Free The Last Single Girl by Caitie Quinn, Bria Quinlan Page A

mean, joke. "A guy's gotta watch out for his dame."
    "But, really, what are you doing here?"
    "Did you really think I'd let you face the dragon alone? I knew what tonight meant and I hated the idea of you having to deal with her all night. I hate it even more now that I met her. What are you doing hanging out with that woman?"
    "It's the Last Single Girl Syndrome."
    "It's stupid."
    I wanted to tell him I wasn't stupid, but before I could, he'd done some fancy footwork and had us moving around the dance floor like we owned it.
    "And before you start lecturing me about girls and friends and that you're not stupid, I agree. With the last one at least. But that Claire woman has some issues. You're better off without her."
    "I completely agree. But I'm glad you came and rescued me so I could just enjoy the night." I ducked under his arm as he did another fancy spin thing. "I think you'll like Becca and Angie a lot more. Especially Becca. She's really sweet."
    "They need a new C. Maybe you could change your name to Cara and take on the leadership role."
    "Or, maybe not."
    John just smiled and—like every other time—it made me relax.
    "So, back to the 'what are you doing here' part."
    He pulled me a bit closer to evade another couple who obviously didn't have the floor skills he did.
    "Sorry, mate." The guy winked at us. "You know what it's like, distracted by such a beautiful woman in your arms. Right, sugar?"
    The girl just rolled her eyes and away they went.
    "Ohhh. Do you think they were actors?"
    "There are actors here?" John glanced around suspiciously. "They'll let anyone into these speakeasies nowadays. Next thing you know, coppers will be whispering passwords."
    I snorted. John was way more fun than the girls. You had to know Claire was dressed for the night, but wouldn't be playing along.
    "Anyway, I kept thinking you'd ask me to go. But when you said you didn't want to bring a fake boyfriend, I knew you weren't going to. I knew you thought you had to do this on your own. But—" He swung me wide around another corner of the dance floor. "How much more fun is this? Thus my very dapper outfit."
    "You do look dapper."
    "It was quite the adventure getting this. I had to order it online."
    One more win for the internet.
    "So, why didn't you?"
    Why didn't I ask John to be my date? Maybe because I was a complete idiot and didn't realize till the last minute he was perfect for me and then it was too late to ask him casually and too scary to ask him for real?
    Or…
    "I didn't want to put you out. You've been dealing with my craziness for a month. What if you didn't want to go with me? You'd have said yes anyway because you're so nice."
    He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like not that nice and spun me into another turn. "I would have come."
    "You did come. I can't tell you how glad I am you're here." I tensed. Too much? Could he hear what I really meant?
    "I'm glad too. I can't imagine you dealing with that all night."
    "To be honest, I was pretty much done with it. I said my piece and if winning mattered that much to her, who cares? I was just going to ignore her and enjoy the night and never hang out with her again." The song slowed to an end and John spun me once more and ended us on a dip. "But, I have to say, having you here is so much more fun."
    He lifted me back up and gave me another wink. "I know."
    Sliding his hand into mine, we headed back to our table, catching the seats facing away from the DJ since we were the last ones there. Claire gave me a smug smile about that as well.
    I hadn't realized how tense I was till John shifted his chair over and moved mine so I could lean against him to watch the game introductions behind us. The actors had apparently been there all night. Some of them were wait staff. Some were other guests. Some hadn't shown up yet. Everything was suspect.
    The first murder happened during the salad course… directly behind Claire. The second one happened as they were clearing the