Read Online Marriage: Impossible (Voretti Family Book 1) by Ava Blackstone - Free Book Online Page B

took his hand.
    An emotion Sean was afraid to name rose in his throat. He swallowed it back, glad when the trail finally steepened and Keri unlaced her fingers, letting him go. He retreated into his body, thinking about nothing but the burn in his legs and the oxygen rushing into his lungs, sealing himself off from his mind and all the damage it could do.
    The incline increased, but Keri kept pace, impressing the hell out of him. He wasn’t running up the mountain like he might’ve on a training op, but he’d set a pace that would’ve left ninety-nine percent of the population in the dust, and she was right there at his side.
    “Been hitting the gym?” he asked.
    “No.” She surveyed the branches above them. “I spend enough time cooped up inside during school. I joined a hiking club when I started college, and we go out at least once a week. Sometimes we do urban hikes, but I like mountains. The steeper the better.”
    His laugh came out like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’ll bet you do. You always wanted to tag along with Ty and me when we climbed Cowles Mountain, and half the time you beat us. That’s why he never wanted to invite you.”
    “No way. He just didn’t want to take me to Jungle Juice after the hike. And all because I happened to mention to the girls who worked there that he used to wet the bed.”
    “That, too.”
    A pause. Then, “You always let me tag along.”
    “Maybe I wanted you to ruin Ty’s chances with the juice girls. Give me an open playing field.”
    “You were never interested in those juice girls.”
    “Honey, every male over twelve was interested in those juice girls. They were hot.”
    “Yeah. But you wanted more than a kiss from a hot girl.”
    His heart beat double-time. How did she do that? How did she know his deepest secrets without him saying a word?
    He waggled his brows, pretending it was all a big joke. “You’re right. I wanted a lot more.”
    “You wanted a connection. Someone who understood you.”
    He charged blindly ahead. His foot caught in a crevice between two rocks, but he yanked it free and kept going. “Tory would’ve understood me all night long.”
    “Then why didn’t you hook up with her when you had the chance?”
    It was like busting into a building that was supposed to be deserted and finding a dozen armed insurgents. All he could do was throw a flashbang grenade and hope for the best. “Keri MacKinnon. Were you spying on me?”
    “What? No! I might have inadvertently seen something that scarred me for life while I was on my way to the bathroom, but that is not the same thing. I was too busy with my own relationships to watch over yours.”
    Direct hit. Crisis averted. “Your relationships? Are you talking about Jordan Pike or Chris Kingsman?” Sean should stop there, but this role—the teasing older brother—was familiar. Safe. His heart rate steadied even as the climb steepened. “Or…what was his name? Wait—don’t tell me—Jared Lauton.”
    “You remember every single one of my pre-college boyfriends? Maybe you were the one who was spying.”
    “I was the one who had to listen to Ty bitch about it. He didn’t want you dating anyone except the honor society geeks, but you had a thing for bad boys.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “What would you call them, then?”
    “Jordan is an architect now. And Chris teaches tenth-grade English.”
    “Jordan is an architect now . But when you started dating him, he was one fight away from expulsion.”
    “Only because he didn’t understand how to communicate effectively. The second he felt threatened, he’d start cursing or throwing punches.”
    “So you fixed him.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You fixed him. You listened to him. Showed him that you understood him. That you cared.”
    “For your information, that’s called having a relationship.”
    “And then, once he’d gotten his shit together, you moved on to the next project.” What was supposed to be a