Free Rival Hearts (Rival Love #2) by Natalie Decker

gold swimmer with a diamond marking the eye sits on a thin gold chain. It’s perfect. There’s a ring inside the box, too. It’s not shaped like a swimmer, but it’s a diamond, with two small blue stones on either side of it.
    Checking back on my uncle, I see him bent over, eyeing a case, and I’m glad for the distraction. I wave the girl over to me. I know Sky’s ears are pierced, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear earrings. Maybe she doesn’t have any. Or maybe she doesn’t like them.
    “Which one did you want?”
    I point to the swimmer, and she gives me an odd look. “That one? Okay.”
    She pulls the box from the case and sets it on the counter. “Yeah, I want that.”
    “Okay. If you need us to resize the ring, just bring it in and we’ll do that.”
    Barely listening at this point, I nod. She needs to check me out so I can hide my purchase in my coat before my uncle sees it.
    “Is this it then?”
    “Yeah.”
    She walks away to another counter and starts getting Sky’s gift together. I dig into my back pocket and pull out my wallet. My uncle walks over to me. He’s still sweating bullets. “Let’s go.”
    “Um … okay. Just a sec.”
    He gives me an odd look. “Did you buy something?”
    I shrug. “Might have.”
    He glares at me. “All right, out with it. What’s going on with you and Skylar? I swear, Caleb, you better not be … If you hurt her, so help me, you’ll wish you never went there.”
    I throw up my hands. “Uncle Bri, chill. I’m not doing anything with Sky.”
    The girl rings me up and my uncle’s heated glare is on me the whole time. Once we’re outside, he starts plaguing me with questions. But I’m not answering him. Even as we go to three more jewelry stores, he keeps asking what Skylar and I are doing. But I’m not giving in.

Chapter 14
     
    Skylar
     
    Mom doesn’t say much over breakfast, but she does watch me carefully. I think she’s waiting for me to spill my guts or something. But my silence has to be killing her because she clears her throat and says, “So.”
    I squirm in my seat and mumble, “So?”
    “Are you going to tell me about it?”
    “About what?”
    She narrows her eyes and shakes her head. “Oh, I see. You’re going to make me ask you. Fine. Are you and Caleb getting close?”
    “Getting close? What does that even mean?”
    She frowns. “You know what I mean. Are you two in a relationship?”
    I practically spit my water out. “Caleb and I are just friends!” It’s a lie. I hope she doesn’t see it’s a lie. She can read me so well, though.
    She raises a brow. “Friends? Skylar, I saw you tackle that boy to the floor.”
    My blood drains. My stomach twists into a knot. Still, I play it off. “You saw me ram right into him. He broke my fall.”
    She shakes her head. “Okay, you don’t like him. I wouldn’t be mad, you know … if you did … like him.”
    And she thinks I’m going to fall for this? Wow, she’s really trying to pull this out of me. “Yea, okay, Mom.” I return the rest of my attention to my big stack of pancakes. Maybe if I ignore this long enough she’ll just drop it.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    One whole morning later and midway through the afternoon, my mom will not let the whole Caleb thing go. She’s found creative ways to weave his name into a piece of conversation. Like when we were at this dress shop. Mom held up this blood-red number, which was actually pretty awesome—if I wore dresses, that is, but I find them to be torture devices. Anyway, my mom holds this little number up and presses it against me and says, “I think you would look really cute in this. And Caleb probably wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off of you.” I scowl at that.
    You think she would stop there, but no, she continues with, “I’ve noticed a change in him. Around the house, without you there, it’s like … well, he’s moody a lot. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him smile. I think Caleb likes