Beautiful Curses: Book One Read Free Page A

kind of nervous and she shot a glance around the room to try and steady herself. "Are the others visiting the village?" she asked, not looking at anyone.
     James smiled again. “Well, Spencer talks non-stop about his two favourite sisters. I wanted to be the first one to meet you both, so I bribed the other lads to stay away this time.”
     Spencer ruffled his short brown locks and shook his head. “The others had plans, so we’re stuck with James. Anyway, I barely mention you, unless he asks. He’s been begging to come to the farm. He’s a bit hard up for female company.”
     James rubbed his chin and laughed. “Yeah, most girls leave me for dead once they meet Spencer—the ladies can’t get enough of him.”
     Then he winked at Jo and she suddenly needed to sit down. The more James spoke and flashed those lovely blue eyes at her, the more her heart raced and her legs became unstable. She literally dropped down on the couch next to Spencer and took another sip of water.
     Gabriella hadn’t shifted her eyes from James. Laughing lightly, she flicked her long black hair over her shoulder, drawing James’s gaze. “I find that hard to believe. Those London girls must go around wearing blindfolds.”
    Jo suppressed the urge to gag, she had seen Gabriella in action more times than she could count, but this time for some strange reason, it really annoyed her.
    In an attempt to divert her thoughts, she turned to Spencer, “I ... um ... asked Beth about the movies ... she can make it on Friday night. Is that okay?”
     A smile tugged at Spencer’s lips as if he were remembering something good, then he shrugged. “I suppose. What do you think James? We’re all going to see that new movie about the extreme Poets.”
     “Yeah, I read a review and they rated it. I like the lead actor.”
     Gabriella tucked her slender legs up onto the couch making her pleated uniform rise to expose her black tights. Once again James’s eyes wandered over her and Jo felt the heat rise in her cheeks.  She shook her head and took another sip of water as Gabriella continued to flirt.
    “Lance Rivers, I really like him too, James,” she continued, fluttering her eyelashes. “Did you see that last movie …”
     Jo tried to be interested as they discussed the actor she couldn’t care less about, but her mind wandered. She’d heard Spencer mention James a few times as they shared a room at university, but she didn’t know anything about him. Usually she didn’t bother thinking about boys with Gabriella around. There wasn’t much point. But with James’s long dark locks, three day growth, and the thin scar running down one side of his cheek, she couldn’t help it. He was one of the best looking boys she’d ever seen. He kind of reminded her of those scruffy rogues in those trashy historical romances. Not that she had read many. She got a few free from her book club, and was curious, so ...
     “What actors do you like, Jo?”
      Huh?  No one ever interrupted Gabriella’s conversation and James had just cut her off in mid-sentence to talk to her.
     Jo twisted the cap on the water bottle. “Um … um … no one in particular,” she stammered.
     “You never remember their names, Jo,” Gabriella interjected. “I’ve seen you pine over those dreary actors in those boring BBC dramas you like so much.”
     James continued looking at Jo, completely ignoring Gabriella. “What about movies? What's your favourite?”
     “Um ...” Jo clenched her fingers in her lap. Plucking courage from somewhere she managed, “Mostly historical dramas … and novel adaptations, when the movie stays true to the story.”
     “I hate it when movie makers wreck a good story,” James stated.
      “Don’t get Jo started,” Spencer chimed in. “That’s her pet hate. She goes on and on about it ...”
    Jo wanted to smack Spencer about the head, and seriously considered it, but James kept watching her, his blue eyes sparkling under