Free The Red Diary by Toni Blake Page A

something he wanted to know about-badly. His heart beat too fast.
    He almost knew she would tum to look at him, almost knew she would sense his presence. When she did, their eyes locked. And desire flooded him.
    He tilted his head, used it to motion toward the pool.
    "Not swimming with your friends?" Without quite meaning to, he'd delivered the question in a suggestive way.
    She blinked, looking surprisingly defiant. "No," she said sharply, then turned to go. She'd only taken a few steps. though, when she stopped to peer over her shoulder. "Aren't you working awfully late?"
    "Anxious to get rid of me?" "Just curious."
    "I didn't get as much done today as I wanted; the roses slowed me down." It was a lie, not the part about getting enough done, but the reason why. After his excursion into her house, he'd taken a long lunch.
    She paused, then took a few tentative steps toward him. "How did that go?" Her tone softened slightly. "With the roses?" He almost admitted it wasn't as much of a problem as he'd thought, almost asked what he'd wondered earlier, if she tended them herself-but stopped. "I think they survived."
    She nodded shortly. "Good." Then she turned to leave once more, and didn't stop this time-and damn it, he suddenly felt like her servant again.
    Her smug nod reminded him of what he'd detected on first meeting her-she thought she was better than him. A bolt of resentment shot through him as he watched the sway of her ass moving away, finally disappearing through the French doors. God only knew how much she'd hate him if she ever found out he knew her secret.
    As usual, he had unnerved her. She'd never seen so much sex emanating from a man's gaze. And it wasn't the bad kind, the Chad the Lifeguard kind, the you-could-be anybody kind. Somehow she knew it was just for her. That might not have been the case when she'd opened the door to him yesterday mornnng-dear God, had it been that recent?-but what she saw in his eyes now had deepened, narrowed, focusing in as tightly on her as she, unintentionally, focused on him.
    Gripping the edge of the kitchen counter, she tried to catch her breath. She shouldn't have drunk that wine cooler without eating something; it had gone straight to her head. Coupled with Nick Armstrong, it seemed a lethal combination. "Wbatcha doing?"
    Lauren looked up to find Cardlyn exiting the bathroom. "I thought you were playing in the pool," she said, not quite meaning to sound so sarcastic.
    Carolyn tilted her head, as if deciding whether to be offended. "I had to pee."
    Lauren turned to the pantry, reaching for a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa, thankful-given her unexpected guests-4hat she kept a lot of snacks on hand.
    "So, come clean."
    She glanced over her shoulder to see Carolyn's inquisitive smile. "Clean?"
    "Come on, Laur. Who is that hunk 0' hunk 0' burnin' love out there?"
    Oh God, Carolyn had seen him? Glad her back remained to her friend, Lauren reached into an overhead cabinet for a chip and dip tray. She prayed her voice wouldn't quiver when she said, "My house-painter."
    "Looks like he'd be good"
    "Seems to be doing a fine job." She turned to face Carolyn as she unscrewed the lid on the salsa.
    "No, silly. In bed."
    Lauren set the jar on the counter and rolled her eyes.
    So now even Carolyn was under the mistaken impression that she slept around? "Well, I wouldn't know about that."
    Carolyn bit her lower lip and spoke in a singsong voice. "You could find out. I saw the way he looked at you, Laur. Surely you didn't miss that."
    She feigned indifference as she ripped into the bag of chips. "I'm not into it."
    "Into what?"
    She met Carolyn's gaze. "Sex with strangers." Carolyn looked slightly affronted. but Lauren didn't care. Her best friend could sleep with every man in Florida if she wanted, but that didn't mean Lauren had to think it was right. And she didn't mean to be so rough on Carolyn, but she couldn't help being in a bad mood.
    "You're still feeling edgy, aren't you?"