All of Me (All of Me #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

deepened.
    I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and briefly looked away.
    My sister decided that was the perfect moment to join the conversation.
    “Mr. Tate, how nice to see you again.”
    “Miss. Forbes,” he replied, not looking away from me. “Lovely to see you again. I was just meeting your sister here.”
    Rebecca looked at me, her smile stiff, and then looked at Jason. “Quite the little firecracker, isn’t she?”
    I tried not to respond with a sarcastic comment. My sister and I were always fighting. We were opposites in every way. She was white, whereas I was red. She was a “yes” girl, and I was more of a “if I feel like it” girl. She spent her entire life sucking up to my parents, while I spent my life defying them. The only person who ever seemed to understand me was my father, and that was because he was once the rebellious child in his own family.
    “Rebecca,” I said, “you look lovely tonight. Is that grandma’s dress?”
    She gasped. “No it isn’t. Did you buy yours at Sluts-R-Us?”
    My eyes widened in shock. As I opened my mouth to reply, my mother intercepted.
    “Rebecca!”
    Booya, I thought. Only my sister was dumb enough to get caught saying something like that in front of my mother. I looked at my father, and he had a small smile playing on his lips. That was why I loved him. He got it.
    While my mother showed her disapproval, I excused myself and wandered over to the buffet table. I was starving, and totally bored. With a glance at my watch, I noted that I had another hour of this shindig before I could leave. I could waste the time eating, and sneaking champagne when I was sure my mother wasn’t looking.
    “Got somewhere to be?”
    I spun around, nearly knocking a server over with my arm, and came face-to-face with Jason. He grinned, clearly enjoying my clumsiness.
    “Yes, actually I do,” I replied. “This is an old people’s event, and as you can see, I’m not old.”
    “No,” he chuckled, “you certainly are not, but I’m slightly offended that you think I am.”
    “Well, how old are you?” I knew it was rude to ask so bluntly, but it seemed like my mouth-to-brain filter had once again broken.
    Jason’s brow arched, and it made him look so sexy.
    “I’m thirty one.”
    “Hmm, I never would have guessed.” I was totally flirting with him. He might have been eleven years my senior, but damn he was hot.
    “Am I too old to ask you for a dance?”
    I regarded him for a second, making it obvious that I was checking him out.
    “No,” I replied, “but will you be able to keep up with someone my age?”
    “Are you questioning my stamina, Miss. Forbes?”
    I laughed, fighting the need to throw myself at this alluring stranger. I didn’t know anything about him except his name and his age but something was pulling me to him. I wanted to know him.
    “Quite the opposite, Mr. Tate. I’d like to see what you can do.”
    I was walking a fine line between what was considered appropriate and what wasn’t. I didn’t care. I was sure I wasn’t going to see him again so I wanted to enjoy his company while I could. So I did.
    We danced until my feet hurt, and I laughed until my belly ached. It was the perfect night, and the most fun I’d ever had at those stuffy events. When I walked him outside, long after many of the other guests had left, he kissed my cheek and slipped a piece of paper in my hand. It was so unlike anything someone his age would do, but that’s what I liked about him - he wasn’t at all what I expected, and he made me forget about the gaping age difference between us.
    I looked down at the piece of paper and his neat handwriting. It was a promise of what could be.
    I sigh, allowing the memories of the night I met Jason to flood my mind. I was so callow, and gullible when I met him. I was intrigued by his personality. He soon became an enigma, a puzzle I wanted to piece together. I paid a high price for that, but did I regret it? I don’t know.
    I