Stand Close 2 (Stand Close New Adult Romance Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

winning a staring contest with Jack Stone to give a crap.
    Jack counters coolly, “Who said I want to call you family?”
    A knife presses into my heart, but I act like that didn’t hurt. “Nobody would dare say such a lie, Jack. So if you’re not my family, then who are you to take me anywhere or tell me to do ANYTHING!!! PULL OVER!”
    “Rue,” Jenna murmurs, “Calm down.”
    Susan’s got her lips sucked into her mouth, her knuckles white on her lap.
    “No! I want out. PULL OVER! Where’s the window thingy? The thingy to make the window go down for the driver? Where is it?”
    Even Sean loses it and snaps, “Calm down, Rue!”
    “Yeah! Because people always calm down when they’re told to! Let’s get real guys. Do you like being told what to do? Because I’m pretty sure no one, and I mean NO ONE,” I slice my finger through the air at all three of them, “tells the royals what to do. God forbid someone say no to you. Well, NO. There, I said it.”
    “She’s still drunk,” Jack growls.
    Susan leans in and breaks girlfriend-code. “She drank a lot. I was trying to get her to stop.”
    “Susan!” Jenna warns her.
    “Oh my God! Let me out of this car!” I stand up, back bent under the low ceiling, heading for the door even though we’re still moving at quite a clip toward downtown.
    Alec reaches over and hits a button that makes the divider roll down. “Can you please stop the car, Tony?’
    “Alec.” Sean cuts his eyes to him.
    “Don’t worry. She just needs to walk it off. You guys go ahead. I’ll catch us a cab after she’s sobered up and meet you guys later.” He holds Sean’s stare, his voice growing deeper with anger. “Sean, get over yourself. I’m not going to touch her.” Sean registers surprise at being called out, but he says nothing.
    The car stops and I head for the door again, but Jack stops me. “Wait for the driver to open the damn door, heathen.”
    I glare at him, hiding the fact that I’m mortified at my inexperience. “I was going to wait for him, standing up.”
    “Sure you were.”
    The door opens and Jenna starts to come, too. Susan reluctantly grabs her purse, but Alec stops them both. “You ladies go on with them. I’ve got this. It’s okay.” Jenna hands him my coat.
    The driver helps me out and Alec emerges behind me. I turn and watch him effortlessly rising, his eyes on me. He’s got an amused smile on his face as he slides my coat on my arms. The driver closes the door and walks around to get back in and drive away.
    Does Alec think I’m a child, too? After my tantrum, he probably does, and right now I’m staring at him a little too long, to find out. Being alone with him, it should make me excited, but after everything that’s happened tonight, I wish it had been Sean and not Alec who had known I needed fresh air before I strangled Jack with my own hands.
    As I’m blinking at Alec, he watches me gravely, his fingers deftly buttoning up a pea coat over his navy blue suit. How do I behave now that we’re alone after what he’s just seen, and how I feel about him? Struggling with my insecurities, I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and look to the sidewalk for answers. “Thank you.”
    He regards me for a moment without saying anything. “For what?”
    “For knowing what I needed. I was going to lose it in there.”
    He smirks, thinking I did lose it, but he doesn’t drive the nail in deeper. We both know I could have handled myself a little better. “I needed some air, too. Let’s walk.”

Chapter Six

Rue
    T o my shock , he takes my hand, clasping it loosely and comfortably as though he’d done it a million times. I glance up to a street sign on our right that reads: Houston Street. Biting my lip now that I’m alone with Alec, I look around the small scatters of people walking home around us. Some are just hanging out, talking after a late night. It feels like it’s around one o’clock or something, but that can’t be right.
    “What