Living Violet Read Free

he was in dire need of a haircut and shave. With hands shoved in his tan khakis, he looked at me under thick lashes.
    â€œToo bad. It’s the last doughnut, and it’s all mine.” I allowed the treat to hover in my hand for good measure.
    â€œNo way I can change your mind?” His eyes ran the length of my body before meeting my gaze again.
    â€œNope. Sorry.” I took a huge bite of the powdery confection and scooted to the folding chair next to Nadine. I could feel him watching me, no doubt coveting my sugary prize. Caleb was skinny with a swimmer’s build, so who would believe that this guy could wipe out an entire sugar plantation in one sitting? His sweet tooth rivaled mine, and that was no small feat.
    Linda, the store manager and the queen of bling, barged in and slung her bag on the floor. Her stilettos clunked against the linoleum tiles, signifying that the bedazzled badass had just arrived. Propping hands on her hips and car keys clasped in her jewel-covered hand, she addressed the group.
    â€œAll right, let’s get this over with. I got an hour drive ahead of me, and I’m not trying to be here all night.” She took a seat and pulled her dreadlocks into a bun on the top of her head. “Okay, let’s begin with the young adult section.” She turned to the short, curly-haired girl to her left. “Alicia, what book did you read?”
    Alicia Holloway sat up straight, grinning, sporting wide eyes and dimples. She was a freshman at my school—well, sophomore this fall—and the youngest employee at BB. Her work permit was probably still tucked inside her Hello Kitty purse. Alicia had come a long way from the frightened deer who always brought a nightlight when she slept over my house. I used to babysit her when I was in junior high, and even then she tried too hard to act mature. I saw right through it, and it was my duty as a friend to bug her to death.
    â€œI read Specter , by Nan Jacobs,” Alicia chimed with excitement, holding the book up so everyone could see the worn cover.
    A number of groans filled the break room. People adjusted their chairs, preparing for the diatribe that would surely follow.
    This was the book series that every bookseller loved to hate, and its popularity boggled the minds of everyone in the room. But no one could deny the number of sales among teenage girls, and an entire shelf in the store was devoted to the saga. Anything that mainstream was enough to keep us from reading it. Well, most of us.
    â€œOkay, first off, I have to say I loved this book. It’s so romantic and sweet, and the characters were so believable, and I felt like I was right there with the main character and, Omgoodness , Nicolas Damien is so hot!” Alicia bounced in her seat and swallowed a lungful of much-needed air.
    â€œHave you met him?” Nadine leaned back in her chair and allowed her hands to touch at the fingertips. “This Nicolas Damien—has he come to the store or something?”
    Alicia frowned in confusion. “Uh, no. He’s a character in the book.”
    â€œThen how do you know he is hot?”
    â€œBecause the book makes him hot, that’s how,” Alicia snapped, then addressed the group again. “Anyway, the story’s about a young girl who goes to detention and falls in love with a gorgeous new guy. But there’s something mysterious about him.”
    â€œLet me guess, he’s a serial killer?” Caleb piped in. He sat at the opposite side of the circle with one leg resting on his knee and his arms folded. Every so often, I caught him watching me, probing me with an open curiosity that had no shame. I tried not to stare at him, tried not to squirm in my seat, but his stare had a physical presence.
    I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
    â€œNo, he’s not a killer.” Alicia rolled her eyes. “He’s dead.”
    â€œHow romantic,” I mumbled. “Forget Teen