Free The Boyfriend Thief by Shana Norris

figure out how much money we need for our loan,” Zac said, reading from the paper in our notebook. “Let’s see. We’ll need a storefront for the in person clients. And furniture and…”
    The sudden squeal of my cell phone from the pocket of my sundress startled me and I let out a sharp shriek. Zac jumped, his knee bumping hard into the coffee table.
    “Sorry!” I exclaimed, leaning forward to press my hands against Zac’s knee. Which was attached to a nicely muscular thigh as I couldn’t help noticing while I checked him for injuries—strictly medically speaking, of course. “Are you okay?”
    “Fine,” Zac said, grimacing. “You going to answer that?” He nodded toward my pocket where my cell phone still shrilled.
    “Oh, right.” I pulled the phone out and pressed talk without checking the caller ID first. “Hello?”
    “Hello, Avery,” said a familiar voice in my ear. My mind was still reeling so much I couldn’t place the voice on the other end.
    “Who is this?”
    “I’m hurt. You’ve made it your mission in life to torment me and yet you don’t recognize my voice?”
    “Elliott,” I said, stifling a groan. “How did you get my number?”
    “Your brother was more than willing to give up your number for a certain cheerleader’s in exchange,” Elliott told me.
    I was going to kill Ian as soon as I got home that night.
    “Well,” I said, trying to sound pleasant and force down the rage bubbling inside me, “it’s been nice chatting with you, but I’m really busy at the moment.”
    “Oh, I know,” Elliott said. “I saw your car at Greeley’s house.”
    “Are you stalking me now?”
    Zac looked at me, raising his eyebrows in question.
    “I was on my way to get some lunch when I passed his house. I can’t help it that I live right across the street from you and know what your car looks like.”
    “Whatever. What do you want?”
    “Stop telling Molly all these lies about what you think is going on with me and Tara.”
    “I’m not going to let you hurt my best friend.”
    “I would never do anything to hurt Molly,” Elliott said. “How many times do I have to tell you that? What do I have to do to prove myself to the two of you?”
    I squeezed my eyes shut and took a few deep, calming breaths. “Look, Elliott, I have to go—”
    “I need your help,” Elliott said, his voice sounding a little raspy, as if he were desperate. “Molly isn’t like any of the other girls I’ve known. I really want—”
    “Good-bye, Elliott,” I said before I hung up on him. The phone rang again immediately, but I turned it off and stuffed it back into my pocket.
    Zac eyed me. “Everything okay?”
    “Oh, fine.” I waved a hand. “My daily stalking from Elliott Reiser, who seems to be extra crazy these days.”
    No need to tell him it was my fault.
    “So what, he wants you to go out with him or something?” Zac asked.
    A shudder went through me at the thought. “Oh, no . No way. Elliott and I would kill each other on the first date. He’s interested in my friend Molly. And for some unknown reason, the feeling is mutual.”
    “But?”
    “But,” I said, unable to look at Zac as I spoke, “I don’t exactly have warm feelings for Elliott. So Molly hasn’t agreed to go out with him, which is driving him crazy.”
    Zac sat back and nodded, drumming his fingers on his knee. “Ah. So Elliott blames you and is trying to convince you to change your mind about him so you’ll let Molly date him.”
    “Pretty much,” I answered. “But he’s very much out of luck. I can’t imagine anything he could do that would change my mind.”
    “What do you have against Elliott?” Zac asked.
    One thing I was grateful for was what had happened that summer after seventh grade didn’t get spread around school. Elliott and Hannah could have told everything, but for some reason, they never had. Everyone only knew that the three of us had had a big falling out and were no longer friends by the time