Champagne Rules by Susan Lyons Read Free Book Online Page A

day?”
    Ann heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah, but what’s new? One sort of highlight, though. Brad sent me a red rose with a card saying he was looking forward to our next date.” She chuckled, though the sound was ragged. “I’m looking forward to it too, but with both of our crazy workloads, we’ll be lucky if we can coordinate schedules before the new year.”
    “It’s only July.”
    “And that tells you how busy I am.” She raked her fingers through her hair again. Thanks to the short, practical style she wore, the locks fell back in place. “Sometimes I think the Foursome’s Monday nights are the only thing that keep me sane. Definitely better than yoga. So, anyhow, Suzie, how did outrageous69 do?”
    Suzanne patted her bulging tote. “The lady’s hot.” She only wished she, plain old Suze, was half as hot. Perhaps Ann heard the ambivalence in her voice. She patted Suzanne’s shoulder. “Honey, that lady is you. You were the girl in the cave, right? I mean, it wasn’t Nicole Kidman.”
    Because of her hair, height and creamy skin, Suzanne often got compared to Nicole Kidman. Not that she saw much resemblance herself. The actress’s features were sharp and pointy, her eyes blue rather than greeny-gray.
    But had the Cretan god seen a resemblance? Maybe that’s why she’d turned him on.
    Ann poked her shoulder. “Stop it right this moment, Suze. I swear, you’re as insecure as an articling student going to court for the first time. You’re much prettier than Nicole is, and it’s you the man wanted.”
    Feeling slightly cheered, Suzanne followed Ann through the blue-painted doorway. Jenny and Rina were settled at a table by the open French doors, with a large carafe of Greek wine. A waiter hurried over to fill two more glasses and ask if they’d like to order appetizers.
    “What do you say, gals?” Ann said. “That gigantic appie platter, to share, plus a large Greek salad to make sure we get our veggies?”
    They’d been to Maria’s enough times that no one needed to open a menu. Everyone nodded approval, and the waiter said,
    “It’ll only be a few minutes.”
    Jenny turned to Suzanne. “Well? How’d we do?”
    Suzanne reached into her bag, brought out a small handful of papers and handed them to Jenny.
    “Crap, I expected more.” Her friend scowled at her suspiciously. “Did you read and pre-screen?”
    Suzanne shook her head, fighting back a smile. She reached into her bag and withdrew another batch, which she handed to Rina. Another handful went to Ann, and she kept some for herself. By this time everyone was grinning. Jenny rubbed her hands together. “Okay, that’s more like it!
    Now we read them aloud. We’ll each take a turn. I’ll start.”
    Suzanne took a deep breath. Glancing around the room, her gaze snagged on the paintings and photos of Greece. Sun drenched white buildings, fishing boats on a beach, yes, they called up memories. Was her Greek god a true memory? Would she find out tonight?
    “Hey, Suze?” Jenny was waving a piece of paper in her face.
    “You with me?”
    “Go ahead.”
    “Okay, this one’s from ‘imahottie.’ ” Jenny wrinkled her nose. “Tell me this isn’t your guy.”
    “Better not be, or my fantasy will be ruined.” Oh my God, she’d never thought of that. What if the guy did answer, and he was some kind of jerk, not the sex god she dreamed about? She wanted to grab those e-mails back from her friends, but knew they’d never let her.
    “So,” Jenny went on, “imahottie says, ‘Hey blondie, if you’re looking for a hot time, I’m the guy for you. I’ve got a seven-inch dick—’”
    Jenny broke off, hooting with laughter as the others joined in. When they calmed down, she said, “Someone ought to tell dickhead what he can do with his seven-inch dick. Anyone want to hear the rest of this one?”
    They shook their heads, and Ann took her turn. “This is from ‘johnboy.’ He says ‘I’m a sensitive new-age