Free Jaded by Ember Leigh

Cosmo magazine in front of my face and encouraged me to take lessons from it.”
    “Well you didn’t turn out to be a Cosmo girl; why’s that?”
    “I’m not sure. Freak accident, maybe. I’ve always been different from the Moreno family. I taught myself how to balance a checkbook, I learned about mortgages, I started my own savings accounts. They’re all things my parents do, but never really instilled in us. It’s like they just want us to be their pretty little dolls for the rest of their lives. But I was never happy being a doll.”
    “Well, you have a brain.” Luke winked. “Doesn’t your sister have one too?”
    Isabella laughed. “Of course. She’s just different than I am. Easier to fawn over, easier to look at and sigh and say, ‘How pretty you are!’”
    “It’s not too hard to do that with you, though.” Luke grinned shyly, seeming a bit hesitant.
    Isabella looked down. “Thanks. That’s sweet.”
    “Hey, you took a compliment! You’re making progress.”
    “Only because it wasn’t about my ass!”
    Luke smiled. “Fair enough. So anyway, since you mention dolls, is that what your mom did for you, bought you your very own doll house?”
    Isabella blushed, liking his astute nature and wittiness. “Of course. You know, she ordered this renovation as a pick-me-up. She said it herself. She wanted to remodel my house and my love life.”
    “So we’re there just so you’ll stop crying over a boy?”
    “In essence, yes.”
    “I feel used. Did her plan work?”
    Isabella paused, examining her napkin. “Well, I remodeled my love life, that’s for sure, but not because of the renovation project.” She looked up at him and smiled. “She has the right intentions; I suppose that’s all I can ask for. Besides, she’s spent money on more bizarre gifts than this.”
    “There’s a weirder gift than a surprise home renovation when you didn’t want one? Now this I gotta hear.”
    Isabella laughed. “This is only our first date. If I start this epic story, it might turn into our second ,then our third.”
    Luke’s eyes lit up. “So this isn’t just a one-time thing? You’re not doing this as a pity date?”
    Her cheeks got red and she looked hard at the basket of breadsticks sitting on the table between them, fighting a grin. “We’ll see.”
    Luke watched her coolly for a few moments, smiling like he knew a dirty secret. Then he said, “So let’s hear it. What has your mom bought for your sister? Wild horses? A trip in the space shuttle? Plastic surgery?”
    “Well, that last one is about right. The other ones though, they’re much too wild for the Moreno family.”
    “What was it? New boobs, nose, jaw implant...?”
    “Boobs all around, except for me of course.”
    Luke bit his lip and winked at her. “Good choice.”
    Isabella took a deep breath, slightly uncomfortable with how quickly he could ignite all her senses simply by biting his lip and training those dark brown eyes on her.
    “Anyway, the most expensive gifts recently have been for Kitty, my younger sister. She’s getting married in a couple months.”
    “To who? Must be somebody glamorous.”
    She grinned. “He’s a great, normal guy, actually. They’re college sweethearts and painfully made for each other. It’s going to be a glamorous wedding though. I think Kitty’s been planning it since she was seven years old.”
    “How old is she? Shouldn’t you be getting married first?”
    “Oh, please, don’t go there. I hear this enough from my mother.”
    Luke smirked. “Hey, there’s something in common! Mothers nagging us to get married, have children, continue the family line...”
    Isabella sighed. “Exactly. Like if we’re not married, we’re worthless.”
    “I think my mom’s given up on me. I might be in the clear now.”
    She laughed. “I wish it were that quick for me! I think my only way out is to become a lesbian. In the meantime, I’m the eldest daughter and expected to marry well.” She