Reluctance Read Online Free Page B

and Dahlia had no choice but to accept.

    * * * * *

    "You're going out with Jace ?"
    Dahlia cringed at the pain and betrayal she heard in Cam's voice.
    "You don't think I should?" she asked.
    He threw his hands out in frustration with a grunt that reflected his annoyance.
    "What about us?"
    "Us?"
    "Us!" Cam exploded. "I thought we were . . . ." Unable to complete his sentence, he turned to her with tortured eyes.
    "I'm sorry, Cam." And she genuinely was. Given the choice, she wouldn't have considered Jace for one second. But she had no choice. As soon as her birthday came and she turned twenty-one, she either had to have chosen . . . or have the choice made for her. As much as she would give to be able to choose Cam, to keep him by her side forever, she knew she couldn't do it to him. Not even to spare him the hurt he was feeling now. Not even for her own happiness.
    "You're sorry ?"
    "Well, yeah. I mean, I didn't know there was anything . . . you know, exclusive between us. I mean, we've never talked about it."
    Cam stared at her like she had grown two heads. She could imagine he would have the same look, only mixed with disgust, horror, and hatred, were he to ever discover the monster she really was.
    "Well, I kind of figured it was obvious, that we didn't really need to make any kind of formal declaration. Neither of us dates anyone else."
    She took a deep breath. This was much harder than she'd thought it would be.
    "It's just one date, Cam."
    "Yup," he said, pain causing his words to come out abruptly. "And he only asked you out to get back at me."
    Dahlia's mouth dropped open. She'd known Jace must have had a reason for approaching her. She even suspected the reason had to do with Cam. But Cam telling her—insinuating that Jace would never have asked her out otherwise—cut her. Cam's eyes reflected his regret over his harsh words, but he didn't retract them. He simply turned and walked away from her.

    * * * * *

    "You're going out with Jace McMahon ?"
    Dahlia had heard these words before—laced with pain and betrayal when Cam spoke them., Aster squealed them out with a mixture of joy and disbelief.
    "Yes," Dahlia answered blandly.
    "Well, wha—" Aster could not continue.
    Dahlia stood stunned. It was only the second time she'd ever seen Aster stumped for words. On both occasions, a guy Dahlia was dating was the cause.
    "Okay, then," Aster finally announced. "We need to get you ready."
    Dahlia looked down at her beige skirt and brown sweater, which she'd always considered one of her best outfits. She'd even put her favorite barrette in her hair.
    "I am ready," she told Aster.
    Aster's looked Dahlia up and down, shaking her head. "No."
    "No?"
    "No," Aster said even more firmly. "You do not go out with Jace McMahon dressed like Nanny McPhee."
    "I'm not—"
    "Come on." Aster grabbed Dahlia's arm, spinning her toward Aster's room.
    Two hours later, Dahlia emerged from Aster's room looking like any one of the grasping girls who hovered around Jace each day. Aster had straightened her hair—no easy task that—and put makeup on her like a professional. She'd dressed her sister in tight, black leather pants, a red, lace blouse with flared sleeves, and a black leather vest.
    After Dahlia's failed attempt to walk in high heels, Aster agreed to let Dahlia wear the same boots she'd worn for her first date with Cam.
    Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, Dahlia thought she looked like a movie version of a vampire. She'd never felt so uncomfortable in her life.
    However, when she saw Jace's face as he spied her coming down the stairs, she grudgingly gave Aster credit for knowing what she was doing. Jace couldn't seem to stop looking at her. And, as much as his look gave her the creepy-crawlies, it moved her toward her goal.
    Her parents were beyond thrilled with Jace, though her mother hadn't cornered Jace as she had Cam, but stood conversing with him in the foyer. They'd been pretty happy about Cam, but, in Jace, they