Read Online Tease by Sophie Jordan - Free Book Online Page A

easy for him. Being here. He didn’t want to be here, but he had come. Why?
    Then Reece was at his side. The two shook hands, Reece even forced one of those guy half hugs on him, which Shaw awkwardly returned. They talked for a few minutes and then Reece was nodding toward Pepper. Toward us.
    “Oh, look, they’re heading this way.”
    My pulse spiked against my throat. My first impulse was to run. I hadn’t mentioned last night to Pepper. How was I going to explain how I’d met him?
    His eyes landed on me as he and Reece made their way across the room. His expression gave nothing away, but his eyes widened ever so slightly.
    Then they were standing in front of us and I didn’t have time to hide . . . or think up an excuse to give to Pepper when he revealed that we already knew each other.
    Logan and Shaw shook hands first. “Good to see you, man,” Logan greeted him.
    “Last time I saw you I think you were about this high.” Shaw held his hand up to his shoulder.
    “Yeah, thankfully that growth spurt kicked in.”
    Reece made the introductions. “This is my girlfriend, Pepper, and her friend Emerson.”
    He shook Pepper’s hand but his eyes were on me. Honestly, they’d been sliding to me even while he talked to Logan.
    I held out my hand, prepared to let the cat out of the bag and admit that we knew each other, but I froze at his words.
    “Nice to meet you, Emerson.” His warm hand enveloped mine and I felt the spark shoot straight up my arm to my chest. Every finger burned an imprint on my skin that I’m sure I would feel hours from now.
    “You, too,” I managed to get out from my suddenly constricted throat.
    “Glad you came tonight,” Reece said. “I heard you were back in town, but didn’t know how to get in touch with you. I haven’t seen your mom around—”
    He slid his gaze to Reece. “She remarried. Moved to Boston.” And then he looked back at me, his gaze deep, probing. I pretended great interest in my drink.
    Reece nodded. An awkward pause fell on our little group.
    “He seems like a nice guy,” Shaw volunteered, mostly, it seemed, to fill the gap. “Works a steady job at least and cares about her. Better than my old man ever did.” He smiled but it looked a little pained on his face. I had the distinct impression that this whole encounter was painful for him.
    “Well, that’s great. Your mom was so nice. She made the best cookies. I’ll always remember she had them waiting for us after soccer practice.”
    Shaw shook his head with a low chuckle. Just the sound of it made my skin shiver. Which was kind of lame. Since when did a guy’s laughter do that to me? “She just got those from the bakery at the grocery store.” His eyes held mine as he uttered this. “The day-old cookies were always free for employees.” It was like he was trying to convey something, trying to make a point. What? That he was different? That we were from two different worlds? I already got that point. I got it the first time I laid eyes on him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that his mom worked at a grocery store and my mom wore Chanel.
    Pepper looked between us curiously. Apparently our stare-down wasn’t going unnoticed.
    “I’m going to get a fresh drink,” I announced, shaking my nearly empty cup. I wasn’t in the mood to drink tonight. I still felt the effects of last night a little too much, but it was an excuse to depart from the group.
    I pushed through the crowd and stopped at the bar, signaling to the bartender. Unsuccessfully, it seemed. He was under siege from happy partygoers.
    “I’ll get him,” a voice beside me volunteered.
    I turned to face a cute guy. He wasn’t quite as preppy as a Dartford boy, but close. With his carefully groomed hair and sweet dimples, he was definitely safer than the guy I’d just left . . . the guy I was spending way too much time thinking about.
    Determined to shake off my funk, I smiled coyly. Pepper called it my man-eater smile. Well.