Read Online Command Performance by Annabel Joseph - Free Book Online

explain sooner or later. “See, my sister... Did you know she died?”
    He looked shocked. “Your twin? God, no, I never heard that. I had no idea.”
    “It happened almost ten years ago now. Neither of us had been acting in a while, so she kind of died in obscurity. A lot of people still ask me about her.” She stared at the green and red lights on the dashboard. “She was fifteen. She died on the floor of a nightclub bathroom. Got in with a fake ID.”
    Mason made a soft sympathetic sound. “Were you there?”
    “No. She was alone. Well, she was with all her friends who weren’t really her friends. She’d been trying to restart her career, but she got sidetracked, I guess, and...” Miri’s voice grew tight, but she pressed through the rest of the story. “She got, you know, heavy into drugs.”
    “At fifteen?”
    “The toxicology report was pretty shocking for a fifteen year old. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about that part of it, at least.”
    Mason shook his head. “Ten years ago… That was the time my career started blowing up. I was in my own little world.”
    “You know, Maddy was my twin. I should have realized how bad things were with her.” Miri twisted her hands in her lap. “I thought she had it together. She was always so much more together than me. Anyway, after that, my father changed. You know, he used to work in security. Bodyguarding. That’s how we got discovered, by some ad exec he was working for, so my father blamed himself for Madeline’s death. And my mother had just died a couple years earlier from cancer.”
    Mason whistled low. “No wonder he’s so...”
    “Obnoxious? Overbearing? I was in lockdown for years afterward. I still kind of am. He’s afraid of losing me too, I guess.”
    Mason’s expression was somber. He took her hand and squeezed it. “Poor Miri.”
    “I hated losing my mom, but I think it was harder losing my twin. It was like losing half of myself.”
    “You were so sweet together on that show.”
    “ Two Wonderful ?” Miri laughed. “I miss those days. I dream of Madeline all the time. I’ve never used drugs or alcohol because—well, I guess because I’m so much like her. I figured the same thing could happen to me.”
    “And you never went to any parties or kissed any boys, lest you self destruct like your sister. Oh, Miri.” He leaned close and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, then pulled away and gazed into her eyes. “I’m sorry for the sadness in your life, but I enjoyed being your first kiss.”
    A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I couldn’t have chosen a better teacher.”
    Something flashed in his eyes, some momentary wildness. Outside, cars and trucks sped by. She wanted him to kiss her again, but instead he sat back in his seat and let out a long breath.
    “You’re a very interesting person, Miri Durand.” He rubbed his neck, touched his lips. He seemed to be struggling with some conundrum, some source of stress. She wanted to reach out to him, but she didn’t think he’d welcome it. He put the car back in gear. “I should get you home. It’s late.”
    She had the terrible feeling he was withdrawing from her somehow. Why had she babbled on about her sister? Why did she admit she’d never been kissed? Well, he’d figured it out anyway. Embarrassing. He surely assumed the rest, that she had no sexual experience either. Of course he wouldn’t want to keep dating someone like her.
    She vowed to herself to lose her virginity at the first possible opportunity. Didn’t matter where, didn’t matter with whom. She just had to get rid of it so she’d never be in this situation again, feeling stupid and inexperienced, being pushed away by a guy she liked.
    He kissed her again when he pulled up to her house. It was a sweet, tender kiss. A goodbye kiss, damn it. She marshaled her defenses and lifted her chin. “I had fun tonight, Mason. Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.” He rubbed his neck again. “I’m