Beautiful Curses: Book One Read Free

Spencer’s friends must have arrived. She hated meeting new people. Unlike her attention seeking sister, Jo was the total opposite. She always saw herself as a grey kid, someone who blended into the carpet and paintwork, someone whom no one was ever interested in or ever bothered about.
     Opening the front door, laughter and chatter came from the back den. Good, that would give her time to go upstairs, sight unseen. Silently she closed the door and moved through the hall. Baxter, their golden retriever sidled up to her and Jo patted him on the head as she admired the sun filtering through the house. Being a converted barn, most of the living rooms had high ceilings and large windows, which complemented the bright furnishings her aunt Sarah had chosen to decorate with. She wished she could flop down on the big red couch and read her new book, but Spencer would discovered her, and insist she be sociable.
     Sighing softly, she decided to creep upstairs, to collect her thoughts and suck up some courage. She opened her bedroom door and quickly hung her bag on the hook accidently catching her purple ring in the buckle. In a panic, she twisted her wrist back and forth, her heart beating rapidly as she struggled to set it free. Finally loosening the ring, she sank onto the floor, panting like she’d just ran a marathon. Checking her ring over and over she made sure the purple gem hadn’t moved from its normal position.
     Flopping her head back against the cold wall, she took a deep breath and dropped her hand in her lap, closing her eyes, in relief. The ring was very special. Her father had sent a ring for both her and Gabriella on their eighth birthdays. The only time they had ever heard from him. Jo had received an amethyst stone, while Gabriella had a sapphire one. Each setting was completely different. Where Jo's ring was fairly plain, Gabriella's had an intricate casing protecting the stone. In the brief note, her father had said the rings were family heirlooms he wanted passed down to the next generation. Jo guessed they both must be very old. She never got a good look at Gabriella’s though. She never took it off. And never spoke about it. Not surprising though, because she never spoke to Jo about anything unless she had to.
     Jo wished she could write to her father and ask him about the rings. But that wasn’t possible. He’d left when she was a baby and she had no idea where he lived now. He never gave a forwarding address or made any other contact over the years. All she could do was to keep it safe. If her mother hadn’t been killed in an accident seventeen years ago, and her father hadn’t disappeared, she might have the answers she so desperately wanted …
     Loud laughter from downstairs interrupted her thoughts, and she blew out another big breath, knowing Spencer would come looking for her if she didn’t make an appearance soon.
     After pushing herself off the floor and checking her ring one more time she made her way downstairs and entered the kitchen. She quietly opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water, slowly undoing the lid. Opening her mouth to take a swig, she jumped when Spencer called, “Hey, Jo, come in here and meet my friend James.”
        Jo grimaced. There was no chance of escape now. Taking a quick sip from her bottle she forced herself to walk through the doorway into the den. Her eyes met Gabriella’s first. As Jo expected, she sat casually on the chocolate coloured couch, playing with her hair and smiling radiantly. Then her gaze drifted to land on the guest who Gabriella was obviously revelling in getting all the attention from.
     “Hey, Jo, nice to finally meet you,” the lad who must be James, said as he leant forward with a big grin on his very lovely face.
    Jo’s heart started to race and her mouth suddenly went dry, she felt almost giddy.
    Okay, that was new.
     “Um ... Hello,” she replied softly. Not sure why she was reacting that way. This was a different