Free Romance: Playing With Fire - Contemporary Romance (Chasing Happiness Series, Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1) by Nancy Adams Page A

bathroom and reached for her deep maroon lipstick behind the glass. She only needed a little to plump her lips up. It might be another two or three minutes before he actually made it into the house. That was more than enough time for her to look uninterested, but still classy at the same time.
    She dabbed concealer on her face and two strokes of blush. By the time she started washing her hands, she heard the garage door open and close. John never used the front door. Standing quickly, she began to move even faster. She let her hair loose from its messy pony tail and fanned it wildly, shaking and raking loosely with her fingers.
    He had once told her he loved her wild look. She was banking on that for tonight. With a reservation at a upscale restaurant club in town, she was determined to enjoy this evening with him, even if she was mad.
    “Babe?” John began to call from her from another location in the house.
    Shaking her hair one last time, Tina stood and looked herself over in the mirror. She wore a tight tank with no bra and shorts meant to purposefully give away the fact that she also wore a thong. Hopefully he’d pick up on her hints.
    “Be out in a sec,” she pumped her girls up and turned her head to the side in the mirror. Blowing herself a kiss, she allowed a thin smile. What man wouldn’t want her? She was gorgeous. Complete with the medium heels she had been wearing all day, just in case, she knew her get up had to get some sort of response from John.
    Pulling the bathroom door open, Tina stuck her head out, glancing quickly to both sides. She couldn’t see John in the living room from where she was but she still heard him. Straightening herself, she began to lazily move towards the front room, surprised when she didn’t see him in either of the recliners.
    “Where are you?” She called out, perplexed.
    He took a moment to respond, but when he did, she could tell he had been eating something. She started towards the kitchen, her beautiful lazy stride lost in the process. “What are you,” she stopped when she saw John hovering over the morning paper, a quick bowl of cereal in hand. He glanced up at her once, then looked again, giving her a closer look before he returned his attention to the paper. He stuffed another spoon in his mouth.
    Her face began to glow with heat. “Cereal? At this hour?” Tina immediately tried chuckling to cover her irritation, missed by John as he turned the page of the newspaper quickly.
    “I know, I know,” he stopped, and turned completely to her then. “You didn’t call me last night.”
    Offering another smile, Tina sighed and shrugged her shoulders, breaking her eyes away from his. She fought hard to keep herself together. “Was I supposed to?” She briefly met his eyes when she glanced towards him but didn’t hold contact for long. “Usually the one who stays out late without letting their wife know what’s going on is supposed to call.”
    John swallowed a bite, and then returned to the newspaper. “You know where I was.”
    “Oh, with Tim and the guys? What about this morning too? Scratch that, this afternoon?” Her friendly tone had disappeared.
    John turned back to her, slowly pacing a spoonful into his mouth. He waited until most of it was swallowed before speaking, “I was wasted. They didn’t want me driving home. So I crashed on their couch. I made sure one of them would tell you if you called but you never did.” He shrugged. “I thought you wouldn’t care.”
    Taking a deep breath, Tina swallowed back lumps in her throat. Clearly he didn’t know what day it was. Smirking, Tina turned her back to him this time and walked towards the sink. She preoccupied herself with a glass cup on the counter. “I have dinner plans for us tonight.” She stopped abruptly when she heard John sigh. The sound caused her to whirl towards him. “Something wrong?” Her voice was hard again.
    John glanced at her, shaking his head. “No. But I’ll be honest,