Read Online Settling Ashes: A New Adult/College Romance (The Ashes Series Book 2) by Diana Gardin - Free Book Online Page B

the back. “It’s good to see you. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
    “Me, too,” Clay answered. “Dad, I want you to meet the girl I was telling you about. This is Paige”.
    He pulled me closer by the hand still gripped tightly in his and I glided over to stand beside him.
    “Hello, Governor Forbes,” I greeted him. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    “Paige,” his father said, warmer than I’d expected. “You’re lovely. Clay was telling the truth, wasn’t he? It’s nice to meet you as well.”
    Clay turned cautiously toward his mother, who hadn’t moved from the window.
    “Mom?” he said.
    I could hear the trepidation in his voice, and I remembered him telling me what a tumultuous relationship he had with his mother. The tumultuous relationship his whole family, including his father, had with her.
    “This is Paige.”
    She finally pushed off the wall and came forward, ignoring me completely and sweeping Clay into her arms. I wasn’t sure how a woman that stiff and cold could manage to fold her son so completely into her embrace, but she was clearly a pro at doing so. Clay was unable to escape, and his hand was ripped from mine.
    “Darling,” she simpered. “My son. I’m so sorry you’re going through this madness. We asked Dechlan to come and talk strategy with us this evening.”
    “Mom,” he said firmly. “I’m trying to introduce you to someone.” He extracted himself and grabbed me up beside him. “This is Paige. My girlfriend.”
    She sighed, her shoulders moving the slightest millimeter with the movement. Finally, she turned those icy blue eyes on me. How her and Clay’s eyes could be the exact same color, but opposite ends of the spectrum of warmth was baffling.  
    “Paige, is it?” she said. “Hello.”
    “Hello,” I replied, leaning closer to Clay. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Forbes.”
    “I’m sure it is,” she said sweetly. “It always means something when a boy allows you to meet his parents, doesn’t it? Although, it didn’t seem to mean much for poor Hannah. ”
    “Maria,” Clay’s father said sharply as Clay opened his mouth angrily to reply. “That’s enough.”
    Dechlan cleared his throat behind us. “Shall we get started?”
    We sat surrounding a round table in the living room.
    “ I wasn’t aware you were going to be here today, Dechlan,” Clay said through gritted teeth.  “I wouldn’t have asked Paige to sit through all of this boring legal stuff.”
    He stared at his mother and father, silently asking what they had been thinking when they’d invited Mr. Shepherd.
    “Well,” Mr. Forbes said, clearing his throat. “We thought it would be good to go ahead and get started with…things. I’ve been keeping in touch with Dechlan from Ohio, you know, but I’ve been feeling a little out of the loop. I had some things to handle with the press there, and my press secretary thought it was a good idea not to fly down here until everything was more settled.”
    “Of course,” Clay answered tersely. “But still, I don’t really want Paige involved in all of this.”
    “Clay,” I said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. I felt his muscle tense beneath his gray thermal sweater, and I squeezed reassuringly. Maria’s eyes zeroed in on my hand, a frown cemented on her beautiful, snowy face.
    “Well, I agree with him, Paige,” she said snidely. “I don’t think you should be here, either.”
    She turned to address Mr. Forbes. “Why is she here, Christopher?”
    “Mom!” Clay hissed, at the same time his dad snapped, “Maria!”
    “It’s okay,” I insisted. “I want to be a part of this. Plus, your lawyer needs to know everything in order to be able to give you the best defense, right?”
    Clay stared at me pointedly, the alarm in his eyes evident. He shook his head the slightest bit, and the waves of anxiety rolling off of him hit me with force. I didn’t want to perpetuate that feeling for him, but I wanted to help him