Read Online Any Other Girl by Rebecca Phillips - Free Book Online Page A

he’d seemed so . . . abrupt. Unfriendly. I guess it wasn’t very different from what I’d witnessed so far in his son.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?”
    Startled, I spun around and caught sight of Emmett standing a few feet away from the house and watching me with a vaguely panicked look on his face. He wore gray shorts and black sneakers and was naked from the waist up, unless you counted the ear bud wires dangling down his bare chest. They didn’t cover much at all, however.
    â€œUm,” I said, looking everywhere but at him. “I was looking for you.”
    â€œWhat for?”
    Behind me, the screaming had started anew. Quickly, I distanced myself from the door and moved closer to Emmett, all the while keeping my gaze trained above his neck and not on his defined, glistening torso. Why does it have to be so hot today? I wondered.
    â€œA few of us are going to Goody’s for dinner tonight,” I said, finding my smile. “You should join us.”
    â€œI should?” He was still panting slightly from his run, and something about it made the tips of my ears feel warm.
    I cleared my throat. “Definitely. It’ll be me and my cousin Harper and McTur . . . uh, Nate . . . and some others.” There would be others there, I was sure, but they wouldn’t be sitting at our table. It would be just the four of us. But like Harper, Emmett didn’t need to know all the details.
    â€œI don’t know,” he said, raking a hand through his damp hair. As he did, a particularly loud burst of yelling filtered outside, making him wince. His cheeks, flushed with exertion, turned even redder.
    â€œOh, come on.” My hand went up to poke him, but I caught myself and pretended to scratch an itch on my shoulder instead. Don’t touch. Don’t charm. And most important, don’t look down.
    â€œWhat’s Goody’s?” he asked.
    â€œOh, it’s this little diner across the road from the entrance to the cottages. You must see it when you drive by. Great burgers. Made totally from scratch, even the buns.”
    It was weird, standing there talking about burgers while a brawl ensued in the background. The raised voices seemed wrong and out of place in such a quiet, peaceful setting. Like hearing someone curse in church.
    â€œLook, Kat, you should probably go,” Emmett said, his gaze flicking toward the cottage.
    â€œIs everything okay?” I asked carefully.
    He sighed. “Yeah. My parents are . . . well, this is normal.”
    Normal? Screaming fights at eleven o’clock on a beautiful summer morning at the lake was normal? I couldn’t think of anything helpful to say, so I settled on, “I’m sorry.”
    â€œDon’t be. Just go, okay? As you can hear, it’s not the best time for me to have guests.”
    I nodded and turned to leave. As I reached the copse of trees, I glanced back at him again. He was still standing in the same spot, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground. “So you’ll come with us tonight?” I asked. “Seven o’clock?”
    â€œYeah, sure, whatever,” he said impatiently as his parents’ voices splintered the air. “I’ll meet you guys there. Okay?”
    Success. I nodded at him again and started picking through bushes and tree roots to get to the woods path.
    â€œCareful going through the woods,” Emmett called from behind me. “During my run the other day, I almost got flattened by some moron on an ATV.”
    I had to force myself to keep walking at an even, non-guilty pace. “Thanks for the warning!” I called back, grateful that he could no longer see my face.
    Â 
    I knew before the night even began that I’d made a huge mistake.
    My first clue was when Nate showed up at Goody’s smelling like he’d just bathed in a tub of beer. Apparently, he and his twin brothers had spent the afternoon out on the lake, pretending to