Read Online A Kiss of Color: The Complete 3 Book Collection by Cristina Grenier - Free Book Online Page A

father who had died before she’d made up for the time she hadn’t spent with him. Now, she was trying to make it on her own.
    And if her history was what was driving her, he had to berate himself for being an insensitive clod. “Helena, I’m sorry.”
    Her head jerked up at his low apology, gray eyes inquiring. “Sorry for what?”
    He sighed, putting his fork down to run his fingers through his hair. “For being such an asshole. I didn’t mean to come off as such a…a…”
    “Spoiled rich boy?” She tried, half-jokingly, her smile sincere. He chuckled at her expression, shaking his head softly.
    “You know, the funny part is that I thought I changed after my undergrad days. I guess I’ve still got a bit of that mentality.” Helena licked full lips, making his blood run hotly for a split second before she answered.
    “What are you going to do? You can’t help who you are. Who your family is.” Her words made his mouth turn down into a scowl. As if he needed a reminder. He now had less than seven months to come up with the money to fund his start-up, and despite the amount of hours he was spending outside the classroom on freelance jobs, things were moving slowly. Of course, his parents had no problem giving Brandy the money she requested to start her own law firm, or lavishing funds on his younger sister Emily for her ballet camps and exhibitions. But they, of course, were engaging in respectable Thompson family pursuits.
    He wasn’t. “Sometimes, I wish I could.” He sighed, gesturing to the waitress to bring them more bread. His words had Helena setting her fork down on the table as she leaned forward, her expression somewhat concerned.
    “Wish you could what?”
    “Xavier, is that you ?” All at once, he winced at a very familiar, high pitched voice. Stiffly, he turned to see none other than his perfectly groomed, smiling elder sister standing at his shoulder. She was flanked by her eternally whipped husband, Hank, who was smiling at Xavier in greeting. Before he could answer Brandy, she swooped down to kiss him twice on each cheek before straightening. “I just knew it was you. I told Hank so. We just finished our dinner and came over to say hi. Oh!” Her eyes finally fell on Helena, who was rooted to her seat across from him, staring up at the impeccably groomed lawyer with apprehension in her gaze.
    As much as he loved his sister, Xavier groaned inwardly. Now was certainly not the time. “Xavier, are you going to introduce me to your lovely date?”
    He would have given anything at that moment to take Helena and leave the restaurant. Unfortunately, that option had already been made unavailable to them. So, instead, he cleared his throat before making the introductions. “Helena, this is my sister Brandy. Brandy, this is Helena. She’s a pre-med undergrad at Antioch.”
    To his surprise, his sister gasped, quickly rounding the table to take Helena’s hand in her own. “My dear , it’s a pleasure to meet you. Do you know, I knew your father?”
    Instantly, Helena’s eyes widened as Xavier gaped at his sister, utterly nonplussed. She what ?
    “You did?” The dark-skinned woman’s voice was laden with surprise.
    “Well, I didn’t know him, but he treated me. I got some nasty bug that somehow morphed into a very dicey lung infection. Our private doctor was away on holiday, and the only one who could see me on such short notice was Doctor Graves. Isaiah Graves. He was very kind to me.” Brandy’s voice softened slightly as her eyes took on a gentler sheen. “And he saved my life.”
    Come to think of it, Xavier did remember the event vaguely. He’d been young – only twelve or thirteen, and his parents had been absolutely furious. Being the age he’d been, he’d never heard the full story. All he’d known was that Brandy was sick and that she refused to go to the doctor they mandated for her. Instead, she’d gone to someone they called common , and had been treated at the state