No Love Allowed (Dodge Cove Trilogy #1) (14 page)

Wavy dark locks fell past slim shoulders like a sable waterfall. The periwinkle flowers on her dress set off the blue of her eyes. She had a face Renaissance painters would have been falling all
over themselves to immortalize on canvas. She was captivating. Then Didi noticed the resemblance between the girl and Nathan.

The trio stopped just outside the blanket.

With a proud grin, Nathan said, “Didi, let me introduce you to my sister, Natasha Parker, princess of Dodge Cove.”

Natasha laughed, good-naturedly slapping him on the arm.

Didi got to her feet and curtsied. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Your Highness.”

This brought on a round of laugher from the guys as Natasha studied her intently. Then she said to Nathan, “She’s everything you said and more, Nate.”

“Caleb”—Natasha looked toward him—“I need to borrow your girlfriend for a minute. Do you mind?” Before Caleb could speak, she grabbed Didi’s arm and
pulled her away from the blanket. “We’ll be right back. Girl talk.”

All the boys could do was stare wide-eyed after them. A thrill of satisfaction at stumping them washed over her. Didi had never seen someone take complete control of a group the way Natasha had.
No wonder the guys worshipped the ground she walked upon.

“Be honest with me,” Natasha whispered when they were out of earshot, tightening her grip. “Between just us girls, why did you say yes to being Caleb’s fake
girlfriend?”

Without hesitation, she said, “Because I had nothing better to do this summer.”

The Dodge Cove princess paused in her stride. “Forgive me, but I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t see why it’s any of your business.”

“I make it my business where Caleb is concerned.” Her sparkling blue eyes narrowed, changing her whole face into something scarier. Still beautiful, but definitely scarier.
“What do you get out of this?”

Under the weight of that gaze, Didi broke eye contact. She took a deep breath to settle her sudden case of nerves and decided to tell the truth.

“He’s pretty. . . . And I thought it would be fun. . . . And it’s just for the summer.”

There was a pause, then Natasha burst out laughing.

“I think I like you, Diana Alexander.” Natasha gave her a kiss on the cheek before she added, “Take care of our boy. He might not look it, but he does have feelings.”

“I think I like you too, Natasha Parker, princess of Dodge Cove.”

Didi looked back toward their blanket, where Caleb and Nathan were laughing about something while Preston remained his usual statue self. A twinge of envy with a hint of loneliness hit her
heart. “And he’ll be fine. He has all of you.”

A small smile graced Natasha’s perfect bow lips. “Why don’t you go grab us some drinks while I say hello to Preston’s mom. Knowing Mr. Cat Got His Tongue, he probably
hasn’t told her I’m back in DoCo. Meet you at the blanket.”

Nodding, she watched Natasha navigate the crowd like a boss, expertly flitting from one group to another, exchanging pleasantries, until she reached a woman who bore a strong resemblance to
Preston. She was gorgeous, like her son, but from the way she stood it seemed like she had a huge stick up her butt. Not someone she wanted to meet anytime soon.

Arriving at the beverage table, Didi contemplated the seemingly endless options. She caught herself muttering “rich people” under her breath. No less than seven kinds of iced teas.
Six varieties of soda. Five brands of beer. Four types of lemonade. Three flavors of froufrou water. Two colors of wine. And a punch bowl in a pear tree. She sighed, going for an Arnold Palmer:
half lemonade, half iced tea. Not original, but at least she had satisfied her thirst the way she wanted to.

“You must think this is all too much.”

Regretting leaving the safety of Caleb’s company, Didi forced her lips into a smile and said through her teeth, “Ashley, so good to see you again.”

“Am-ber.” She pointed at her purple-sundressed self and carefully enunciated the syllables of her name as if Didi was learning impaired or deaf or both. She totally didn’t get
it.

Mentally shaking her head and praying for strength, since she thought she had gotten rid of this viper, she went with it. “Of course, Ashley. Didn’t see you at the Summer Swing. That
was so much fun.”

“I don’t go to those. Hay.” She waved in disgust. “Tacky.”

“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were allergic.” She had meant it to tease her, but from the way Amber stiffened she’d hit the bull’s-eye inadvertently.
Huh.

