Gamed (A Standalone Romance Novel) (Bad Boy Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

us. "Quinn,
I'm so sorry."
    She waved a
delicate hand. "We said all of that on the phone. I'm just glad you're
here." She gave me a quick hug and retreated into the full front parlor.
    I took a deep
breath and followed her into the crowd. Quinn slipped like a stranger through
the people gathered there. She was right there in the family portrait on the
wall, but all anyone could ever see was Sienna. Even when she was gone, she
stole the limelight.
    "Is there
anything else I can help with?" I asked.
    Quinn blinked up at
me with her chocolate brown eyes. She glanced around to make sure I was
speaking to her. "Not really. Not now."
    "Have you
gone in to view the body?" I asked. It was a shit question, but I could
not take it back.
    Quinn shook her
head, so I held out my arm. Her cheeks blushed as she looked nervously from
side to side. Sienna's little sister was clearly not used to being noticed. "Don't
worry. They're staring at me. If I'm not falling apart just right or keeping it
together well enough, they'll dock my score," I said.
    She pulled her
lips in to stop a smile. "Or they're thinking how nasty I am putting the
moves on my sister's boyfriend." Her cheeks burned brighter.
    "They don't
know how long we've known each other. They don't know I've seen Pretty Pony sheets on your bed," I
said.
    "They don't
know that you made me pick out Sienna's Valentine’s gifts every year since you
two started dating."
    "I gave you
boxes of chocolates every year," I reminded her.
    "M&Ms
wrapped in Post-It Notes."
    "With pass
codes and Easter Eggs."
    "My
favorite," she admitted.
    We stopped in the
viewing line. I knew I should let go of her, but I kept her arm tucked tightly
against me. She leaned on my arm in the crush of people and did not try to pull
it free.
    "Speaking of
Easter Eggs," I said, "remember that time Sienna got mad at me for
dying eggs wrong?"
    "You mixed
the colors until it was dark brown and told her you were making rabbit
turds," Quinn said. She chewed her lip to hide another smile.
    "She kicked
us both out of the kitchen for laughing. We ended up eating jelly beans and
playing Vice City until one in the
morning."
    Quinn gave a
ragged sigh. "Sienna dyed the most perfect Easter Eggs. She blew the yokes
out and everything. I always tried to save the prettiest until the next year. Until
she pointed out I could just take pictures. I think I still have some stashed
away."
    "What? Pictures
of eggs?"
    Quinn shook her
head and said nothing. Only Quinn would carefully preserve something as
delicate as a hollow egg. To her, they were treasures to be saved. I loved how
she treasured things. Sienna always treated everything like a prototype to be
tossed away in the hopes the next one would be better.
    "Owen, we're
so glad you came. Have you signed the guestbook yet?" Mr. Thomas asked. He
took my elbow and guided me out of line.
    Quinn slipped her
arm out and opened her mouth to stop her father.
    He shook his head
at her. "It would mean so much to us if you'd put down a few words about
Sienna. You knew her so well."
    Once we were out
of Quinn's hearing, he hissed in my ear. "Nice of you to come, but you're
upsetting my wife. Sign the guestbook and go."
    Mr. Thomas dropped
my arm and went to greet better guests. I rubbed my elbow and realized he had
shoved me towards the door. There was no guestbook that I could see.
    Instead, there
were large collages of Sienna. Her photogenic life had been carefully curated
and mounted to best highlight her successes. Other guests gushed over the
beauty and the achievements, but I could not see it.
    A proud picture of
her with a glistening show horse and a trophy looked perfect. I cringed as I
remembered Sienna telling me how she hated her first horse. She lied and told
the trainer it had bitten her so she could ride a better one. The trainer had
taken her at her word and sold the horse to a trail ride farm up north.
    Her prize science
fair display looked like the perfection of a curious and