Free Baby by Design: Designing Love Book One (Crimson Romance) by Elley Arden Page A

spill the beans about their dirty dancing. How would they ever pull this baby thing off if she was blabbing gory details to Angie? “I didn’t see Piper there.”
    “Of course you didn’t. You were too busy grinding against my best friend.”
    “So what?” He shrugged and turned his attention to the foam, picking lint from the yellow rectangle.
    “You must’ve mortified her. DeVigns don’t grind.”
    The image of Trish in fishnet stockings dropping low to the ground as she smoothed her ass against him burned a hole through his brain. “Yeah? Well, you’re misinformed. Trish is a mighty fine grinder.”
    Something scratchy but moist hit him square in the forehead. “Hey.” He looked at the carwash sponge Angie had pitched at his head. “What was that for?”
    “Don’t fuck with her, Tony.” When he looked up, he saw Angie holding a ball peen hammer in her hand. He knew better than to worry she would throw that, too, but it sure gave her an ominous edge. “Trish is not for hire in your harem. She’s kind and sincere, and you’ll break her heart.”
    ’Cause in Angie’s eyes that was all he ever did—love ’em and leave ’em. Angie didn’t get that these things could be mutual. “Trish is a big girl,” he said, snatching the carwash sponge from the foam and tossing it to the garage floor.
    “Damn it, Tony. I’m serious. There’s not a sincere bone in your body, unless you count the one in your pants. And I don’t. Leave Trish alone. I don’t want to be cleaning up another one of your messes, especially if it involves my friend.”
    Back to this again. Angie considered manning Dad’s carpentry company “cleaning up” one of Tony’s messes. If only he’d been responsible enough to do the right thing and follow in the old man’s footsteps, Angie would be the one running around carefree. Or not. She wasn’t exactly the carefree type. Whatever. If she wanted to blame him for her moodiness, so be it. Nothing new. And she was probably right to be warning him off Trish.
    Tony switched on the electric knife. He could only imagine what Angie would say if she knew the extent of the mess he was considering creating with her best friend. Cutting into the foam, he relaxed and reminded himself he hadn’t done anything stupid yet.
    There was still a glimmer of hope for him.
    • • •
    When Trish heard the bell over the front door chime, she looked up from the media room sketch she’d been battling all morning. Angie walked toward Trish’s desk, keeping to the natural aisle formed between a row of model furniture and a line of floral accents. She wasn’t dressed for work, and her face was missing a smile.
    “Hey, you,” Trish said brightly, despite the nerves picking at her neck. It was awkward seeing Angie so soon after what transpired last night with Tony. “Did we have a meeting scheduled?”
    “No, but I’m thinking we should talk.” Angie’s nose crinkled and her nostrils flared.
    “What’s up?” Upon inhaling, Trish sucked the words right back into the pit of her upset stomach. Angie was on to her.
    “Piper Betts saw you grinding with my brother.”
    “Who’s Piper Betts, and since when did we return to middle school?” Trish laughed, hoping to keep the conversation light and not incriminating.
    Angie dropped onto the Lucite chair opposite from Trish’s desk. “Piper’s an old friend. She plays in the band that played at your cousin’s wedding.”
    “Oh.” Trish rolled her pencil and three markers off the paper in front of her, settling them on the desk.
    “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
    “Ange, it’s no big deal.”
    “
Yet.
When Tony’s involved, it can go from no big deal to raging mess in under five seconds.”
    If Angie only knew. “You say that, but…” Trish remembered how caring and understanding Tony had been. Surely if he was the jerk Angie made him out to be, he wouldn’t have walked away from the opportunity to sleep with Trish last