She quickly recovered with, “All this must be overwhelming for you.”

Crossing her arms brought the cup closer to her chest. “What do you mean?”

Amber sidled closer and whispered, “Must be tough interacting with people who have more . . . class.”

Normally Amber’s words wouldn’t have disturbed her the way they did. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you think I still don’t know?” Amber waved again, this time as if she were fanning away a foul smell. “Caleb is just stringing you along. In the end he’ll come
back to me.”

“You’re so full of shit. You were a mess of tears at the club.”

She realized her mistake as soon as a glint of triumph entered Amber’s eyes. “I knew it! You’re that waitress who dumped water all over me.”

“Not that it’s a secret, but yeah. And I’d do it again if it wouldn’t embarrass Caleb. So tell everyone. I don’t care.” Her grip on the cup tightened to the
point where the plastic crunched. “It’s not going to change what Caleb and I have.”

“Oh, of course not.” Amber smiled, but steel remained in her eyes. “The people here will just gossip about you. I’m sure words like
gold digger
won’t
bother you at all, since when this summer is over, Caleb will be gone, and you’ll go back to whatever hovel you came from.” Before Didi could respond, she added, “But, you see,
Caleb’s father is a different story. All I have to do is tell him about you—”

“But he already knows about me,” she interrupted.

“Not after I add a few juicy details of my own into the mix.” The delight in Amber’s expression said it all.

Didi had walked into her trap. Whatever the witch had been planning, she’d accomplished, because people were looking their way. Seeing red, Didi shifted to pitch the contents of her cup at
Amber’s face. But just as her hand tilted toward the girl, who was clearly waiting for it, strong fingers closed around her wrist. In quick movements, she was relieved of the cup and
maneuvered behind a fuming Caleb.

“Amber, lower your voice before you embarrass yourself,” he said through his teeth, anger radiating off him.

Amber merely tilted her chin up in defiance.

“Whatever it is you think you’re doing, it won’t change anything,” he added in a harsh tone. “Get it into your head. There’s never going to be anything
between us.”

“What do you think your father will say when I tell him about how rude she’s being to me?” she hissed.

Squaring his shoulders, Caleb took a step forward. “I’d like to see you try.”

“See if I don’t.”

“Amber,” he whispered her name like a curse. “You’re forgetting that you agreed to no strings attached with me senior year. Weren’t you telling your friends that we
were actually going out? That you finally—what was the word you used?” Amber paled, but Caleb continued anyway. “Ah, that’s right. That you finally
landed
me? What
would your friends think if it got out that our relationship was nothing more than me having a good time?”

“They will believe me over you, of course.” But doubt had already crept into her voice.

“Not when they hear the recording of you agreeing to my terms.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“I’d like to think you know me better than that.”

Eyes brimming, Amber backed away. Hatred for Caleb oozed out of her like heat from a fire. Her lips twisted as her face settled into a scowl. She must have seen the truth in Caleb’s stern
expression because she hurried away.

Caleb turned toward Didi and looked her in the eye, all his previous anger turning into concern. “Are you all right, Didi?”

“You didn’t really record your conversation with her, did you?” she asked, giving the place where Amber once stood a glance.

“She doesn’t know that.”

She stepped closer. “You just defended me.”

“Actually . . .” Scratching the back of his head, he grinned. “I was saving Amber from your wrath. I have money on you winning, but I don’t think everyone is ready for a
UFC cage match to play out. There are kids present, after all.”

“You don’t think she’ll actually tell your father, do you?”

Caleb stroked his knuckles down her cheek. “Let me worry about that.”

“But your dad—”

“Won’t be a problem. Trust me.”

A hum of appreciation escaped her throat. “You don’t know how unbelievably hot it is that you think I’d win against Ashley.”

“Oh yeah?” He circled her waist with his arms, pulling her closer.

“Yeah.” She shifted onto her toes and kissed his cheek. Then before he could respond, she pushed back and said, “Tomorrow, my house.”

“Your house,” he repeated. Desire ignited in his gaze, turning the blue into molten cobalt.

She nodded, licking her bottom lip. “I think it’s time you made good on your promise to pose for me.”

