Read The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) Online

Authors: Maggi Craft

Tags: #romance

The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) (8 page)

BOOK: The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1)
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“Don’t you think Holly has told her? They’re friends. Why would she keep a secret from her like that?”

“Because she knows her, and she knows she’ll get mad.”

“Why? She has no right to.”

I gave him a dumb look. He knew good and damn well she would flip out whether she had a right to or not. “Can we just drop it and go on about our night?” I asked.

“That’s fine. What do you want to do now?”

“I don’t care.”

I made sure the coast was clear before we headed back out in the open. “You want to go to a club or something?” he asked once we were on the street.

With my luck, we’d end up at the same club as Kenedy and Holly. “No. They’re going to a club, and I forgot to ask which one. Let’s just go back to your place or something.”

I thought he’d be disappointed, but he seemed fine with that idea. He smiled at me. “OK, what’s your curfew?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Oh! Are you planning on shacking up with me?” He stopped and looked at me with a silly expression on his face.

“Not necessarily,” I said with a big grin.

“Well, we’ll see about that. To the liquor store, then home. That way you won’t think about going home tonight.” He grabbed my hand, and we headed back to his place.

He was right — I didn’t go back to Kenedy’s, but as always, he let me have his bed and slept on the couch.

When I was honest with myself about Kenedy, I wasn’t sure why I cared that she would be mad. After all, she had slept with my ex-boyfriend when we were still dating, so it shouldn’t have been a problem for me to hang out with hers. When I thought about it, I realized she had never asked about me staying with Slayde. But that was a subject I wanted to continue to avoid like the plague, so I didn’t bring it up.

The next day, I went home to clean myself up, and then Slayde and I were meeting at our spot in the park. We had talked about going to get some lunch. He was a little late, which was odd, but I decided not to dwell on it. When he showed up, he had a funny expression on his face. I could tell something was wrong, and my stomach dropped.

“What’s the matter?” I asked him.

“Nothing,” he replied and kissed me on the cheek. “How’s your day?”

“You’re a bad liar, but my day was great until now. So, tell me what’s really going on.”

He laughed and grabbed my hand. “Nothing is wrong. I’m just tired of sneaking around. I want to be able to do whatever we want without you worrying about what Kenedy thinks. I don’t care what she thinks, and I really don’t understand why you do.”

“She’s my sister, Slayde. I don’t want to fight with her.”

“Exactly — she’s your sister. Doesn’t that mean she should be happy that you’re happy? If you aren’t going to say something to her, I am. I’m so sick of living like this.”

That made me angry. “Well, I don’t see anyone holding a gun to your head, making you live like this. Maybe it would be best if we didn’t see each other at all.” I got up and started to walk away.

Slayde jumped up and grabbed my hand. He looked frustrated, but at the same time, his eyes said something else. Like that I had hurt him. “You know that’s not what I want. I don’t want to not see you. I’m just tired of sneaking around. I want to be able to take you on a date in broad daylight in the middle of the city whenever I want to.”

“A date?” I asked. I knew I was blushing.

“Yes, a date, a proper date. One where I pick you up instead of meeting you at the park. One without all of your pinkie promises and ‘I can’t touch you’ rules.” I looked up and saw he was smiling at me.

My cheeks were flaming. “I don’t know about that, Slayde. I’m only here for a few more weeks, and then I’ll be heading back to school. I would rather keep it simple.”

“I don’t think it’s that complicated, Arden. I like you, and you like me. Whether you want to admit it or not. And we’re always together, so really, we’re already dating. Except you won’t let me touch you. I think admitting that makes it all pretty simple.”

“Simple for the moment, maybe, but what happens in a few weeks when I leave? What then?” I asked.

“I’m not going to be here forever, and I can come see you at least every other weekend. I’ll finish this contract six weeks after you leave, and then I’ll be back in LA.”

“You can’t fly home every other weekend — that’s crazy.”

“Yes, I can. My dad has a jet — I can come and go as I please. So, are you in?” He was dead serious. I couldn’t believe Slayde Price was asking to date me.
Is that what he’s asking me?
When I didn’t answer, he frowned. “If you have to think about it that hard, I guess I got my answer. I’m sorry. I guess I had it all wrong.” He started to walk away. I couldn’t just let him leave, but was I really ready for this? I knew this could end very badly for me, but it would be a huge mistake to let him walk away.

