Through Her Eyes Read Online Free PDF Page B

accent catches me off guard. It’s smooth and rich and evokes feelings of home, comfort. He smiles at me. Full lips. How had I missed those in my earlier perusal? He has the type of smile that makes butterflies take flight. His steel blue eyes linger over me, slowly, trailing over my long, toned legs, up my torso, and finally to my eyes. My body shivers involuntarily.
    He smirks. Shit. That smirk could be deadly. It should come with a warning note. Will cause recipient to be rendered useless.
    Feeling uncomfortable from the attention, I gaze down at my glass and break the connection. Maybe if I ignore him he will leave me to my solitude.
    “I’m Chase. Chase Porter.” No such luck. His tanned hand stretches out toward mine. Lifting my eyes, I meet his gaze. I sit useless, openly gawking at him. My fingers continue to rim the glass, not reaching up to his.
    “And you are?” A grin curls up the side of his face.
    “Leaving.” I push back, and the chair screeches across the floor. His head cocks to the side at my answer and then the most beautiful chuckle leaves his perfectly shaped mouth.
    “Oh come on, I won’t bite . . . hard.” He winks. The son of a bitch winks. I roll my eyes at his lame pick-up line. As hot as he is, can’t he come up with something better?
    “Does this ever work for you?” I force back my laughter.
    “I don’t know. Is it working now?”
    “Nope.” I turn my body slightly towards his.
    “Okay, help a guy out. One name. You don’t even have to tell me your last name if you don’t want to.”
    “It’s Aria.” I pause for a second. “Aria Bennett.”
    His eyes light up like a kid in a candy store, and I know exactly what is coming. It’s only a matter of time before the jokes start. Maybe he would be smart enough to just let it go.
    “Aria Bennett.” He tests the name on his tongue as his smile broadens. “So, you know your name is Aria Bennett?” Nope. He isn’t smart enough.
    “Since I’ve been referred to by that name for the last twenty-two years, yeah . . . I’m quite aware of the fact that indeed is my name.” Contempt drips from my lips.
    “And you’re aware that you are named after the game Final Fantasy Three , right? Were your parents’ gamers?”
    If I had a dollar for every person who thought they were clever enough to figure this out, like they were the only video game geek to get the reference. If only that was the case, though. If only they had named me after her. If only they had named me out of love.
    “No. Actually, they had no idea. They hated it once they found out. They even wanted me to legally change my name.”
    I’ll never forget the day they found out. It was also the first day I met Parker. I came home from school so excited and ran into the house beaming with the news.
    I went straight to my mom and jumped on her lap to hug her. I remember how she pulled away from me with disdain. My mother was not openly affectionate with me. To be honest, I was more like a thorn in her side than a daughter she loved. I’m able to see that now, but at six years old I was oblivious until that day.
    “Mom, Mom! Thank you, thank you!” I beamed.
    “What are you going on about, Aria?” she questioned as she tried to detangle herself from my tiny arms. “And make it fast.” She gave me a frosty look as she spoke.
    “The kids told me at school. I’m from a video game! That’s so cool, Mom!”
    “Aria, please don’t ramble. You know how much I despise that.”
    “You named me after the video game Final Fantasy.” I beamed up at her proudly. Our eyes met, but hers weren’t smiling back at me. Wanting to show her how much I loved what she had done, I buried myself further into the nook of her neck and hugged her tightly. I felt her body tensing underneath me. I could feel her long, sun-kissed hair scratch at me as she pulled farther away.
    “ I have no idea what you’re going on about, Aria .” Her mouth was tight as she pronounced my name. A