CALEB SAT ON
the stool Didi had parked him on in the middle of what she called her happy place. He could see why. One wall was
made entirely of glass, bringing in natural light he had read somewhere that artists craved. Hanging along the rest of the walls were prints of van Gogh’s
The Starry Night, The Kiss
by Gustav Klimt, and one of Claude Monet’s most famous paintings,
San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk
—just to name a few. He silently thanked the art interpretation elective he had
taken junior year. So much more useful than pottery making.

While Didi set up a fresh canvas on the easel, he continued to study the space and noticed a theme emerge in her tastes. She loved golden tones as seen in
The Kiss
, the bright orange of
Monet, and the stark blues of
The Starry Night.
The paintings on the floor, resting against the walls, echoed many of the colors used by the artists she admired. True to her word during
the unfortunate encounter with his father, Didi painted whatever she liked. From still lifes to portraits to something blue, reminiscent of Picasso, she certainly let inspiration drive her.

“Is that the pond from the garden party?” He pointed at a canvas in the corner. The mix of green and blue brought out the bright purple of the water lilies. There was something so
serene about the scene, yet it had depth, drawing the eye into the farthest reaches of the canvas.

Didi glanced over her shoulder at the painting. “Yes. I was trying to capture the frog on the pad. He looked like the king of the pond.” Her lips quirked into a quick smile.

He searched for the so-called monarch and came up with nothing close to amphibian. “Maybe I need glasses or something. I don’t see him.”

Exaggerating an eye roll, she padded to the painting in her flip-flops and overalls and pointed at the tiniest speck of green. Unsure of what she had meant for him to see, he hopped off the
stool and went closer for a better look. Squinting and staring at the point her finger indicated, he still couldn’t make out the frog. Unwilling to give up, he dropped to one knee and leaned
closer until his nose practically touched the canvas. That was when he heard the soft giggling.

“There isn’t a frog, is there?” He glanced up, catching her failing at muffling laughter with her other hand. Mock growling, he pushed to his feet and yanked Didi into his
arms. She yelped and pummeled his chest when he ran his fingers up her sides. The second he hit the underside of one rib her giggles turned into full-on laughter. “Gotcha!”

“Caleb, stop!” she pleaded, squirming in vain to get away from his tickle attack. “Stop!”

“That’s for tricking me into thinking there was a frog.”

“But you were so serious,” she said between gulps of air and breathy laughter. She pushed up onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, taking him into a tight hug.

The second her sweet citrusy scent filled his lungs, he tightened his grip on her hips so she would stay where he wanted her. He loved the feel of her curves against him, like she was made for
touching. And crazy as it seemed, he wanted to be the only one touching her that way. He couldn’t bear the thought of someone else’s hands on her.

Then his eyes settled on her lips when she pulled back to look up at him. He caught himself wondering how they would feel against his own. How she would taste. He leaned toward her.

This was getting dangerous.

“Caleb?”

Her voice pulled him away from crossing the line, and he stepped back, reluctantly letting her go.

As if they hadn’t just been about to make out, Didi took his hand and returned him to the stool. Her easy dismissal confused him. Had she felt nothing? Shit. It had been the same at the
picnic. She’d pulled away when he began leaning in. If Nathan hadn’t arrived with Natasha and Preston, he didn’t know what he would have done. Would he have pressed the issue and
attempted the kiss like he wanted to do now? But he shouldn’t be feeling anything. That was the point of the ground rules.

Frowning at his lapse in control, he sat back down and focused on what he was there for. As part of their agreement, he would pose for her. Exactly what that entailed, he wasn’t quite
sure. So he asked, “Is there a specific way you want me?”

The mischief he saw so often in her sparked again. “Oh, there are so many ways to answer that question.” She picked up a brush and bit down on the wooden end.

“You’ve got to be doing it on purpose,” he accused, narrowing his gaze at her in suspicion.

“What?”

He gestured at her face. “You keep drawing attention to your lips. It’s enough to drive a man insane.”

“Oh . . .” She pursed her lips and tapped the brush’s tip against the lower one. “You mean like this?”

Closing his eyes against the image she’d just seared forever into his brain, he groaned. “You are so cruel.”