Read Sign of the Throne: Book One in the Solas Beir Trilogy for Free Online

turned out that some of the friends Jon recruited for the dare had gone skinny-dipping in the pool. Mrs. Johnston, the elderly woman who lived across the fence from Mr. Burke, called the cops when she heard the ruckus coming from his backyard. It was a miracle Jon wasn’t arrested —and Abby was grateful she missed her friends’ moonlit swim anyway. It would have made for a really awkward Monday morning at school.
    Jon’s unbridled enthusiasm for pushing limits overwhelmed Abby. She wasn’t sure she could keep up with his energy, and she thought there were romantic boundaries he was willing to push that she wasn’t ready to test. She had heard about some of his exploits from a mutual friend he had dated. Not that Abby believed the story. She’d known Janie long enough to know the girl was fond of exaggeration. But still, given her own knowledge of Jon, Abby suspected he was more experienced than she was, and she was too chicken to ask Jon how much of Janie’s story was true. So she relegated him to best friend/soul mate and kept him at arm’s length.
     
     
     
     
    While Abby held the glamorous post of pool hospitality, making sure hotel guests had luxuriously plush , white towels and picking up used towels, trash, and empty cocktail glasses, Jon was something of a minor celebrity, working as a lifeguard. His job description involved four tasks: making sure no one drowned, improving his already perfect tan, accepting adoration by awkwardly proportioned preteen girls, and being ignored by the beautiful girls he admired. There were three in particular who held his interest: Michal, Monroe, and Marisol—M 3 for short.
    Michal Sloane was a classic California beach beauty—statuesque, shapely, tan, and blond. She was the self-appointed leader of the trio and seemed to take sadistic pleasure in flirting with Jon and then dashing his hopes, bluntly reminding him that her station in life was well above his. Michal verbally bullied Abby when Jon wasn’t around, and although Abby tried to dismiss the snide comments directed at her, she couldn’t ignore mistreatment of her best friend. That she could not forgive. She hated Michal for it, but was at a loss for what to do about it. If she retaliated, she knew it would cost her the job, and she needed the money—college wasn’t going to pay for itself.
    Monroe Banagher was no less beautiful, with dark skin and eyes, and curly hair that fell to her shoulders, framing perfect cheekbones. Abby towered over Monroe by several inches, but she had a feeling the girl could hold her own in a fistfight. Considering how intimidating Monroe could be, it was easy to forget that she was tiny. She wasn’t quite as mean as Michal, but she usually went along with whatever Michal wanted, an accessory to cruelty.
    Marisol Cassidy was kinder, and Abby thought she might actually like Jon, even if she weren’t brave enough to say something in his defense. She had inherited captivating green eyes from her father, a wealthy businessman from Dublin. Her gorgeous body and the dark hair that fell to her waist in soft curls came from her mother, Esperanza Garcia, a world-renowned model turned artist from Mexico City. During more than one episode of teasing, Abby had noticed her smiling shyly at Jon, as if she were silently apologizing for her friends’ rudeness.
    For his part, Jon seemed impervious to rejection, and was not at all deterred by a lack of success. “They want me, you know,” Jon said, helping Abby fold towels.
    “Who?” Abby asked. Of course she knew who he was talking about. It was a topic on the verge of becoming an obsession with him. She didn’t have the heart to tell him how awful Michal was behind his back, and she was annoyed at herself for that. And annoyed that he couldn’t let it go. Was he really so oblivious that he couldn’t see the truth?
    “M³. Michal and entourage. She wants me for sure.”
    “Which is why she always leaves you hanging, pool boy? I think