Free Goddess Revenge: Goddess Series Book 4 (Young Adult / New Adult) by M.W. Muse Page A

him. He handed her two bags and glanced over at Legacy. His eyebrows furrowed, and he quickly said something to Calli that Legacy couldn’t make out. She saw her nod and say something. They conversed back and forth until he turned around and walked away. Calli walked back over to Legacy, handed her a bag, and they quickly unwrapped the sandwiches.
    “What’d he say?” she asked as she took a bite.
    “He asked if you’d been crying.”
    Her head shot up.
    “I told him you had.” When she saw Legacy shake her head, she clarified. “He could tell. Your eyes are swollen. Anyway, he wanted to come over and talk to you. I told him that wasn’t a good idea.”
    “Thanks,” she whispered.
    They finished their lunch right when the bell rang and they headed to English. River didn’t show up to walk her to her other classes that afternoon, and when she got into gym, he was already with the basketball team, practicing.
    When gym was over, she changed slowly, knowing she’d have to talk to him on the ride home. Calli had said she’d take her home, and she seriously considered her offer. But she didn’t want River to use that as an opportunity to negate his prize and make her ride with him again, or worse, pick out a different prize altogether because she’d reneged on the first one.
    She walked out of the locker room to find a solemn River leaning against the opposite wall, waiting. She looked up at him and turned to walk out of the gym. He followed without saying anything. When they got to his car, he opened the door for her, but she didn’t look at him. He drove in silence while she stared outside the window. After he pulled into her driveway, he turned off the engine. She guessed he thought he would be staying. She started to open the door, but River suddenly, but gently, grabbed her arm.
    She quickly looked over at him.
    “I’m sorry,” he barely whispered.
    She felt a lump rise in her throat and swallowed. “Me too,” she murmured as pulled her arm free and got out of his car.
    She shut the door and headed for the house, but heard River open and shut his door too. He caught up with her as she opened the front door.
    “Legacy, please …”
    She turned around and saw his agonized expression.
    “I-I had no right to doubt your motives. It’s just that I, um, you know how I feel about you. I think I’m just trying to protect my heart from getting hurt.”
    Little did he know that that was really her motive—not keeping Adin alive—for pursuing him. He was right to protect his heart. She wanted to crush it. “Maybe we should back off then. I already know what it feels like to have a broken heart. You’re right to want to protect yours.”
    “No, that…that’s not what I meant. I know people can’t find happiness without taking risks…” He took a deep breath and looked down. “Can I come in?”
    She stared at him while she pondered this. She could let him in and off the hook, or she could make him sweat it out. She figured she needed to work through this little snag so she could get her plan back on track. She didn’t need to avoid him, and she didn’t need him questioning her motives. And she really didn’t need any real drama to contend with. She nodded slowly before heading into the house.
    River followed her to the couch, sitting closer to her than he had before. She waited for him to start, which he finally did after he realized she wasn’t going to.
    “Legacy, I love spending time with you, and the idea of you growing closer to me…” He shut his eyes on a sigh and whispered, “I can’t even begin to express how that makes me feel.”
    “But you think I’m using you?” she asked, and he opened his eyes to meet her gaze.
    “I-I thought that, yes, but I don’t think that now. As soon as you said something about being confused because of how strong your feelings are, everything clicked. I wanted to talk to you after first period, but you’ve been avoiding me. Rightly so. But, um,