Free The Red Diary by Toni Blake Page B

"Yes, as a matter of fact."
    Carolyn lowered her chin and cast a shrewd grin, as if to say, Now I know why. "Well, fair warning. If you aren't gonna go after that gorgeous man, I might have to." The smile said Carolyn was calling her bluff, trying to push her into a seduction she didn't want because she thought Lauren was missing out.
    "Be my guest," was her only reply as she spread triangular chips in the tray.
    Yet as Carolyn strode back out the door. something like jealousy fluttered uncomfortably through Lauren's chest.
    When Lauren stepped back outside, the mood had changed. The sun had started dipping over the trees behind the wall that separated her yard from her father's, and the pool lay empty. the water still. Everyone sat in a circle around the patio table, drinking.
    She lowered the chips and salsa to the center of the table, then took one of the remaining chairs. "Dig in." "Thanks," Mike said, reaching for a tortilla chip. Jimmy sort of grunted, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
    Holly braided her hair over one shoulder and looked somber; an open wine cooler sat untouched in front of her. Lauren could only guess that Holly hadn't counted on Carolyn garnering both guys' attention.
    "Looks like your painter is packing up for the day," Carolyn said from across the table. Thank God, she thought, ignoring Carolyn's prodding grin. She cast a quick glimpse toward Nick Armstrong, who knelt to roll up a drop cloth in the distance.
    Everyone else glanced over, too.
    "What's his name?" Carolyn asked.
    She exhaled before answering. "Nick Armstrong." "Nick!" Carolyn yelled. He stopped to look up, and
    Lauren's heart froze. What is Carolyn doing? "Want a beer?"
    Lauren glared at her friend, then shifted her eyes back to Nick, who appeared only slightly surprised. His gaze caught hers, and it traveled all through her.
    "Sure," he said.
    Her stomach somersaulted as Nick took easy steps toward the patio, soon settling in the last remaining chair between Holly and Jimmy. She didn't look at him; instead, she reached nervously for a wine cooler.
    "They're getting warm," Holly said. Lauren peered at her, confused. "What?" "The wine coolers. They're warm."
    She rose abruptly in reply. "I'll get some ice." She headed quickly for the door, never so happy to escape a social gathering in her life.
    Inside, she grabbed two acrylic tumblers and filled them with ice ... but then she paused in place. What if she just stayed inside, didn't go back out? The hell with Holly's warm cooler. She did not want to sit around a table with Nick Armstrong.
    Yet, taking a deep breath, she picked up the glasses and exited through the French doors. It would be okay, she told herself. She wouldn't let this guy get the best of her this time. In fact, maybe she'd encourage Carolyn to hook up with him. Maybe that would get Nick
    Armstrong's eyes off her and onto someone more like him. He and Carolyn could screw each other's brains out for all she cared.
    Reaching the table, she avoided everyone's eyes and caught sight of her painter only in her peripheral vision. Determined to ignore the way his tank shirt clung so well to his body, she lowered one glass in front of Holly and poured her cooler into the other as she sat back down. Over the crackle of ice, she tuned into the conversation. "What about you, Holly?" Carolyn was asking with a suggestive smile.
    Holly continued brooding as she glanced at Jimmy.
    "You tell 'em."
    "I don't know which place you-"
    Holly slammed her glass lightly on the table. "In the bathroom at your dad's house. Where else would I be thinking of?" "Whatever," he mumbled.
    "Hey, guys, don't get upset," Carolyn said in a soothing, playful tone. "We're just fooling around here, ya know?" Then Mike burst out laughing.
    "What's so funny, dude?" Jimmy asked, sounding disgusted.
    "I was just thinking, I once did it in the bathroom at your dad's place, too."
    Jimmy's mouth dropped open as Mike explained how he'd ended up with a girl in the