Price Of Love (Written In the Stars Book 4) Read online

  “Yep. Nate might not be blood, but I was a hell of a lot closer to him then I was Tim. So, I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be nice to get away. Palm trees, white sand, and drinking under the sun for a week.” I can’t wait. I’ve been looking forward to it since Jolene told me she was getting married. Date or no date I’m going to make this the time of my life.

  “Are you going in early too?”

  “Yeah. Since their wedding party was overtaken by their siblings, I promised I would still come down, along with my two other girlfriends, to help celebrate her final days of freedom.”

  Jolene has four sisters and Nate has four brothers so to have no hurt feelings or too many heads in their wedding party they kept it all family and her maid of honor is her older sister. I’m fine with it because I couldn’t afford the extra expense and didn’t want the headaches.

  “Same.”

  “Really?” My smile perks up. A couple extra days with Leo doesn’t sound so bad at all.

  “Really. I promised Nate’s brothers to be there for his bachelor party.”

  “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to miss the strippers, huh?”

  He rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Jo would kill my cousins if there were strippers, you know that.” Oh, I do. “Hey, while we’re down there, I’ll buy one of those drinks under the sun for you.” He winks as he pushes back his sandy blonde hair. “Actually, why don't me and you have dinner tonight? I want to catch up some more, but I have to get back upstairs.”

  “Dinner?” I choke out.

  "Yeah. You know that meal people tend to eat at the end of the day before they go to bed?” He tilts his head, his eyes glowing with mischief.

  "I'm aware of what it is. But why?"

  “Why not? Two old friends can’t share a meal?”

  Friends. Right! "You sure Izabelle won’t mind?”

  Izabelle Roberts, his girlfriend, who also happens to be a redheaded bombshell. She models for fashion magazines and has thousands of Instagram followers, me being one of them. I met her a few times. She was super sweet, and the couple looked madly in love with one another.

  Tim told me before we broke up that Leo was talking about asking her to marry him, which of course, made me jealous. I had been hoping I would be receiving a ring…instead, I got the cut.

  “No.” He scratches the back of his neck, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “We actually broke up a bit ago.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” I frown. I wonder what happened. If they couldn’t make it work, then what chance do I have with anyone?

  “It’s okay.” He lifts my chin and when my eyes meet his, I’m momentarily dazed drowning in the haze of his misty blue eyes. “So, dinner?” he says, breaking me out of the fog he has put me in.

  “Yeah,” I breathe and rest back in my seat, needing to separate from him and the spell he put me under. “Sure. Sounds good.”

  "You're favorite food still tacos?"

  "How did you know that?" I ask, tipping my head to the side.

  Not like that’s a hard one to guess. Who doesn't like tacos?

  "You mentioned it at my mother's barbeque a while back?” He shrugs like it’s no big deal he remembers something that happened at least eight months ago.

  "And you remembered?" I gape at him. At this event, he had Izzy wrapped in his arms the entire time and we didn’t get a chance to exchange more than a couple words with one another. Tim could hardly remember my favorite color. I used to think it was because he had a shit memory, but now I know it was probably because he didn’t care enough to remember.

  So, the fact Leo remembers something so minor is blowing me away.

  "I did." He grins, showing me all his perfect teeth, and I almost swoon, completely flattered by such a small gesture.

  "We can go to Marco's." My mouth waters and my stomach rejoices at my suggestion, especially after this boring salad. “They have the best fish tacos and margaritas."

  "Then it sounds like a plan. I get off around six. I can pick you up at your place around seven?"

  "Oh, um…can we just meet here? I just want to see Grams before she goes to sleep for the night, and it'll be easier not to drive back afterward."

  "I understand. So, we can meet here at let’s say six-thirty?”

  "That sounds perfect.”

  He stands and moves to hover over me. "I'm glad I ran into you, Claire. It was as if it was meant to be." His fingers brush back my fallen hair.

  Meant to be? Meant to be what?

