Behind the Tears (Behind the Lives) Read Online Free PDF Page B

her hand, scolding it. She cursed and stuck it under the tap. She didn’t normally lose her cool, but it seemed to be one thing after the other with Ash. And he thought she was the dramatic one. It would’ve been laughable if it didn’t make her want to cry, because she couldn’t do anything right with him.
    Dante coughed. Beth looked over the breakfast bar at the back of his head, his hair the same messy waves as Ash’s. Tension ran across his shoulders, his back ram-rod straight. He was tapping the table now, the tempo getting more and more agitated.
    She finished rinsing her hand and wiped it on a towel, then picked up her mug and took it to the other end of the table. She sat down, and looked across at Dante. He was staring at the passage doorway as though he was willing Ash to walk through it. Her eyes wandered over his face, so similar to his brother’s, the age difference not noticeable. It was probably because Dante lived life harder; always at one party or another, snorting drugs or downing beer like it was soft drink.
    Dante turned to look at Beth. She quickly dropped her gaze, hoping he didn’t think she’d been staring. Usually she was more careful when she observed him, but her emotions were all over the place at the moment, unguarded and strung out. Still, she shouldn’t be looking at him—at all, and especially not at a time like this. But she couldn’t help it! Lately, she’d been wondering what things would’ve been like if she’d asked him out instead of Ash, because he also fascinated her—which was driving her insane. She could be furious with him, but still find herself wanting to touch his hair ... his lips ... his body... She dug her nails into her legs to stop her thoughts.
    The slamming of a door made her jump. Ash entered the dining-room, leathered up and with his dark sunglasses on, looking ready for work as though nothing had happened. He snatched the packages off the table and grabbed the keys off the breakfast bar, muttering to Dante, “Gotta use your car, mine crapped out last night.” Before she knew it, he’d disappeared out the front door.
    Resisting the urge to cry, Beth covered her eyes. But it was her own fault for getting involved with him, because he’d always been slightly removed from everyone, preferring his own company over others. Plus, her brothers had warned her not to hook up with him, Corey being the most vocal of the two, saying that Ash was a thug and a few other unmentionables. She knew Corey hated Ash because of how he treated Sledge, but Ash wasn’t always harsh on Sledge, and when he did completely lose his rag it was only over something serious. In the time she’d been with him that had only happened twice. She frowned, knowing she was making excuses again, because whatever Ash’s reasons for hurting Sledge were, they still didn’t make his behaviour right.
    Her curtain of hair was brushed aside, startling her. She glanced up to find Dante leaning over the table. His hand ran down her cheek, his expression concerned. “You alright?”
    She stared at him, totally taken aback. No guy had ever looked at her in that way, like they truly cared—and especially not Ash.
    “Beth?”
    Dante’s voice snapped her back to reality. “Don’t touch me,” she said, smacking his hand away.
    “Sorry. You looked upset.”
    She glared at him, willing herself to ignore his wounded expression. “Why couldn’t you do the delivery today?”
    “You know why I can’t go to the Jones’s house.”
    Yeah, she damn well knew why Dante couldn’t deliver there. “Then you shouldn’t have slept with Deano’s wife.”
    “Why do ya always hafta bring that up? It happened ages ago, and I told ja enough times that I don’t remember nuthin’ ’bout that night.”
    “Cos you were off your face— as usual .”
    “It’s none of your business what I do—”
    “—or who you do,” she finished his sentence. “I don’t need reminding, and you’re wrong, cos it is