have enough to pay for both of us.
    As I suspected she orders a double strawberry in a waffle cone with whip cream and sprinkles. It’s over five dollars and will be more with tax. I order a single scoop of chocolate just to play it safe. When the cashier rings up our order the total is nine twenty-nine. I breathe a sigh of relief.
    I give the cashier my last ten dollar bill and toss the change in the tip jar.
    Abby heads for one of the outdoor tables with an umbrella and I follow.
    Once we both plop down she takes a lick of her ice cream. She doesn’t eat it nearly as fast as she did the Chinese food.
    She actually seems to be savoring it. And moaning a little bit as she eats it.
    Which reminds me of sex.
    “Are you going to eat that?” Abby points to the small cone that’s starting to melt and dribble down my finger.
    I lick my finger then take a quick lick of the cone. It’s the best ice cream in town as far as I’m concerned. Abby seems to be really enjoying hers as well.
    “So do you live with your aunt and uncle?” I ask her.
    She freezes mid-lick. You’d think I had just asked her if I could have her kidney.
    “I do,” she says finally. “They took me in after my mom and dad kicked me out.”
    She looks so innocent. What could she have possibly done that caused her parents to kick her out of the house?
    I open my mouth to ask, but then remember that she said she doesn’t like talking about herself.
    “My parents might not have even realized I moved out,” I tell her instead.
    “How long ago was that?” she asks.
    “Five years.”
    She laughs. “Seriously? You don’t think they’d notice in five years?”
    I shake my head.