Irreplaceable Read Online Free Page B

spoon.
    “Bet it’s not as yummy as yours, d’ough.”
    I smiled. No matter how much anger I held for his father,
Oliver was as sweet a child as you could find.
    “We should get going. Cassandra looks tired,” Julia said,
sensing the tension in the room. I offered her a grateful but uncomfortable
smile.
    “I’ll come see you when I get home, and I’ll have Hilary
bring Scout by tonight for you,” I told Oliver.
    He stretched up on his tiptoes and rested his head over
my chest. My arms held him in place for a pause, relishing the comfort he
exuded. I brushed a hand through his mop of blond curls. “Make sure Scout gets
lots of love,” I whispered.
    He looked up and nodded. “I will. Promise.”
    He was such a good kid. Luck was definitely on my side
when fate placed him in the house beside me. If only I could say the same for
his father.
    Logan walked back to my bed, and my posture stiffened
when he leaned down. “I’ll be back tonight with dinner, and we’ll finish
talking,” he murmured. “Till then, sleep well.” His lips brushed over my cheek,
lighting my soul on fire in spite of myself.
    Closing my eyes, I sunk into the stiff mattress. Sleep
is exactly what I need right now .
     

Chapter Three
    Control
     
    A man of his word, Logan entered
the room just past six that evening carrying a plate of food, but not from the
cafeteria. As he drew closer, a relaxed look settling over his face, I noticed
the plate held my favorite childhood meal: two chili dogs, with waffle fries
and orange slices on the side.
    My mother had to have been to blame for his knowledge of
it, and I wondered what other little tidbits of information she’d shared.
    “Hope you’re hungry,” he commented, setting the plate on
the tray beside me then wheeling it closer to rest in front of me, hovering
over my lap.
    “Considering the nurses never delivered my dinner, which
I’m sure you had something to do with, yes, I am.”
    The chili dogs smelled delicious. My mouth salivated, and
I couldn’t help but snatch a fry. Oh, yeah—he was good.
    I swallowed and looked up at him questioningly. “So what
else did my mother tell you about her only daughter? The name of my childhood
crush? Or perhaps the date of my first period?”
    Stuffing my mouth full of fries, I hoped to disgust him
as much as he’d disgusted me that fateful night. I refused to let him know how
wonderful the meal was. Why couldn’t he just drop off the food and leave, letting
a girl eat in peace?
    “No, but I can always give her another call.” He raised
his brows and pulled out his phone, earning him a deserved scowl as I sunk my
teeth into the juicy hotdog.
    God, was it good. Damn it.
    “Did you bring anything for yourself, or are you planning
on watching me eat all this alone? ‘Cause I’m not sharing.”
    His face lit up, amused at my hard tone. “I could watch
you eat every day, sweetheart,” he said with a smile, sitting in the chair
beside my bed.
    There it was: a name that once completed me, but now
caused me to spit the rest of my hotdog into the cloth napkin. My appetite was
gone. I wasn’t his, and I never would be.
    “Something wrong with it?” He watched with a mystified
stare as I stuffed the napkin under the rim of the plate.
    “No, but something is very wrong with you sitting here as
though it’s the most normal thing for you to do after I offered myself up on a
silver platter and you laughed in my face.”
    His carefree manner was replaced with a distraught frown.
“Cassandra, I never laughed—”
    “Don’t try to make me feel better, Logan. I made a fool
of myself, and you know it! The truth is out there, and you can’t take that
back.” I pushed the tray forward, needing more space to think, to breathe,
before angling my head to the side, scowling. “You wanted to fuck me! If
Natasha hadn’t shown up that night, you would have, proving I was just like
every other girl.”
    “Please, you have to—”
    “No! I don’t have to