“Slayde.” He turned around and looked at me. He seemed so insecure; it was so strange. He looked as if he were really afraid I was rejecting him. Had a girl ever said no to him? I highly doubted it. “I would love to go out on a date with you.” His face lit up with that smile that made me melt.

As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what I was going to tell Kenedy I was doing that night so she wouldn’t figure out I was going out with Slayde.
And what in the world am I going to wear?
If this was what he called a “proper” date, what would it be like? Every moment we were together was one of the best moments of my life. I didn’t see how it could be any better.

I was kneeling on the floor in Kenedy’s room, pulling everything out of my suitcase that I still hadn’t unpacked, when Holly came in and interrupted my mental psychobabble. “What are you doing tonight? Kenedy went to London for the weekend, and she said to tell you she was sorry she couldn’t take you along.” Holly rolled her eyes. We both knew Kenedy didn’t want me to tag along with her. “I told her I would keep you busy. I’ve got a date, but I’m sure Slayde can pick up my slack.” She winked at me. “How’s the secret love affair going, anyway?”

“Ha-ha, that’s really funny,” I said sarcastically. But I needed to talk to someone. Someone besides Slayde. I followed her into her room and spilled the whole story.

“Holly, what do I do?” I lay on her bed with my head buried in the covers.

“I wish there was an easy answer. If I was in Kenedy’s place, and you were truly happy with him, I would be happy for you. But Kenedy doesn’t care about anybody but Kenedy. I know she’s going to be furious, but she will get over it. They’ve been broken up for a few years — it’s not like they were married and you broke up their family.” When she said that, I looked up. Catching my eyes, she asked, “You didn’t, did you? You’re not the reason they broke up, are you?”

“No. The truth is, they broke up because Slayde caught Kenedy with my boyfriend, his brother, Brady.” I buried my face again.

“What? You’re making this up. This is some Jerry Springer shit.”

“No, unfortunately, it’s my life to live, not
One Life to Live
. I’m not sure someone could have written something so crazy for daytime TV.” We both laughed.

“She slept with your boyfriend, and you’re worried she’ll be mad about
this
? Are you crazy? I say to hell with her.”

“She doesn’t know that I know. That’s the reason Slayde broke up with her, but no one told me. Slayde didn’t know that I didn’t know, until the other day,” I explained.

“Well, the last thing I would be doing if Slayde Price were following me around like a little lost puppy would be worrying about what your hoochie momma sister thinks. You better get your ass out there and apologize to Slayde for your lack of mental sanity these last few weeks.”

I knew she was right. I wasn’t going to let Kenedy’s feelings, or lack thereof, stop me from being with Slayde. Holly and Slayde were right. If the tables were turned, Kenedy wouldn’t think twice about my feelings. She’d even proved that.

I must have tried on twenty-five outfits, and nothing looked right. I went through my stuff, Kenedy’s stuff, and even Holly’s stuff. Finally, I resorted to my favorite pair of Hudson jeans, a pink silk top of Holly’s, and some amazing Jimmy Choos that were in Kenedy’s closet. Why she left them behind I would never know, but her loss was my gain.

My long blond hair was in a mood all its own. It was not cooperating at all. Holly must have heard the profanity coming from the bathroom, because she came in, curling iron in hand. “I got this,” she said and smiled at me. And she did. I have no idea what she did, but my hair looked amazing. She also applied my makeup. “You don’t hang out at photo shoots all day without picking up a thing or two.”

“Wow, I look amazing. I look like a model.”

She laughed. “No, honey, you look way better than a model. You don’t need makeup and all this to be pretty. You’re naturally pretty.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I barely recognized myself in the mirror. “What if he doesn’t recognize me?” I asked.

“You know, you might have a point. Not that he won’t recognize you, but I’m sure he likes you the way you are without all this extra stuff. I think the prettiest thing about you is how soft and natural you always look. Let me take this makeup down a notch.” In less than five minutes, she brought me from MAC runway show back to normal girl ready for a first date with a hot guy. I was very impressed.

