The Entitled (The Entitled Duet #1) - Cassandra Robbins Page 0,3
look like big pink bubble gum balls. I’m not kidding—her lips take over her face. Wriggling out of her grasp, I try to go around her. After all, she looks scary, kind of like Olive Oyl, Popeye’s girlfriend, but with blond hair and weird lips.
“Excuse me,” I say, trying to be polite. My mom will freak if I’m not.
She grabs my chin and screams, “How are you going to keep the girls away? My God! Caroline! Your boys are gorgeous.”
Thankfully my mother comes around the corner, laughing, carrying two large glasses of wine.
“Claire, you’re the one who has to worry. Tess is exquisite.” She gives Olive Oyl a wink.
“Lucky for you my boys will take care of her like she was their own, right Reed?”
“Ah… yeah, Mom.”
“That would be nice. She seems to have problems making friends,” Olive Oyl mumbles as she drags me into our vast living room. I turn and my mom smiles as she follows.
“Poor Tess. Well, she doesn’t have to worry anymore, right Reed?”
“Ah, yeah, Mrs.… um… Mom, what’s her name again?”
They both laugh, “Call me Auntie Claire.” She lets go of my arm to tap my nose. “God, it’s good to be back on the East Coast again. California is so fake.” She sighs dramatically.
My mom hands her a wineglass. “To my best friend, coming home at last.” They clink their glasses together. I use the clinking to move around them and spy my twin sitting next to a girl with lots of dark curls. Both of their heads are together. He’s showing her one of our new Game Boys.
“Hey.” I walk over.
“Hey,” Jax responds, not lifting his head.
“Hi.” The girl looks up. I almost stop breathing as I stare at the most beautiful face I have ever seen. Shyly, she stands. She’s dressed in a bright pink dress that makes her look like she is ready to go out to dinner with my parents. I take another breath as I stare at the most incredible blue eyes. They look like the ocean. Shaking my head, I think, this girl cannot be from the skinny blond woman who is giggling with my mom. She is literally her polar opposite. Her mother has a long pointy nose; this girl has a small cute nose. Her mother’s eyes are a dull blue. The girl’s vibrant blue eyes turn up at the ends. Cat eyes. She’s like a magnificent scared kitten. In fact, that’s what I am going to call her: Kitten. Thank goodness her lips are normal. Well, they are puffy, but at least she doesn’t look scary.
“Son? You okay?” My dad interrupts my fascination with the girl.
“Sure.” I step closer to her. She smells like strawberry lip balm.
“I’m Reed,” I say, flashing her a grin, showing off my dimples. Mom says girls like dimples. Lucky for my identical twin brother and me, we have them.
Jax realizes the girl is no longer paying attention to him and looks up at us. An evil grin escapes his lips as he stands up so I can sit down.
“Sit.” I motion to the girl.
She does with a shy smile on her pretty lips. “My name is Tess Gallagher.”
With a shrug, I tell her, “I’m going to call you Kitten.”
Her big eyes widen and she nods. “Okay, Reed,” she whispers.
“So, I guess you don’t have to worry about Tess anymore. Reed seems to have claimed her.” My dad laughs at the guy standing next to him who must be her father. Thankfully, she looks a lot like him. He has brown wavy hair and the same blue eyes as hers.
He frowns. “Yeah, it appears so.”
“Oh, Robert, lighten up. They are eight for heaven’s sake,” Claire snaps. “He’s never any fun anymore.”
The room goes silent enough that Tess’s small hand finds mine. I give it a tight squeeze, and she peers up at me.
My mom unexpectedly sits down on the other side of Tess, her hand stroking her long dark curls. “Reed, Jax, why don’t you show Tess around? Maybe show her the playroom.” She smiles at us.
“You’re making a scene. Stop drinking now,” Tess’s dad hisses at Olive Oyl. All three of us look over at them. They’re in the corner behind our grand piano. I wonder if they think it’s hiding them? I glance back at Kitten—her eyes almost look too big for her head as she sucks on her bottom lip.
“Sure.” I jump up, excited to get away from her parents since they seem to upset her.