Free His For Christmas by Kinsley Gibb Page B

her steamrolling tendencies from her mother, it was fun
watching her best friend get flattened by the master every once in
a while.
    “Mom’s between projects at the moment so
guess who’s the star of her project now?”
    “Yeah, well, my mother’s the opposite. I’m
the last of her worries unless she wants something from me.”
    “Want to adopt mine?”
    “If I could, I would. You’re mom is great
but don’t worry, she’ll get distracted by something else soon
enough.”
    “Please God.”
    “At least you have brothers to share the
spotlight. You guys can rotate whereas I’m an only child. So when
she decides to pay attention to me or needs something from me,
there’s no one around to be a decoy. I get all the attention, all
the time and it’s not easy. Trust me.”
    Charlie shrugged because she’d witnessed
Anabelle’s childhood so there was no debate.
    “The fact that my aunt and uncle took her on
this tour has given me a reprieve.”
    “Lucky.”
    “I don’t want to know what she’d think about
this whole Cupid’s Match experiment.” She shuddered. “ Besides, it’s fun watching you evade your mom. Maybe I’ll
learn how to deal with you since you two are so similar.”
    Charlie made a face. “I’ll hang out here a
little longer.” She picked up a recent Kitchen and Bath Design
magazine and threw herself onto Anabelle’s treasured Barcelona
lounge chair.
    Anabelle turned back to the screen. “I’ll
look for fifteen more minutes then I have to switch gears and
finish the Turner presentation for tomorrow.”
    “It’s going to take time to go through the
options.”
    “College was easier. Hot guys were
everywhere.”
    Charlie wore a smug look. “Yes they
were.”
    “The men I know now are either married, gay
or completely inappropriate.”
    “You have a limited circle of male
acquaintances, sweetie.”
    “No kidding. Finding possible men to sleep
with is not as easy as in the movies.”
    Charlie’s eyes widened. “So you’re that
serious about getting back into the game? Good thing we added the
sex god qualification.”
    “Are you kidding? It’s been so long that
every guy who walks through the door has starred in my
fantasies.”
    Charlie gave her a pointed look. “Even
Walter.”
    Walter, the UPS guy, was an older gentleman
with portly proportions. “Okay, not every guy. Walter’s
devotion to his wife of thirty five years has kept him in the
clear.”
    “What about my brothers?”
    “Eww, no. They’re practically my brothers,
so no.”
    “Uh huh, but what about Derek?”
    Anabelle avoided Charlie’s eyes and
pretended she hadn’t heard her. There was no way she would
incriminate herself to the mistress of torture but she felt her
face grow hot.
    “Ah hah! I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.”
Charlie jumped up and pointed at Anabelle.
    “Knew what exactly?”
    There was no choice but to play dumb or
she’d never hear the end of it.
    “You’ve imagined Derek naked!” Charlie
danced about, clapping her hands.
    “You look like a demented monkey when you do
that, you know.”
    “So? No one’s around and don’t change the
subject.”
    Her face continued to burn because she was
totally guilty of imagining Derek naked along with a hundred and
one other wicked things.
    “You should give him a try Anabelle. He’s
given you the look ever since he moved here.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “Why?” She drew back and glared at her as if
she took a personal offense. “Derek is hot.”
    “Yes but he’s also young, which is not on my
list.”
    “So. Who cares? These are different
times.”
    “I’d feel like a dirty old lady. I can
almost hear my mother’s lecture on the impropriety of it all.”
    “You’re mother is stuck in a time warp and
she’s raised you with those silly notions as well. Men have been
dating younger women for ages and no one cares anymore. Besides, he
can’t be that much younger than us.”
    “Doesn’t matter. I have a strict age range.
See?”