When We Touch Read Online Free PDF

soon as he released her.
    “Not yet.”
    “Brandon!” Cocking her head, she gave him that searching look that said he was about to get a stern lecture. “You’re not going to do anything to ruin this wedding, are you? Because I’m counting on you. Just once I’d like you to go along with what we have planned and behave yourself. Can you do that? For me?”
    “No problem.” He tried to play it straight, but it was difficult not to grimace. He hated the way she catered to Kyle and Kyle’s father. Maybe if she’d give them hell every once in a while, he wouldn’t have to establish their boundaries on his own.
    “Good. I’m glad to hear it. I’ll grab your tux when I hit town. If you wait too long, they’ll be closed.”
    “There’s always tomorrow, Mom.”
    “The wedding rehearsal is tomorrow. There’ll be a lot to do as it is.”
    “I can get my own tux!”
    Obviously put out by his refusal to let her take control, she sniffed. “And you’ll make the rehearsal?”
    “Of course.”
    “On time and sober?”
    “When have I ever shown up anywhere drunk?” he asked. As an athlete, he worked against the clock as it was. Age would slow him down fast enough; he wasn’t about to destroy his body with alcohol.
    “I’m just covering all the bases,” she told him.
    For Kyle… “Maybe I’m not the one you should be worried about,” he said.
    “What do you mean?
    “Maybe you should pay Kyle a visit instead, see if you can get him to call off the coming travesty.”
    She looked like he’d just stuck her with a pin. “Why would I do that?”
    He made a face that suggested she was crazy for even asking. “Because he’s about to ruin his life?”
    For a moment, she seemed torn, but ultimately took the party line. “We don’t know that.”
    “Maybe you don’t, but I do.”
    “Granted, Noelle isn’t the woman Olivia is,” she said, relenting, “but…it’s his choice. We have to respect his wishes.”
    Brandon leaned one shoulder against the wall. “Were you aware that Olivia’s been planning the wedding?”
    She slid her purse farther up her arm. He wasn’t sure how, at five-two and a hundred and twenty pounds, she managed to haul that thing around. It had to weigh thirty pounds. But she didn’t go anywhere without it. “Nancy mentioned she was helping, yes.”
    “I can’t believe they’d expect her to do that.”
    “They told me they thought it would be cathartic for her.”
    “To plan the wedding of the man she loves—to her sister ? Come on! I think it was just cheaper.”
    “It wasn’t my place to make that decision, either,” she said, but at least her tone of voice acknowledged that she agreed with him.
    “ Someone should’ve told them to plan it themselves,” he grumbled.
    “I’m sure it’s fine. Olivia’s a very forgiving, wonderful woman. And someday she’ll find an equally wonderful man.”
    Brandon pictured Olivia sitting on the side of the road, tears streaming down her face as she gazed up at him. Even completely disheveled, she was the prettiest woman he’d ever seen. “How wonderful would he need to be?” he asked.
    His mother frowned at him. “Excuse me?”
    “Never mind.” He’d known all along, ever since he’d held Olivia in his arms at prom, that he couldn’t have her. If he was going to get involved with a woman, she had to be like him, able to enjoy a quick, passionate affair and then move on.
    Because, as soon as ski season arrived, he’d be gone again.
    * * *
    Noelle was angry during dinner. Olivia could feel her sister’s animosity. She wasn’t sure why Noelle felt she had the right to be upset. She wasn’t the injured party. But every few seconds she’d glance over at Kyle, who was keeping his eyes on his plate, before sending Olivia an accusing glare.
    What did she think happened before she came upon them outside?
    Olivia didn’t care. Not really. Most of the slights Noelle perceived were imagined. It’d always been that way. Olivia