Best Served Cold by Tawdra Kandle Read Free Book Online Page B

someone to take to that fundraiser with your parents. Your date backed out, you needed another girl. That’s why you asked Jules.”
    I shook my head. “No, that’s not right, Giff. Liam never asked me to a fundraiser. Well, not then, anyway.”
    “No, because he wanted to check you out first, make sure you’d work. But when he asked you out, you said no.” Giff lifted his bottle in a mock salute to his roommate. “No one turns down Liam Bailey, so that’s when he started chasing you.”
    “Shut up, Giff.” Liam’s voice was tight. “You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”
    “Sure I do. You just like to re-write history. Make it how you want. But Jules wants the truth, don’t you?” He swiveled his eyes in my direction.
    “I just...” I trailed off, uncertain. What had I wanted? Did I really expect Liam to tell me he had been secretly in love with me from afar and finally got up the nerve to ask me out? I wouldn’t believe him, even if he had.
    “Julia.” Liam’s face was tight. “Okay, yes, I needed a date for the fundraiser. But I didn’t just pick you because you were convenient. I stood behind you and Ava one day at Beans, and I listened to the two of you. And then I started seeing you around campus. Maybe it was the fundraiser that made me talk to you, but I would have asked you out sooner or later, even if my date hadn’t fallen through. All right? We cool? Can I get back to work here?”
    I nodded. “Sure.”
    Across the room, Giff studied me, compassion on his face. Abruptly, he leaned forward, sliding off the bed.
    “I need a candy run,” he announced. “And I can’t go by myself like this. Jules, walk over with to the SU with me?”
    I hesitated. It was a week night, but I’d still hoped for some one-on-one time with Liam.
    But he waved at me. “Go ahead. I need to finish this chapter, and it’ll be easier if I’m alone.”
    I don’t remember what Gifford and I talked about that night as we walked, but I know Giff didn’t mention Liam at all. And neither did I.
     

     
    “ This is what you want me to wear to a party at Alpha Delt?”
    Ava met my eyes in the mirror and grinned.
    “Absolutely.”
    “I don’t know, Ave. Are you sure you know what you’re doing? You and Giff?” I turned around to face her. “I don’t want to look ridiculous. Hell, the last thing I need is more people making fun of me.”
    “No one’s going to make fun of you. Look at the hotness of you.”
    I rolled my eyes and pivoted to check out the mirror again. My jeans were just faded enough not to look brand new, and the scoop neck black shirt clung in the right places. Still, it was subtle. There wasn’t a hint of cleavage, and the jeans weren’t even tight. My black boots were flat and cuffed, hardly hot-mama material. I looked more Victorian than vampish.
    “Why do you get to wear the cute outfit?” Ava’s black skirt was short and flirty. She’d paired it with a slouchy gray sweater that we’d found at a thrift shop before Christmas. The thin knit accentuated her curves and showed more skin than my roommate usually displayed.
    “Because I’m not there on a mission. And besides, your outfit is cute, too. But if you dress up all out of character, it’s going to look suspicious. Like you’re trying to get Liam’s attention, not like you just happened to be at a party where he is, too.”
    “Right. I know.” I drew in a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”
    It was a still winter night, so cold and clear that the stars seemed very close. I could see our breath as we shivered along the path to fraternity row. Most everyone who lived on campus walked to frat parties since parking was limited in that area, and the campus police tended to patrol more often for DWI on weekends.
    I heard music coming from Alpha Delt as we approached, and my stomach turned over. Ava must have sensed it—or heard it—because she grabbed my arm.
    “No turning back now,” she said, her voice