When Slayde showed up to get me, I could tell he was also impressed. He was smiling more widely than usual and looked a little surprised. He grabbed my hand and made me twirl around in a circle. “Wow, you look amazing,” he said, and he kissed my cheek.

I was blushing. I could feel the heat in my cheeks. “Thank you! You look great too!” And he did. He always looked great, whether he was wearing an old T-shirt and shorts or all dressed up. Tonight was no exception. He was wearing some jeans that looked like the designer had made them for him and only him, a yellow polo that made his tan skin look three shades darker than it was earlier this afternoon, and as always, that amazing smile. I thought if I were a toothpaste company, I’d hire him to be my spokesmodel.

He grabbed my hand, and we started walking toward the Metro. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” He grinned.

After a short ride, we got off and walked into the park that we always met in. I noticed a little table set up in the corner, with a man in a tux waiting next to it. The trees around it were all lit up with tiny white lights and had white paper lanterns suspended from their branches. A beautiful arrangement of flowers decorated the center of the table, accompanied by empty wine glasses. A bucket with ice and wine sat next to the table.

Slayde pulled my chair out for me, and I sat down. The man in the tux opened the wine. “Good evening, Miss Simms. Red or white?”
He knows my name?
This was so unreal. When did Slayde have time to do all of this? I had just told him I would go a few hours earlier.

“Red, thank you,” I said, and he poured us each a glass of red wine. I looked at Slayde, who was leaning toward me intently on his elbows. “Wow, this is beautiful. How did you do all this?”

“I’m glad you like it.” He grabbed my hand. “Oh, my bad,” he said and let go. “Is it OK for me to touch you?” he asked with a smirk on his face, but I could tell he really was waiting on my permission.

“I guess so. Since you went to all this trouble for me.” And I smiled back at him.

“Well, it wasn’t any trouble,” he said.

We ate and talked and had a wonderful time. Being with him was so easy. We never had any awkward silent moments. It was like we had been friends our whole lives. I couldn’t believe the chemistry there. Every time he touched me, I got butterflies, and when he wasn’t touching me, I was wishing he were. I didn’t know how this was all going to play out. I was so scared that my heart would be broken, but I couldn’t stop my feelings for him.

After we ate, we took a walk around the city and ended up on a little bridge over a large koi pond. As we looked down at the fish, I saw fireworks reflecting in the water. “It must be ten o’clock,” he said, pointing at the sky.

While we stood there, looking up at the show, Slayde was rubbing my hand with his thumb, and I could barely concentrate on the fireworks. All I could think about was kissing him. I wasn’t sure he would dare kiss me, even after I had given him permission to touch me earlier. Before I knew it, I heard myself say, “Are you going to kiss me or what?”

He turned to me with a huge smile on his face and didn’t hesitate for a second. He softly touched my cheek, tilted my head a little, and leaned in and kissed me so passionately that I actually thought I was going to pass out. I had never been kissed like that, and yet it was exactly what I would have thought kissing Slayde Price would be like. That kiss made the kiss in his kitchen seem like nothing, and every kiss with every other guy before that seem like nothing. At that very moment, I knew my life would never be the same. There was no turning back.

We walked around the cobbled streets of the heart of Paris in the Seventh Arrondissement where the Eiffel Tower was lit up and made for a beautiful backdrop to a perfect night. We spent the rest of the evening just talking and holding hands. I didn’t want the night to end, but like all good things, it did.

The next few days, we spent every minute together. Slayde was almost always happy and positive. But being pleasant wasn’t a crime. And honestly, it was a little contagious. Staying mad at him would definitely be a chore.

Which made me wonder why my sister hadn’t been nicer to him.

I was really enjoying his company. He was cute and witty. He kept me laughing, and I found myself actually letting my guard down and being myself. I was glad I had come to Paris. Even if it meant my sister was going to be pissed at me.

On Sunday, I found myself getting sad that my sister would be back soon and things would go back to the way they had been.

Slayde and I had been shopping and were resting on a bench enjoying the beautiful day with some iced coffee when I said, “I wish Kenedy were going to stay out of town for the rest of the summer.”

BOOK: The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1)
10.52Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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