  My lips part, wanting to ask what he means when he places a kiss to my cheek. “Later Claire.”

  “Later.” I finally release the words, but not before he’s gone.

  Chapter Three

  My mind is still buzzing with the thought of Leo Price asking me out to dinner. His touch and his lips on my skin have me feeling so alive again. I haven’t felt this way from a gentle kiss in ages, and I wonder what would have happened if Leo had asked me out, or me him, before Tim had?

  Where would I be now?

  Would I have been able to have skipped so much of the heartache Tim caused me?

  When Tim and I started dating, he was everything I wanted. Then, ever so slowly, his sweet layers started shedding, and he began to exploit all the things he knew I struggled with. Money being one of the biggest things. It’s something he always had and never worried about. He used to promise he would take care of me, but his promise wasn’t enough for me, so I busted my ass and saved my money to make sure I had a backup plan. I knew what life was like when you didn’t have any, so in the end, it was my fault when our relationship imploded. I was the poor girl who refused to live and blow every dime on worthless adventures. Second, he knew about the attack with Colt and sometimes I suffered with bouts of panic and flashbacks, especially if he got a little rough in the bedroom and tried things on a whim. Sorry, I don’t like to be choked while we do it. So, that made me a prude. That stung the most. To go from someone that swore he understood and promised to never hurt, to then say, I’m not good enough because I just need a little warning before I’m attacked from behind.

  I’m finding out now it’s because I didn’t trust him enough to relax around him. Well, that’s what the good doc says.

  I enter Grams’ room with an added bounce in my step and a pudding cup in hand. She’s awake, flipping through the channels on the small TV that hangs in the corner.

  “I brought you back the vanilla pudding you like.” I lay the cup down on her tray and sit down on the edge of her bed.

  She places the remote down and squints at me. “What are you smiling about?”

  “What are you talking about? I always smile.” It’s true. Even when my life was in crisis, leave it to me to always have a smile on my face. I’m not a bubbly person, but I can fake it.

  “Yes, but you have a little extra shine in your eyes. Are you going to tell me what it’s about? You only went downstairs.”

  I groan. There’s never keeping secrets from this woman. She’s like a hound dog that can pick up the scent of something going on with me even when I’m not with her. “I sometimes hate how attuned you are with me.”

  “Quit stalling.” She pats my leg. “I’m not getting any younger.”

  “I got invited out to have dinner tonight. That’s all."

  "Oh.” Her silver eyes light up like firecrackers on the fourth of July. “You finally found someone you liked that answered the ad."

  "No. Definitely not."

  "Then who?"

  I bite my lip, knowing this isn't going to go down well. "I ran into an old acquaintance."

  "What old acquaintance?" She pushes the words out slowly, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.

  "Oh, someone…" I stand from her bed and move to the window that overlooks the hospital parking lot. Dark clouds have now overtaken the afternoon sky.

  "Claire,” she says sternly, using her ‘mom’ voice. The one I got when I was in trouble. “What are you not telling me? It's not one
of your rotten exes, is it?"

  "No,” I spin back around. “No Grams, of course not. I might be a little crazy, but I’m not insane."

  "Then spill."

  "Its…um.” My body sags, knowing there’s no way I'm going to get out of this interrogation. “It’s Leopold." I mumble his full namesake and glance away. The lady may be seventy-five and lying in a hospital bed, but she catches every syllable.

  "As in Leopold “Leo” Price?"

  I turn back to her and smile. "Yeah. That would be him. Still handsome as ever, by the way. Even better in those scrubs he wears."

  He can take my temperature any time, that's for sure.

  "Claire.” She sighs. “I don't think that's a good idea."

  "Why not? It’s just Leo. You know him. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him hacking me into tiny pieces like some of these people calling me.”

  "Do you want the list as to why it’s a bad idea?”

  “Not really, but you’re going to tell me anyway.” I roll my eyes, feeling like I’m twelve and not twenty-four.

  “For starters, he's a Leo…"

  "It’s just his name." I huff with a little laugh. I didn’t think she would take the Leo thing this seriously.

