Read Online Whisper (New Adult Romance) by Ava Claire - Free Book Online

I was sixteen, so they juxtaposed childlike imagery like oversized mouse ears and head-sized lollipops with lingerie. Mom had always been in my line of sight, giving him the dirty eye whenever his touch lingered. She’d even cussed him out when he told me to come back in two years without my mother. She protected me, one of the few times she almost walked away from a check because I said I was uncomfortable.
    There was a knot lodged in my throat that wouldn’t go away. Was it the truth stuck there, refusing to go down? Even though I’d seen and experienced her abandonment at Solomon’s Cole’s office, I still didn’t want to believe it.
    “It was always us against the world.” I pulled back, needing to break contact if I was going to finish and not get lost in him. It would be easy to plug my ears and shut all the bad out. “And then there was Sol. I only went because I never imagined...I never thought—” I bit down on my bottom lip to keep the sob inside. There was no use trying to hold in the tears. They wouldn’t stop coming, racing down my cheeks in hot, angry lashes. “And it’s my fault. Because I always bowed to her. I had to be a triple threat even though acting was my real love, the only thing that made everything else worth it. I powered through every audition. I grinned. I tolerated the verbal abuse. And that’s why she thought it was okay to leave me alone.” I dropped my head in my hands. “I did this.”
    His grip was fierce and immediate. He took my face, holding it steady until I surrendered and looked at him.
    “I want you to listen to me, Mia. What happened in Sol’s office was not your fault. Do you hear me? Solomon Cole is a worthless piece of shit, and your mother?” He let out a growl, like if she were in the room he might’ve ripped out her throat. “I believe in karma...and they’ll get theirs. They’ll pay for what they’ve done.” His thumb caressed my cheek. “You’re talented, beautiful, and strong. It won’t be easy, but you’ll find your way. I know you will.”
    I made a skeptical sound. “How are you so sure?”
    “Because I believe in you,” he answered. “And I’ll be here waiting for you, rooting for you, and ready to give you a swift kick in the ass if you don’t get help. Especially if I ever see ‘Mia Kent rushed to the ER’ on my news roundup again and it’s by your own hand.”
    “Are we at the threatening bodily injuries phase of our relationship?” I smirked.
    “Now’s a good a time as any,” he winked. “I understand that you need an escape, but there are other less destructive ways.”
    “I’m all ears.”
    His eyes dropped to my mouth and warmth rushed through me. Want, lust, and...another word I refused to say aloud. Our lips met and he was right. The kiss made everything else fade to nothing.
    It was the most beautiful escape.

CHAPTER TEN
    I regretted the ceasefire with my mother the minute I saw her face. It was more than the fact that her face was coated with an obscene amount of makeup, her pretty features dulled by foundation, heavy-handed blush, and fierce strokes of eyeliner. It was more than the disconcerting realization that she had on a very similar outfit to the one she wore when we went to Cole Productions. It was the way her Ronald McDonald colored lips spread into a toothy grin when I approached our table at Verve Cafe. I said ‘our’, because for years, we met every Sunday at the trendy restaurant for mimosas and ‘girl talk’. And even though I had almost ignored her pleading text, I missed her – and stupidly believed she’d be waiting, eager to give me an explanation about the Sol incident.
    But I knew that smile. That was her ‘water under the bridge’ smile. It was the smile she flashed after losing her shit on the producers and was a hop, skip, and cuss word away from being banned from the set. She’d whip out the molars and charm and all would be forgiven.
    I knew she was playing them like a fiddle, but