Free Matt Archer: Legend by Kendra C. Highley Page A

start,” I said, my voice sounding hollow in my ears. “You asked Dad to
go, not the other way around.”
    As soon as I said it, I
winced. Maybe I was still a little bitter she’d kept him a secret for so long,
but punching someone else’s bruise wasn’t okay, either.
    Mom took a step back, looking
hurt. “Yes, I did. But that doesn’t mean I got over your dad. Here we are,
sixteen years later, and I’m not married. I had the opportunity. Two men wanted
to marry me, help take care of you guys. They were good men, too, but never
good enough to replace Erik.”
    “I’m sorry, Mom.” And I was.
Fate hadn’t been all that kind to my family—special or not, chosen or
not. “I didn’t know.”
    “It’s okay. Sometimes I
forget you’re old enough to understand these things now. I should have been
more … open.” She went back to her desk. “Try to have fun.”
    Her words rang in my ears all
the way to Sami’s. I still had too much Ella in my system to be the right kind
of boyfriend for anyone. By the time I pulled into Sami’s driveway, I’d pretty
well decided –– I would tell her right away; I had to be fair. She deserved
better, and Will was right. I needed to fly solo for a long, long time.
    Stomach churning, I trudged
up to her front door and rang the bell. I had no clue how to ditch a girl, even
if I wanted to be nice about it. Especially when said girl and I hadn’t even
been on our first date yet.
    Sami came to the door and
made things even harder by wearing a miniskirt and tank top. Guess the autumn
chill didn’t bother her, and I couldn’t say I was sorry about it.
    Wearing a playful smile, she
said, “There he is. Get in here.”
    She grabbed my arm and
dragged me into the house. I steeled myself for a round of “meet the parents,”
sincerely hoping her dad didn’t have any firearms handy when I hurt his
daughter’s feelings.
    It was really quiet inside.
Worried about how to end the night with the least pain possible, I followed
blindly without wondering where everyone was. When we stopped, I was surprised
to find myself in Sami’s bedroom.
    God, I could be so stupid
sometimes.
    She smiled again, sending
something lazy and sexy drifting through the air. “My parents took my little
sisters to see Disney on Ice tonight. They won’t be home for hours.”
    “Oh.” Dumb thing to say. “So,
do you want to go grab dinner?” Even dumber. What the heck was wrong with me? I
was in a girl’s bedroom, and I couldn’t wait to leave?
    Sami giggled. “Maybe later.
Why don’t you have a seat,” she said, steering me toward the bed. “I’ll be
right back.”
    Her bed was typical girl: queen-sized
bed with a soft pink and white comforter. All her bedroom furniture was white,
and her walls were painted a pale pink. There were little white trinket shelves
on the walls, each covered with stuffed animals, her name in wooden letters,
and tiny glass knickknacks. I guessed it was supposed to look feminine, but all
it did was give me hives.
    “Hey,” she said.
    I looked up and almost had a
seizure. Sami stood in the doorway to her bedroom, wearing nothing but a
lavender bra and matching panties that looked like they came from the back half
of Victoria’s Secret—the part of the store where guys my age didn’t go for fear
of looking like a perv. My heart leapt forward in uneven bursts and every part
of my body sat up and took notice.
    Sami was petite, but not too
skinny. The muscles of her legs were perfect, probably from all the
cheerleading. Her stomach was flat, and her chest wasn’t; the bra barely kept
everything in.
    I felt like I might go blind.
    She shut the door, locked it,
then came over and sat next to me on the bed. “So, what was that about dinner?”
    Dinner? Who was going to
dinner? I couldn’t even remember what I’d planned to tell her. I was just here
for the show.
    “Um, nothing.” My voice came
out hoarse and squeaky.
    Sami giggled and crawled into
my lap. I started to