  “Not just his name. You know as well as I do, the boy is also a Lion.”

  I rub the wrinkles of my forehead as Leo’s birthday flashes through my memory. “July thirtieth! Shit,” I mumble under my breath. I do have a Leo double hitter.

  The day now sticks out pretty well for me. It was only two weeks before Tim and I broke up. Leo was throwing a huge party to celebrate his birthday. Tim was huffing and puffing about not wanting to go, but I wanted to go to see everyone and relax after working three weeks straight without a day off. Tim proceeded to get shitfaced drunk, started yelling at me, and accused me of drooling over Leo after we had taken shots together. Tim was always neurotic, but that night he took the cake. We ended up fighting outside on the front lawn, and Leo ended up breaking us apart. I had to sleep on Leo’s couch that night because Tim left me there. I later found out he left to go see Monica.

  "Well, I still think a horoscope sign is a silly reason not to be with someone."

  "Okay, forget the whole astrology thing. How about for the biggest reason of all is that he's Tim's brother.”

  "Stepbrother, if you want to be technical." I grin cheekily.

  "Child," she huffs, slapping her hands to the bed. "It’s a bad idea. I feel like there's something else going on."

  "Nothing is going on. We’re just going out as friends, Grams.”

  "I don't believe you."

  “Why?” I place my hand to my chest, trying to look innocent. Though it is innocent because we are just friends.

  She tilts her head. “The smile on your face doesn’t say just friends.”

  I bury my face in my hands and groan. “God, Grams. Come on. Leo has always been nice, you know that, and I haven't seen him in a while. Sue me for being a little anxious and excited about it. Plus, he’s better than any of the guys blowing up my phone in the last twenty-four hours. I mean, he’s a nurse in the peds unit, so that’s already a huge plus in comparison to some of these others.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.” She sighs and drops her head back against the pillow.

  “Then what's wrong?” I move to sit beside her again, taking her hand in mine.

  “I know you think your poor grandmother is nuts with her…stuff…”

  “No, I don’t.” The last thing I think is that she’s crazy. I just don’t understand it all, even after all the years of her explaining it to me because her visions and horoscopes have been wrong before—well for me. So, I remain mildly skeptical.

  “You don’t have to humor me. You've always been one to go against everything when it comes to my readings. I’ll say this, and you'll do the opposite on purpose." I giggle because it's mostly true. She is my mother. It is my job to drive her insane. "But believe it or not, there’s trouble ahead for you and it’s all in the form or shape of Leo.”

  “But couldn’t that mean anything? There’s tons of Leos in the world, and this Leo is pretty good.”

  “Maybe, but it had to do with your heart.” She taps her hand over her chest.

  “Well, nothing is going to happen to my heart because we are just friends, Grams.”

  “Alright. If you say so. It’s not like you’re going to listen to me anyway.” She reaches for the remote, and I smirk.

  She’s right there.

  To get ready for the night, I’m over at Christiana’s house. She’s my go to when I need to be dolled up. Ever since we were in middle school, I’ve borrowed her clothes. Money has always been tight for me and Grams. It’s not as if my mother left her anything to help raise me, and I have no clue who my father is.

  My clothes came from the Salvation Army or church donations. That’s till I met Christiana. She and her family were always giving me extra clothes that were off the rack with the tags still on them because they “didn’t fit.” They had so much and were always giving. Their kindness made getting through school in Franklin as the poor girl so much easier. Though not too many people know about my friend’s huge heart and only take her at face value.

  Christiana is more like my sister. A soul sister. I think of her parents as my own and she thinks of Grams as her second mother.

  She’s also the one who saved my life from Colt that fateful night. I owe her the world. Maybe even more.

  “You're not actually going on a date with one of those guys that answered the ad, are you?" Christiana asks as we step into her large walk-in closet.

  "No. Actually, make that a hell no." I laugh. The calls have died down, and I think I'm going to be safe from changing my number. "No, would you believe me if I told you it was Leo, Tim’s step-brother.”

