“Well, okay. It is your name. But it’s not your name. I didn’t put it there because of you. I got it for my boyfriend.”
His brows jutted up dangerously.
“Ex-boyfriend.”
He didn’t look pacified.
“Actually, it was supposed to be a butterfly.” Shut up, Liv. “Or a flower. That’s what I was trying to point to. But I was shaking a little bit and I guess my hand must’ve slipped, and… You know.” Finally—finally—she got her stupid mouth closed.
“No.” The word came out flat, like Caleb had crushed it with the power of his anger. “I don’t know.”
“I’m not good with needles. So I was a little nervous when I went inside.” She really needed to stop there. Telling Caleb the whole story would only give him more ammunition to use against her. But his intense stare was completely focused on her. The muscles inside her throat bypassed her brain entirely, like he was controlling them through the power of his gaze, and the next thing she knew, she’d told him exactly what had happened.
“You were freaking out so bad you didn’t even know you’d pointed to my-boyfriend’s-name-here instead of a butterfly, and CJ didn’t say anything?”
“I don’t think he…you know. Realized how badly I was freaking out.”
“Bullshit.” The word exploded from Caleb’s throat, so fast and hard it almost knocked her on her ass. “One thing you’re not is subtle. If he didn’t notice, it’s because he chose not to.”
“I—”
“I’m gonna have a little talk with CJ.” Caleb regarded her, all pulsing veins and clenched jaw, clearly in the mood to do way more than talk.
She drew a heaving breath. She’d never seen Caleb so raw and powerful. So completely engaged.
“Where is he?” Caleb demanded.
“He’s gone.”
“What’s his address?” With that fierce intensity in his eyes, he wasn’t Captain Integrity anymore. He was a man and she was a woman and anything could happen.
“Come on. What are you going to do? Hunt him down and kick his ass?” She shivered. Because she wasn’t picturing him kicking CJ’s ass. She saw him taking all that energy and putting it to use to satisfy an entirely different urge. He’d press her against the wall, and—
Jeez. What was wrong with her?
“Where is he?” The words were soft. Level. But Caleb’s stare was brimming with violence.
She tried for a laugh, but it came out flat. “Who are you, and what have you done with Captain Integrity?”
As if she’d flipped a switch inside his head, all outward signs of his anger disappeared. He ran a hand over his forehead. Cleared his throat. “Sorry."
"That's, uh, okay."
"I got a little carried away. I won’t touch CJ, but I have to do something. There has to be something I can do to make it better.” He spoke in his normal, even tone, but as if a curtain had been lifted, she saw the violence roiling beneath it like it was a physical thing coming off of his skin. Something that made her soft and warm and wet, because it didn’t seem like an overprotective-brother reaction. It seemed more like—
She cut the thought off there. “If you really want to help, there is one thing you could do. But you’re not going to like it.”
“Let me worry about that.”
She hesitated. Caleb clearly wasn’t himself right now. It would be wrong to take advantage of him in this vulnerable state.
Or, maybe he was himself. Maybe she’d met the real Caleb for the first time today.
It couldn’t be healthy for him to keep so much bottled up inside. And if being around her helped him get in touch with his feelings, they’d be doing each other a favor.
Her mind made up, she slanted him a you-know-you-want-to smile. “The thing is, I kind of need a boyfriend.”
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ALSO BY AVA BLACKSTONE
The Voretti Family Series:
Marriage: Impossible
Love and Learn
Pretty in Ink
Catching Cleo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Though she was always an avid reader, Ava Blackstone didn’t discover her love for writing until she’d obtained her PhD in chemistry. As an alternative to the structured world of science, and with a little motivation from her husband, she began writing romance novels. Now she can’t imagine doing anything else.
Ava is a winner and two-time finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® contest and has published five short romance stories in Woman’s World magazine. She is currently hard at work on the next contemporary romance in her Voretti Family series. You can find her at her website: http://avablackstone.com.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks so much to all the people who helped make this book possible.
The romance writing community is incredibly supportive, and I’m so glad to be a part of it. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to critique my writing, give me advice about writing craft and publishing, and share their own experiences. Thanks especially to the FPEs—Cassi, Georgie, Janet, Lisa, Marie, Melissa, Rachael, and Tami—who gave me great advice, support, and critiques. From back-cover blurbs to titles to industry knowledge, you’ve been amazing and generous, and you make writing so much more fun. Ellie, Laura, and Rachael—thank you for your awesome critique skills and even more awesome moral support. And thank you to my Ruby Sisters for being an incredible source of inspiration and knowledge.
Thanks also to my editor Naomi Hughes, for helping me make this book the best it could be.
And, finally, thank you to my family—my mother, who was forced to read way too many of my early writing attempts, and encouraged me to keep going; my father, who built me bookshelves and knows everything; my brothers, who are awesome in general; and my husband, who is endlessly supportive, and sometimes even pretends to listen when I’m babbling about romance novel plot lines.
Love and Learn (Voretti Family Book 2) Page 18
