Forbidden Indulgences Read Online Free PDF

wouldn’t even give me five minutes to explain.”
    All right, guess we’re going there already .
    “What was there to explain, Ethan? I told you I was in love with you and you didn’t want me.” To her surprise tears sprang to her eyes. How could this hurt so much when it was so long ago? She turned slightly, enough so that he wouldn’t notice her swipe at her eyes with the back of her hand.
    “That wasn’t it exactly.”
    “So you rejected me because of what? I was too hot for you. Too smart. Too good of a friend? Too devoted. Loved you too much. Come on Ethan, stop me when I’ve come to the reason!”
    He frowned, his stare catching hers. “We’re stepsiblings, Ivy… We were living under the same roof.”
    She huffed. “So my weight had nothing to do with it.”
    He opened his mouth to respond.
    “Don’t lie to me.”
    He snapped his mouth shut again.
    “Yeah.” She gave her head a shake. “That’s what I thought. I wasn’t the tiny cheerleader you could show off. I get it.”
    Ethan rose to his feet and all of a sudden seemed taller, larger. And too damned sexy. He took a few steps toward her, but she held her ground. Ivy tilted her head up, keeping her eyes locked to his, refusing to back down.
    “Maybe you’re right to a certain extent. A year and a half can make a big difference in someone – as you know. So maybe back then I was a bit of an ass and was swayed by the popular girls and women like that. But people change, Ivy. When you left and refused to talk to me it really hurt.”
    A laugh escaped her. “Hurt? You were hurt? You have got to be kidding me right now. You were given a choice and you didn’t choose me and now you what… You want what? Pity from me ’cause you lost your fat friend?”
    “I never saw you as that.”
    “But you never saw me as someone you’d want to be with either.”
    “I never saw you as someone to be with because you were a good friend. And we’re stepsiblings. And let’s not forget the fact you told me a day before you left for college. Just out of the blue, just before you leave you announce you were in love with me. Even if I had felt the same way, how did you figure that would play out? Me here and you in Boston?”
    “We could have made it work, Ethan. It’s not like I was across the country. It’s not like Boston is very far. You just had to hop in a car and drive south an hour and a half.”
    “But you didn’t give me time to process it, Ivy. You tossed it at me and then took off. I tried to talk to you, but you shut me out.”
    “If you really wanted to sort it out you could have come after me.” She knew she was beginning to become unreasonable and that what he was saying did have some merit, that there was a chance her weight wasn’t the only thing that had been a factor, but didn’t give a damn. She needed a reason to pursue her plan. The plan had been the outlet for her heartache for a long time.
    “So drive down there, while in the middle of training for the department so you could slam the door in my face and tell me to go fuck myself? If you wouldn’t answer the phone no matter how many calls or texts I sent what would lead me to believe showing up and making a fool out of myself in person would provide better results?”
    She frowned. She didn’t have a reasonable answer for him. “You could have tried.”
    “And what is going on with you and Trey? You never had an interest in him before. At least I didn’t think so. What’s your game plan, Ivy? You’re using him to make me jealous? Is that it?”
    Ivy chewed at her lower lip, averting her gaze. The truth was that she didn’t really know anymore. A few hours in the guy’s presence and her whole plan was falling to pieces at her feet. There was a definite attraction toward Trey and it rivalled her attraction to Ethan. It was surprising and confusing at the same time. 
    Ethan sighed, drawing her attention back to him. She stared up at him as he thrust a hand into his