Free Love Unmatched by Anne Leigh Page A

hideaway.
     
    “Sedona, I have some of your favorite cupcakes!” she exclaimed. Her cheeks were pink, her blue eyes twinkled, and her long, golden blonde locks hung loose around her face. She was so pretty. She had a classic patrician face. Initially, I had thought she was snobbish because of her looks, but she was the most down-to-earth person in the world.
     
    She was holding the pink, polka-dotted carton of my favorite Sugar Time Cupcakes when her steps halted. “Oh, you have a visitor.”
     
    How rude of me! As soon as I heard her say cupcakes I had forgotten about Kieran, who was now back to sitting on the couch, watching sports on TV.
     
    Kieran stretched his legs, stood, and walked towards us.
     
    I said, “Brynn, this is my best friend Kieran. And Kieran, this is my roommate Brynn.” Brynn held out her hand to Kieran, setting the cupcakes on the dining table.
     
    Kieran shook her hand and smiled at her, the kind of smile that meant he was checking a girl out.
     
    He was definitely interested in my roommate.
     
    Brynn grinned. “So you’re the famous Kieran?”
     
    “Yeah,” Kieran said mischievously. “Whatever Ace told you, I’m ten times better than that.” I had mentioned to Brynn that Kieran called me Ace, and that he was a snobbish, arrogant guy when he wanted to be. He only showed his true self when he was comfortable with the people around him.
     
    “Don’t mind him, Brynn,” I muttered. “It’s the after effects of constant sun and chlorine exposure that deteriorated his brain cells, causing him to have an overinflated ego.”
     
    “Oh, I get it. Trust me, I do,” she laughed. “My brother’s a swimmer too, and he’s definitely like that. As a matter of fact, you probably know him. I think he’s the top qualifier for the 200-free in Omaha.”
     
    Kieran’s brows rose. “Oh yeah? What’s your brother’s name?”
     
    Brynn slowly took out two of the cupcakes from the package. Oh my, my mouth was already watering.
     
    She said matter-of-factly, “My brother’s Milo Tanner. Do you know him?”
     
    I lifted my gaze from the cupcakes just in time to see Kieran’s smile wiped from his face at her words. He nodded and said coldly, “Nice to meet you, Brynn.” With that he walked towards the couch.
     
    Who was this Milo Tanner? Kieran’s mood was definitely off after that. He managed to avoid Brynn at every turn during the length of his stay. Since I had a two bedroom apartment with a loft, Kieran slept in the loft area on the sofa with a pullout bed.
     
    I knew he was trying to avoid Brynn because he made sure that she was already out before he came out of the loft at any time. Brynn seemed to have noticed Kieran’s aloofness. She did not talk about it, and she did not hang out with me as often as she did during his stay.
     
    We were walking through the Harry Potter Exhibit when I asked Kieran about what was bugging him. He looked at me strangely. “I have no problems.”
     
    “Come on, you clearly have issues with Brynn or her brother.” I arched my eyebrows at him.
     
    “You went all sour on her after she said Milo Tanner was her brother.”
     
    He was quiet for a minute, and then he said, “Milo Tanner is an asshole of the first order.”
     
    Kieran didn’t usually describe guys as assholes. For him to say that, this guy must have had really done something to irk him. It was hard to believe that Brynn, my sweet, gentle roommate would be related to someone that Kieran obviously disliked.
     
    I wanted to ask more, but Kieran changed the topic, showing that he did not want to talk about it any further. I kept my mouth shut, but the question lingered in me.

Chapter Eleven
     
    “My faith in you is like an ember – the hotter it gets, the longer it burns.”
     
    Sedona
     
    Some girls have Johnny Depp.
     
    Some have Tom Cruise.
     
    I had Aaron Miller.
     
    I remembered the first time I saw him on TV. My dad had been sitting on the couch and had asked