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

did she really think it would work on me? Unbelievable.
    Her arms were outstretched, and they stayed that way as I ignored her and dropped unceremoniously into my seat. The waiter let out a nervous little chuckle.
    “Anything to drink?” he asked me with a smile as big as my mother’s.
    “She’ll have some water.”
    “Actually, I’ll take a Sprite, a mocha with extra whipped cream, and a glass of your most expensive pinot noir.”
    He hustled away, probably sensing my mother was dangerously close to vetoing most of it.
    I snapped my napkin open and dropped it in my lap. When I raised my eyes to meet my mother’s, I smirked. Not out of amusement – there was nothing amusing about this – I smirked because I knew the tiny gesture drove her crazy. For all her tantrums and hijinks, the one thing she wanted most was respect. And as far as she was concerned, I was fresh out.
    “Wine?” she said with a frown of distaste. “It’s barely noon, dear.”
    “I took a taxi,” I answered simply, then smiled widely on the inside. “Besides, it’s not like I have anything else to do today.”
    She pursed her tomato-colored lips. “And whose fault is that?”
    Anger clawed at me, its talons shredding me to bits. “Mine, of course.” I sighed dramatically. “If only I’d let Solomon Cole bend me over his desk and fuck me.”
    The stars aligned and all the conversations around us seemed to lull just in time for me to drop the F bomb. Mom glanced around us nervously. It would have been hilarious if it didn’t hurt so freaking bad. Even now, with the truth out in the open, she cared more about what other people were thinking than the damage she had done. If the waiter hadn’t come back with our drinks, I had no doubt that she would have made the rounds, telling each one of them that I was rehearsing a script under a lot of stress. Career first, being a human coming in second. I brought my wine glass to my lips. I wasn’t even sure being a mother was on the list.
    She took a sip of her latte, sighing with pleasure even though the thing was so nonfat and sugar free that it was impossible for it to taste that good. When she lowered the cup, all evidence of her panic was erased. “So, your sister’s spread in Maxim has led to an audition! It’s a comedy, and they think Jenna is perfect for...”
    “How is Jenna?” I cut in. I knew the answer. Bulimic, and desperately trying to gain my mother’s approval. If she answered my calls, I could have told her it was a losing battle.
    Mom raised an overplucked eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
    “You know, how is she?” My voice was tight. Painfully high – and it was painfully obvious that I was no good at pretending everything was okay when it wasn’t. I wasn’t my mother.
    Mom gave me a strange look. “She’s fine, of course. Mia, you’re shaking.”
    “Shaking?” I repeated. I glanced down. I wouldn’t have even noticed the tremor if the burgundy liquid wasn’t trembling. There was an earthquake inside me, a natural disaster years in the making. And the cause was sitting right in front of me.
    “How do you sleep at night?” Her eyes immediately shot to the table beside ours, but I slammed my wine glass down, sloshing the dark liquid all over the pristine ivory tablecloth. “Don’t look at them. Look at me .”
    She huffed, raising her chin. “Just who do you think you’re—”
    “Talking to?” I finished, chewing every word and spitting it out. “To be honest, I have no idea. You’re not a mother. A mother would never have taken her daughter to a known asshole and left her alone with him. A mother wouldn’t let her troubled, underage daughter pose in lingerie. A mother would see that her daughter is so fucked up that she can’t handle stress without pills and when things fall apart? She needs even more pills and alcohol.” I pushed my chair back from the table. If I didn’t move, run away from her, I’d really explode. There were too many sharp objects,