Read Online Pretty in Ink (Voretti Family Book 3) by Ava Blackstone - Free Book Online Page A

chose not to.”
    “I—”
    “I’m gonna have a little talk with CJ.” Caleb regarded her, all pulsing veins and clenched jaw, clearly in the mood to do way more than talk.
    Her belly fluttered and her fingertips tingled.  
    “Where is he?” Caleb demanded.
    “He’s gone.”
    “What’s his address?”  
    “Come on. What are you going to do? Hunt him down and kick his ass?” The idea wasn’t as ridiculous as it should’ve been. With that fierce intensity in Caleb’s eyes, he wasn’t Captain Integrity anymore. He was a man and she was a woman and anything could happen.
    “Where is he?” The words were soft. Level. But Caleb’s stare was brimming with intensity.  
    She tried for a laugh, but it came out flat. “Who are you, and what have you done with Captain Integrity?”
    He ran a hand over his forehead. Cleared his throat. Just like that, the smooth, even expression she knew so well was back. “Sorry.”
    “That’s, uh, okay.”
    “I got a little carried away. I won’t touch CJ, but there has to be something I can do.” He spoke in his normal, even tone, but as if a curtain had been lifted, she saw the raw power and intensity beneath it. The single-minded focus that made him seem less like an overprotective brother and more like—
    She cut the thought off there. “If you really want to help, there is one thing you could do. But you’re not going to like it.”
    “Let me worry about that.”
    She hesitated. Caleb clearly wasn’t himself right now. It would be wrong to take advantage of him in this vulnerable state.  
    Or, maybe he was himself. Maybe she’d met the real Caleb for the first time today.
    It couldn’t be healthy for him to keep so much locked up inside. And if being around her helped him get in touch with his feelings, they’d be doing each other a favor.
    Her mind made up, she slanted him a you-know-you-want-to smile. “The thing is, I kind of need a boyfriend.”  
    *
    “A boyfriend?” Caleb asked. “Like, you want me to set you up with someone?” It wasn’t a bad idea. Liv definitely needed some help when it came to choosing a man.
    He did a mental survey of his single friends. John couldn’t even take care of a dog, much less make time for a girlfriend. Aaron wasn’t looking to settle down. Ezra was a good guy. Stable job. Kept a cool head even when everyone around him had one too many drinks. Still, he couldn’t see Ezra and Liv together. Liv belonged with…  
    You? goaded a sly voice in his head. He looked away, before Liv read the renegade thought off his face.  
    The two of them were never going to happen, so he forced himself to say, “I can probably find someone.”  
    “No! I mean, that’s nice of you to offer, but I need someone specific.”
    Her voice was louder. Closer.
    It would be a bad idea to look at her. It was a bad idea to engage her at all, but he needed to know which of his buddies she had in mind and why.
    “Specific how?” he heard himself ask.
    “See… The thing is…” She took a deep breath and then the words spilled out of her mouth so fast he could barely tell one from the other. “The thing is, I have that tattoo on my arm, and my parents are going to see it at the wedding, and if they think it’s CJ’s name they’ll freak out and pull my loan for the shop. So I need to be dating someone else named Caleb. Someone my parents love and respect.”
    The words filled him with a fierce, primitive satisfaction. “You need me .”  
    “Yes. I need you.”
    He glanced at Liv. Her eyes were wide and blue and open, and he couldn’t look away. He didn’t even want to blink.  
    She swallowed. “I know it’s a huge favor, but it would mean a lot to me.”
    He couldn’t do it. He was clear on that much. But when she gave him those you’re-my-hero eyes, he went fuzzy on exactly why.  
    He jerked his gaze away. He needed a minute. A minute of looking at anything but Liv, so he could clear his head.
    Once again, he found