Free Rusty Nailed by Alice Clayton Page A

your sweet bippy. I’ll even get them to play us some Glen Miller.”
    “That always works.” I giggled.
    “Caroline?”
    “Yes, Simon?”
    “I know it works.” He chuckled.
    We said good night, then I went across the hall and let myself into his apartment. Putting the phonograph needle down, I slipped back to my apartment and into bed. Glen Miller played me to sleep through the walls, and I dreamed I was dancing on a beach in Brazil with my photographer.
    •  •  •
    T hree nights before the wedding, I was still at work at eight thirty and I’d just canceled dinner with Sophia and Mimi.
    Bring a grown-up sucked sometimes.
    I’d been in meetings all day with Camden’s people, finalizing details on the construction that was beginning next week. We weren’t doing a complete teardown, just a gut rehab, using the existing lines of the hotel but reworking the layout of nearly everything.
    Monica, the new intern, was enjoying a first week of trial by fire. She’d been thrown into the deep end headfirst, but she was swimming. She’d run errands, she’d delivered paperwork, she’d filed for permits; she’d really taken a lot off my plate. And speaking of plate . . .
    My tummy was grumbling. I padded into the kitchenette,pretty sure I had a burrito stashed somewhere in the freezer, when my phone rang. Sophia.
    “Still can’t believe you ditched us, Reynolds,” she sniped in my ear, and I bit back a snipe of my own. Seriously, did no one understand how busy I was?
    “You’ll get over it, I promise. Where’d you guys end up going?”
    “Your favorite restaurant in Chinatown. You missed out, sister. We got that shrimp thingie with the noodles, what’s it called? The one you love more than anything?”
    My stomach rumbled even louder, and I gritted my teeth. “Mei Fun.”
    “We did have fun, thanks for asking!” She laughed in my ear. “Now let us in the front door—it’s freezing out here.”
    “I’m still at work; I told you I was working late. Why are you at my apartment?”
    “We’re not at your apartment, you idiot, we’re outside your work. Let us in,” she said. I could hear Mimi grumbling in the background.
    “You’re outside my—oh, for God’s sake.” I walked down the stairs to the front door, and there on the other side of the glass were Mimi and Sophia. With Chinese take-out containers.
    “I’m hanging up on you now.” I grinned into the phone, unlocking the door and throwing it wide. “What in the world are you two up to?”
    “It’s dinner, silly, and we promise we’ll only stay a little while,” Mimi answered, walking inside and heading straight up for my office. With arms full of the most heavenly scented food on earth.
    Sophia posed in the doorway, a vision. No more sad sacking for her, she was dressed to the nines and looking lethal. Red hair piled high on her head, makeup flawless, just the barest hint of leg peeking out from under her trench coat. “You’re not gonna, like, flash me, are you?” I asked.
    “Hell, no. Mama’s got a date after we feed you.” She grinned, handing me a bag.
    “Mei Fun?”
    “Someone’s gonna have some fun tonight, that’s for sure.” She winked, sauntering past me. “Don’t eat all the wontons, you little shit!”
    Mimi yelled something back to her, but it was muffled by something in her mouth. My money was on the wonton. I locked the front door, shaking my head as I followed my two friends into my office.
    Ten minutes later we were all sprawled across the floor cross-legged, with plates piled high with delicious food. Noodles, panfried shrimp, crispy pot stickers, spicy sautéed vegetables; it was a feast. Chopsticks were passed and we dug in.
    “This sure as hell beats the burrito I was going to eat.” I sighed, my mouth full of delicately seasoned noodles.
    “Since we knew you were gonna be here late, we thought the least we could do is bring you dinner,” Mimi responded, offering me an egg roll.
    Sophia