Read Online Hothouse Flower by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie - Free Book Online

also tried the bacon.”
    “Don’t lie to me.”
    “Okay, I didn’t eat the bacon, but I wanted to.” I put the
last plate into the dishwasher and then climb up on the counter. He makes the
cereal beside me.
    “You know what I fucking learned today?” he says, his
features really dark. “Rose just told Connor, my brother, and me that you have
irregular periods because of your weight.”
    Oh God. I groan.
“She did not tell you guys that.” Sometimes Rose being overly open is a bad
thing. When it comes to her private
life, she’s a mouse. Or at least, she used to be.
    “Yeah, she fucking did.”
    I didn’t want her to share that info with anyone but Lily and maybe Poppy, our
oldest sis. “It’s only like that when I—”
    “Starve yourself,” he deadpans. Then he shakes his head. “You
can’t eat, you can’t sleep…”
    I smile wide at his words because I instantly recall a quote
from a movie. I can’t help it. I recite the lines, “ It's got to be that can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars,
over-the-fence, World Series kind of stuff. ” Then I pause, waiting for his
ah-ha moment. He just looks confused. “ It
Takes Two. ” It doesn’t ring a bell for him. “A Mary Kate and Ashley movie. They
were describing love.”
    His eyebrows rise. “Funny. But love isn’t causing you these
problems.”
    “How do you know?” I ask.
    He extends his arms. “I’m sorry, where are all the guys
you’ve been dating while I’ve been sleeping in your fucking bed?”
    “I could be in love with you .”
I throw out this line, wondering if he’ll reel me in, but he just gives me a
hard stare.
    “Are you?” he taunts back, not stepping down from this.
    He puts me on the defensive. I want to say yes. But am I in
love with Ryke ? How do I know? “I’m not sure.”
    “Well, be damn fucking sure about this,” Ryke says, “any love that I fucking give
will never hurt a woman.” He passes the bowl to me, cold in my hands. “Eat your
cereal.”
    Seriousness blankets the kitchen once more. “You heard my
mom this morning.” She bruised my hip she pinched my skin so hard.
    “Yeah.” His eyebrows rise. “Fuck your mom.”
    “Hey,” I snap.
    “Hey what? She’s nothing but cruel to Lily. She fights with
Rose constantly. And she treats you like you’re a little fucking doll she likes
to dress up and show off. It drives me fucking nuts watching you do things you hate just to please other people.”
    I’m not a fan of modeling, not when I have to stand still
for so long. I just get restless. So I can’t argue against his point. “It’s
different when peoples’ careers are on the line. Fashion designers and agents
are counting on me. If I can’t fit into the clothes, then I’m not just
disappointing myself but I’m hurting them.”
    I search his eyes, but all I see is that familiar stone that
Lily talks about. She says his brother is ice. All sharp. But Ryke , he’s like the rocks he climbs—just hard.
    “Don’t be a fucking mannequin.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Really? Because I see a girl who has another person’s
thoughts, another person’s desires and dreams.”
    “I think that’s a puppet.”
    “Don’t be a fucking puppet then.”
    My eyes fall to the cereal. I’ve heard him speak with this
conviction before, but this time, it barrels into me like the biggest truth of
all. “Maybe after Fashion Week, I’ll tell her how I feel again.” Maybe I can
finally stand up to my mom. “Why are you so passionate about this anyway?” I
ask, expecting him to say something like because
I care about you.
    Instead he says, “I’ve been there with my own mother. It’s
not fucking fun.”
    He hardly talks about Sara Hale, mostly because of what
happened a couple years ago. Mostly because she changed all of our lives. And
I’m not sure it was all for the better.
    “Eat your fucking cereal,” he says roughly.
    I do. Four spoonfuls later, Ryke looks pleased. I like when he’s satisfied. I