Chasing Butterflies Read Online Free Page B

to respect females. And you respect us.”
    He nods his head. “True.” He grins. “That doesn’t mean I don’t fantasize.”
    I ball up a napkin and throw it at him. “Ugh. TMI.”
    He swats the napkin away. “Hey, what’s the problem? I’m being honest here. Even ugly girls with bad breath need love.”
    Crystal rolls her eyes. “Boy, you couldn’t hammer me if you tried.”
    Cameron shakes his head. “I’m not that interested, Box-troll. Try again.” He looks at me. “But . . .”
    I arch a brow. Tilt my head. “But what?”
    I hold my breath, waiting.
    You never know what’ll come out of Cameron’s mouth. The boy has very little filter.
    “We’ve been friends since fourth—”
    “ Fifth grade, idiot,” Crystal snarls.
    “Right, right. I stand corrected. Since fifth grade.” He smiles thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize our friendships.”
    “Aww,” I say, reaching over the table and squeezing his hand. “I love you, too.”
    “Can I get a kiss then?” He wiggles his brows up and down. “I won’t tell anyone.” He puckers up his lips, then makes a loud kissy noise.
    I snatch my hand back. “ Ill . Nooo.” I laugh. “You’re pathetic.”
    “Marry me, boo.”
    Crystal tilts her head, giving me a look. “See. Horny.”
    I wave her dismissively. “I don’t pay Cameron any mind. You know he’s a play fiend.”
    She gives me an incredulous look. “No. Just fiend . That’s what he is.”
    Cameron smirks. “Says the girl with the dragon breath.” He reaches for her plate and grabs more food. “Dang. All this foreplay has me starving.”
    Crystal pulls her straw from her glass and playfully flicks water on him.
    “Do it again. I like it wet,” he mock-groans, before shoveling French fries into his mouth.
    Crystal gives me a look. “ See . He’s a freak for all things vulgar.”

6
    “H ey, Daddy,” I say a few days later, popping my head into his bright, airy office with the glass wall that offers him a picturesque view of our infinity pool and our enormous backyard lined with beautiful electric-blue jacaranda trees.
    He’s hovered over his desk, glasses on, pen in hand, sketching. He looks up from his blueprints and smiles. “Hey, Butterfly.”
    I step across the threshold, smiling inside. Every time he calls me butterfly I can’t help but smile inside. I feel so loved by him. “Are you busy?”
    He leans back from his glass-top drafting table and removes his glasses. “I’m never too busy for my favorite girl.”
    “Oh, Daddy, stop,” I say lightheartedly. “I’m your only girl.”
    He smiles. “That you are. And you’re still my favorite.”
    I smile back at him.
    Daddy is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my father. I’m saying it because it’s true. He’s thirty-nine, but he looks like he’s younger. And he has a reddish-brown complexion that always looks as if it’s been kissed by the sun. When he’s dressed in his suits, he always looks as if he’s stepping off a photo shoot for GQ magazine.
    And ladies are always looking at him, or trying to catch his eye when I’m out with him. But he doesn’t really pay them any mind, maybe because he’s out with me.
    I know I probably shouldn’t say this. But I think it’s time for Daddy to start dating again. Mommy’s been gone for ten years now, and he deserves to be happy with someone. He says when the time is right, he will. But for now he always says he’s already happy.
    “So what’s up, sweetheart?” Daddy asks, cutting into my reverie.
    “Nothing really.” I clear my throat, and saunter further into the room. “I didn’t know you were working from home today.”
    Daddy’s firm is located in the heart of downtown L.A., and—with close to a hundred architects, interior designers, and urban planners—is ranked among the top five design firms across the state. Ohmygod! Wait. They also have a spectacular studio