Kelly's Quest (NYC LOVE Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

that would make my married sister flush.
    His thumb brushes along my lower lip. “What do you say you and I make a little magic?” I close my eyes, unable to stop myself from responding to his touch. “How many days do we have before you leave the city?”
    With his last question, my eyes pop open. Maybe I’ve become über sensitive with all that’s happened in my past and Jewels’s recent assumption that I wanted to hook up with Erik, but since Theo thinks I’m about to leave, and only wants a one-time fling suddenly makes me feel dirty and disposable.
    I lean away like I’ve been backhanded. “What makes you assume I’d want to ‘make magic’with you?”
    “I’m sorry, I thought that’s what we were hinting at here.” He blinks several times, appearing blown away by my question. “And Jewels said—”
    “Fuck what Jewels said!” I spring to my feet and dart to the patio door, struggling to find my breath. I can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt that my best friend would sell me out like that. I throw Theo a resentful look over my shoulder. “And you can forget it, because I’m not going to fuck you!”
    “Wait a minute,” Theo calls after me. “That’s not—”
    I move past Jewels and Adam who are busy directing the movers where to put the new furniture. Jewels has the bottle of champagne in her hand, but she doesn’t seem to notice me as I sneak past the living room. I grab my purse off a moving box in the entryway and slip out the front door.
     
    My mind’s racing as I dart inside the tavern at the end of the block. The dark quiet of the place offers exactly the kind of refuge I need to clear my head, and a good dose of alcohol will help calm me down.
    After all I’ve done for Jewels, all the times I picked her up when she fell down, all the times I let her cry on my shoulder, she had the nerve to tell Theo I was good to go for a one-night stand? The sting of betrayal swells inside of me, festering into a deep rage.
    I guess it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’ve spent a lifetime being less than stellar in the eyes of those I love. Of the five daughters my parents raised, I was their biggest disappointment. The first couple years of high school I maintained a pretty decent GPA like the rest of them, but I wasn’t president of the debate team like Megan, or a starter for the basketball team like Sarah. I didn’t place as a runner-up for junior beauty pageants like Glori, or sweep state records for hurdles in track and field like Ella.
    It was always challenging to get past the fact that I was unaccomplished in my parents’ eyes. As the youngest, my far less notable achievements were swept under the rug to make way for my far more gifted sisters. By my senior year, I became more concerned with locating the next big party, and setting my sights on the biggest hottie of the bunch to become my latest conquest. I was obsessed with the idea of finding someone who would treat me special, burning through guy after guy and never really having a boyfriend.
    Because my grades took a considerable dive, my chances of being accepted to some of the most prestigious colleges in the country that I once had my sights set on were shattered. By that point, however, I really didn’t give a shit.
    I wish I could still say I didn’t give a shit, but the way my parents and everyone else sees me now really stings.
    “What’ll ya have?” a short redhead asks from behind the bar as I settle into one of the dark green stools. She’s exceptionally spindly with bright green eyes set close together, and smiles tightly like she knows it’s the only way she’ll score any tips.
    I pull out my wallet and flash my ID. “Whiskey sour. Better yet, just Jameson on the rocks. Make it a double.”
    I hear a low snicker behind me. Rather suddenly, Adam’s brother slips onto the stool at my side, his baby blues flashing down to where my shirt dips low. “I would’ve pictured you as a daiquiri kind of