  "Oh!” She cackles, slapping her leg. “That's fucking priceless."

  "Grams wasn’t thrilled. She still has those bad vibes surrounding him. Or something like that." I brush my hand over a red mini dress that’s hanging up.

  "And you’re not listening to her?" She grins, and picks a couple of dresses off her rack, placing them in my arms.

  “Well, I might if this was really a date.”

  God, Grams is right, I wouldn’t have listened even if it was.

  “It’s not?” Christiana’s green eyes question me, and she jabs her fingers at the pile of dresses in my hands. “Then why are you getting all glammed up and asking for my sexiest dress?”

  “Because I still want to look good. You do remember what Leo looks like, right?” I don’t want to be a frumpy mess next to his sexiness at the dinner table.

  “Hell, yeah, I do.” She fans herself. “He’s freakin’ hot. Hotter than Tim, that’s for sure. Maybe he’s the brother you should’ve ended up with.”

  “It’s so out of the blue though. We haven’t seen each other in months. Like how odd is it that he found me stuffing my face in the cafeteria?” Why did I have to be stuffing my face when I saw him again?

  “As your grandmother would say, the stars aligned,” she says in a sing-song voice, and I roll my eyes.

  “Yet, Grams wants me as far away from that fire sign. To be honest, I’m actually shocked he wants to have dinner with me. It’s not as if we have much to catch up about.”

  We never talked that much before, so what would we talk about now besides our broken hearts?

  The dress she’s holding up drops to her waist as she gapes at me. “Maybe it's because he likes you and wants to spend time with you.”

  “I doubt he likes me as more than a friend.”

  “How can you be so sure? Claire, you’re hot and sweet. You need to stop selling yourself short.”

  “But he was almost engaged, and his ex is a supermodel.” Beautiful, Perfect. Has her life in order.

  “Claire, you could be a model too if you wanted.”

  “No, I’m the girl who wears hand me downs and shops for clothes in her friend’s closet.�
�� The girl who, thanks to Colt, never wears anything revealing because of the hideous scar he left across my stomach that freaks people out when they first see it. Or some men make me cover it when we are being intimate because they think they’re going to catch it. Yeah, I’m some hot model.

  “That doesn’t matter,” she snaps and nudges my shoulder. “I could punch Tim for never telling you more. He should’ve been building you up.”

  “I didn’t need him. I have the best friends in the world to help remind me. Thank you.” I hold up a black lace dress with sleeves and glance at myself in the long mirror. I happen to have a nice pair of legs that would look lethal in this dress. I push a strand of my brown hair back and remind myself that though I have a scar on the outside, I still love this girl on the inside. “And you’re right. You’re right. It doesn’t matter.”

  “I know I am.” She throws her bright pink hair over her shoulder and turns back to dig through her closet. “Maybe this is the start of something.”

  “This is just two friends catching up. Nothing more.”

  Chapter Four

  With one last fluff to my hair, I make my way to the cafeteria where I’m meeting Leo. My heart is beating wildly, and my stomach is fluttering with all the butterflies.

  I spot my blue-eyed man in a pair of black slacks and a white button-down. His hair is smoothed back and no longer the crazy mess it was hours ago. Totally changed from the man in scrubs. In his hand is a single pink daisy—My favorite flower.

  How did he know?

  "Hey." He hands me the flower, and the scruff from his light beard tickles my cheek as he places a kiss there.

  "Did you steal that from one of your patient’s rooms?" I put the daisy to my nose and inhale the sweet scent.

  "Caught me. But I didn't steal it. I asked if I could have it."

  I giggle. "Well, send my thanks. Did you know these are my favorite?"

  "I did." A sly grin spreads across his face.

  "How?" I question, tilting my head. Because I’m pretty sure there are only about four people that are aware of such a small fact about me and I'm not even sure his brother knows I like pink daisies. He always brought me blue irises or roses. I like those, but I love pink daisies.