Free Entice by Ella Frank Page A

and bit down into the crisp segment, nodding.
    “Huh, well, that’s too bad. I was hoping it’d work out for you,” she stated, moving away from the counter to walk over to her bedroom. “I’ll be right back, just going to put on my shoes.”
    Shelly grunted an unintelligible answer as she watched Mason plate the eggs he’d been scrambling. She stood and moved around the bench, making her way to the stove. When she got there, she reached out to take the plate he was offering. But, when she gripped it, he held onto the edge, making her look up at him.
    “Funny thing. Josh was gone right at the same time you were,” he pointed out with a curious expression on his too handsome face.
    Shelly felt every muscle in her body freeze. She tried to remain calm and not give herself away. As she stood there, her gaze locking with Casanova’s, she felt like maybe her poker face was crumbling.
    “Huh. Yeah, that is funny. I don’t know where he was. Probably off in a dark corner somewhere.”
    Mason’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded as he let go of the plate. Shelly felt like he could read her mind as he stood there staring at her. God, she hoped not because it was currently screaming, I’m lying! I’m lying!
    “Yeah, probably. Josh never had a problem getting a woman into a dark corner.”
    I bet, Shelly thought to herself. He’d had no problem getting her in an open-spaced, dimly lit parking lot.
    “Typical,” she responded just to say something while she spun away from Mason’s probing stare. When she was seated at the bench, she watched him move over to the counter with a hand towel, wiping his hands.
    “What do you mean typical? He’s a good guy, got a good job. Why not give him a chance?”
    Shelly lifted a fork, stabbing into the eggs like they were her mortal enemy, and then raised them to her lips, grinning. “Because I gave a guy like him a chance once, and he used it all up for every other guy like him.”
    Mason threw the towel on the counter as Shelly heard Lena come out from the room behind her.
    “What do you mean guys like him? And that doesn’t seem real fair, does it?” Mason paused, watching her. “I didn’t think you were such a snob.”
    Shelly let her fork drop down on the plate with a clang. “And I didn’t think you were such a gossipy woman. Geez, Mason, let it go. Why do I need to be banging your friend?”
    Lena stopped at the end of the counter, looking back and forth between Shelly and her fiancé. Mason very rarely got upset or annoyed at anything, but right now, he looked a little bit ruffled.
    “You don’t, Shelly, although it might help with the bitchy attitude.”
    Sighing, Shelly picked up her fork and looked at the man opposite her—a man who had surprisingly become a really good friend.
    “You’re right about one thing. I need to get laid. But not with Josh, okay? It’s just too complicated and messy with us all knowing each other.” She paused, thinking that if she were Pinocchio, her nose would have grown past Mason, through the kitchen wall, and back out into the hall. “I had a bad experience with a man, and guys like Josh remind me of him. So, I just try and steer clear.”
    Mason reached over, putting a hand on hers. “Okay. I’ll lay off.” He paused, his killer smile and twin dimples appearing. “But, for God’s sake, go and find someone to jump. You’re turning into an old-frustrated broad.”
    Lena gasped, and Shelly giggled.
    “Are you telling me to get laid, Langley?”
    “Yes! Go and find a willing man, which I know will be extremely easy for you, and ride him home.”
    Shelly looked at Lena, who was staring at Mason with a what-the-fuck-did-you-just-say look. Then, she turned back to Shelly and shrugged.
    “Okay, okay! You’ve convinced me. I’ll go and find a man to—what did you say—ride. So, I no longer act like a bitch to my two closest and dearest friends.” Pausing, she lifted the fork, shoveling the eggs into her mouth. “Damn, the