Always and Forever Read Free

Michael said. “I see the way you look ather car. Wouldn’t you like to have someone hand you the keys to a machine like that, absolutely free?”
    “I didn’t say money isn’t important. I said it doesn’t buy happiness.”
    Michael leaned across the table and tugged affectionately on her hair. “Ah, the idealism of a sixteen-year-old! What I’d give to have it again.”
    Melissa lunged at him and he laughed, catching her wrist. She grimaced as his fingers closed around her bruise. He dropped her arm and eyed the ugly purple mark in surprise. “What’s that? And how did you get it?”
    “Just a bruise, and I don’t know.” She was curious about her bruises too, but couldn’t figure out how she got them. “Probably stumbling around in the dark at four A.M .,” she said, poking Michael lightly in the arm.
    “Does it hurt?”
    “It’s a little sore, but it’ll go away.” Unable to divert his look of concern, she teased, “You know how we princesses are. Just a pea under our mattress and we turn black and blue.”
    Michael stood and stretched, his physique rippling with muscle. “I think I’m gonna crash for a couple of hours before I go to work. Tell Mom not to count on me for supper. I’m working overtime at the warehouse shelving stock. We get paid double time on Saturdays you know.”
    “You don’t
have
to work so hard for your money,” Melissa said, the light of mischief in her eyes.
    “How’s that?”
    “You could always marry it.”
    Michael shook his head in amusement. “And I’ll bet you can fix me up with just the right rich girl.”
    “In a few years.” Melissa smiled. “She’s much too young for you now.”
    “You’re a hopeless romantic, Sis.”
    “And you’re a hopeless pragmatic.”
    “I tell you what, when you get that law degree, I’ll hire you to run my empire.”
    She stuck out her tongue, and he bounded out of the kitchen with a laugh.
    On Monday, Jory picked Melissa up for school. Melissa decided it wasn’t a bad way to arrive each day—in a sporty white convertible with plush red interior. After Jory’s second tour of the parking lot, Melissa asked, “Is there some reason we’re cruising and not parking?”
    “Absolutely. We want to be seen, don’t we? How can we march straight into the building without first making sure that everyone at Lincoln is totally aware of our arrival?” To emphasize her point, Jory waved at a group of students congregated in the lot. Behind them, Lincoln High rose, an ultramodern glass and concrete structure, only two years old and already nearly filled to capacity. Yellow buses unloaded at the far end of the parking lot, and Melissa was glad she didn’t have to be on one.
    “When you’re finished cruising, could you please park? I need to get to homeroom early,” Melissa said. “On Friday, Mr. Marshall said he wanted to see me first thing today.”
    “Ugh.” Jory wrinkled her nose. “What a way to start the week. Well, it can’t be anything you’ve done wrong—everyone knows Melissa Austin is the model student.”
    Jory slowed and honked. Melissa glanced in thedirection her friend waved, and her heart suddenly somersaulted into her throat. Brad Kessing stood next to his bronze Firebird, dressed in khaki slacks and a sky-blue cotton shirt that accentuated his athletic build. The sunlight highlighted his golden blond hair. “Hey, Brad,” Jory called.
    Melissa started fidgeting around in her purse for her hairbrush, and her nervousness must have caught Jory’s attention. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
    “I just noticed that I look a mess. My hair’s got a mind of its own today and—”
    “Melissa, do you have a thing for Brad?”
    “Oh, he’s all right.”
    “All right?” Jory mused. “Then how come you’re turning three shades of red?”
    “I am not!”
    “Are too!”
    Melissa settled pleading eyes on her friend. “Just keep it to yourself, okay?”
    “Why? I can introduce you two. Brad and I go