All of Me by Heatherly Bell Read Free Book Online Page B

turned back to pouring, a gray-haired gentleman who had moved to the front of the bar startled her. He was also alone, Ivey noticed. Though maybe with good reason, as he had a stalker-slash-serial-killer vibe going on. It was in those dull, gray, empty eyes.
    “Do you uh, want some of this?” Ivey offered.
    He didn’t hold out his wine glass but continued to stare. “What is it?”
    Ivey swallowed, then smiled. Just pour and look pretty, right? “Wine. Red.”
    “That’s fascinating, considering we’re at a wine tasting event. Care to elaborate?”
    “It’s a—” Ivey turned the bottle in her hands, hoping she could decipher the label and it would tell her something. Anything. But Mrs. Hughes’s second grade class came back to her in Technicolor. She’d never been any good at reading out loud or on the spot. Dyslexia forced her to take her time.
    “Miss, do you know anything about wine?” The man looked at her as though he could see right through her and the charade.
    Where was Brooke when Ivey needed her? And did Brooke realize the irony in this situation? She’d told Ivey to stop helping people and then set her up. Damn, and Ivey had fallen for it. When would she learn to say no? Hell no. Well it would not be tonight, because something about this man made Ivey want to run and hide, not suddenly grow a spine.
    She glanced over at Eric who was busy schmoozing with ladies who appeared to have had more than enough wine already. “Of course I do, sir. This wine is, um, dry?”
    He took a sip, swished, and spit in a paper cup he carried. Gross. No one else was spitting tonight. They were  swirling and swishing. But this guy had to spit.
    “You call this dry? Has this had any chance to breathe?”
    Did wine breathe? News to her.
    Brooke rejoined Ivey then, easing her slender body behind the table and taking the bottle swiftly from Ivey’s hands. “Mr. Dougherty, so good to see you. I have a case of the private label Merlot you wanted in the back. But this is our new Cabernet . . . ”
    Ivey relaxed and watched Brooke do her thing. After Mr. Dougherty had been satisfied, Ivey grabbed Brooke’s arm and squeezed. Tight. “Where were you?”
    But Brooke didn’t have to say another word as Ivey took a good long look at her friend—face somewhat flushed, hair messed up like she’d gotten out of bed— what the ?
    “Did you just—have sex?”
    Brooke pulled Ivey aside and shushed her. “Okay, you got me. A little quickie in the back. Thanks for covering for me.”
    Ivey felt the red color of indignity spread straight down to her unpainted toenails. “You drag me into doing your job so you can get a little action? I thought you were working.”
    “I’m sorry. My brain said no, but the rest of my body doesn’t understand English when I’m around the man. Look, Ivey, I owe you an apology.”
    “You’re damn right you do.” She’d never leave a patient alone for a quickie. Although, okay, her patients did have a way of reminding her that a few hours of bliss often amounted to five times the amount of pain.
    “Okay, here goes. When you and Jeff—let’s just say now I understand why you ditched me.”
    “I didn’t—” Ivey stammered, but her face flushed because they both knew it was a lie. She’d ditched Brooke on more than one occasion for Jeff.
    “Back then I didn’t know what I was missing. I was an eighteen-year-old virgin, and I didn’t get why you and Jeff couldn’t stay away from each other. Well believe me, now I do. You should have told me how—and then when the guy—how great it is when you both—Well, if I’d known how much fun you were having, I would have understood.”
    “Well, I—” She’d been in love, desperately and completely as only a sixteen-year-old could be.
    Brooke laughed. “Okay, quit stammering. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
    Eric called out again. “Brooke! If you’re not here in two minutes I’ll be handing in my notice. And this time I’m