Christmas With the Best Man

Christmas With the Best Man Read Free Page B

Book: Christmas With the Best Man Read Free
Author: Ari Thatcher
Ads: Link
drew the word out with incredulity.
    He drew her close, fitting her body into his. His left had rested low on her back. The soft, outward curve of her ass rested beneath his fingertips, which now itched to explore downward.
    “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you can move,” Jasmine said. Her perfume had faded, but when she leaned closer to speak to him, the scent drifted up. For some strange reason, smelling it now was so much different than when she’d passed him in the hallway that morning. Her body had absorbed it, made it a part of her. It was way too sensual for his liking.
    He hadn’t had enough to drink to use that as an excuse. But he was going to anyway. He remembered what they’d been discussing and tried to clear his head of thoughts of her body. “No, you shouldn’t. Before everyone recognized us, Chaz and I used to hit the clubs. He’s a pretty good dancer, too.”
    “I’ve known you more than a year and I know nothing about you.”
    Anything she asked, he could demand she answer, too. This discussion could get interesting. “What do you want to know?”
    “Favorite—”
    “No, don’t do that. Favorites are boring. If you’re going to ask, ask big.”
    Jasmine’s eyes widened briefly, then her features relaxed into a cool persona. “Hmmm. What should I ask?”
    “Okay, now you’re insulting me. You actually don’t want to know anything about me.”
    “I do, but you’re so…you wear this mask when you’re in public. No, you have two masks. One is Joe Average, just any old guy on the street, which makes you invisible to everyone. Then there’s the one you put on just before going on stage. It’s a transformation. You don’t pretend to be Joey Hughes, rock star, you become him.”
    “I am him. You’re crazy.” He couldn’t admit how right she was. An energy shot through his veins as he walked toward the stage. He woke up, became alive. Not because of the lights, the fame. He could easily give that up. The screams of an audience, showing how much pleasure Marino’s music gave them, that’s what drove him. Their enjoyment fed him. Writing and playing music was the nectar of the gods.
    Damn, he was lucky.
    Leaning back, Jasmine studied his face. “Where did you go?”  
    “Where am I gonna go? We’re stuck on this island until the weather clears.”
    She shook her head, a smile spreading her lips. “You know what I mean.”
    “I thought you wanted to get to know me.”
    “Telling me where your thoughts drift off to would tell me more than any question I could ask.”
    She had him there. The question was whether he wanted to let her inside his head. He had no reason not to. She wasn’t going to hit social media the minute he spoke. No one besides Chaz knew him as well as she was asking to know him.
    He might not let her fully inside, but it didn’t hurt to open the door. “I was thinking how lucky I am. I’m living the dream. My dream.”
    “Well, that’s no secret. All five of you in the band seem to have taken the stress-free flight to happiness. Sometimes I’m envious.”
    “What’s your dream?”
    Her lips pressed together and she gazed off over his shoulder. “I don’t know. It hasn’t completely taken shape. Isn’t that sad? I’m twenty-seven and don’t know what I want to do with my life.”
    The song ended and he led her back to their table. After getting another round of ale, he sat opposite her. “What do the pieces of the dream look like? What did Jasmine-ette want to be when she grew up?”
    “She wanted to be out of the house and living on her own.”
    You’d never know to look at her that she’d had an unhappy childhood. “Life at home was rough?”
    “No horror stories. No made-for-TV movies, either. Mom died young. Dad had to work two jobs to support us. Each day after school we went to the apartment next door to hang out until Dad got home.” Her expression didn’t show how she felt about growing up that way, nor did her tone of voice.

Similar Books

Angel's Ransom

David Dodge

Money in the Bank

P. G. Wodehouse

Murder by Magic

Rosemary Edghill

Woodsman Werebear

T. S. Joyce

The Fairy Rebel

Lynne Reid Banks

The Rush

Carolyn McCray, Ben Hopkin

Cutler 1 - Dawn

V.C. Andrews

Noah's Compass

Anne Tyler