Cut to the Corpse by Lucy Lawrence Read Free Book Online

her.
    “Surprised you, didn’t I?” he asked.
    “A little,” she admitted.
    “Well?” he asked.
    She glanced around them in a blatant stall maneuver. Britney was almost at their table. Tenley was pretending that she wasn’t listening when Brenna knew full well that she was. She felt herself grow warm with embarrassment, which was ridiculous. It was a simple question.
    Yes, she had a crush on Nate, but Nate wasn’t asking her out and Dom was and under any other circumstance, she would probably like Dom very much.
    “Okay,” she said. “Yes.”
    He blinked. She’d surprised him, which made her smile.
    “All right then, I’ll be calling.” He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, which was warm and tasted faintly of coffee. He gazed at her for a moment and then said, “In case I neglected to tell you, you look beautiful tonight.”
    “Thanks,” Brenna said. Her voice sounded hoarse, which made his smile deepen.
    She watched him leave, feeling Tenley’s gaze on the side of her face. When she sensed Tenley was about to speak, she raised her hand and said, “Don’t say a word.”
    “Word.” Tenley ignored her with a chortle.
    “Who was that?” Britney demanded, arriving at their table.
    “Brenna’s boyfriend,” Tenley said.
    “Just a friend,” Brenna said.
    “For now,” Tenley sang.
    Tara and the grumpy sisters joined them, and Tenley said, “Well, ladies, I think it is time to call it a night.”
    Britney glanced at her delicate, diamond-encrusted Cartier wristwatch. “But it’s just after midnight.”
    “See? We’d better go before we all turn into pumpkins,” Brenna said. She and Tenley rose, giving the girls no choice but to follow.
    “Remember, Tara,” Brenna said. “We’re meeting your mother at the shop at nine.”
    “I’m never going to make it,” Tara said with a hiccup. She wobbled on her spindly heels, and Brenna could tell she’d had too much to drink.
    “Tell you what,” Brenna said, taking her elbow to help her navigate the gravel driveway. “I’ll pick you up on my way in tomorrow to make sure you’re on time.”
    “Oh, would you?” Tara asked. “See? I just knew we were going to be the best of friends.”
    Brenna didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was only doing it because she didn’t want to face Tara’s mother by herself.
    The women piled into the limo in a clumsy heap while Tenley asked the driver to bring them back to the Fife and Drum where she and Brenna had left their cars. The visiting girls all had rooms at the Morse Point Inn, an old Victorian house in the center of town that had been remodeled to accommodate guests. Tara, meanwhile, was renting the Crawford bungalow. Brenna knew this because the Porter twins had mentioned that she lived two houses down from them every day since the day she moved in.
    As the driver wound his way back toward the center of town, Dana turned on the stereo inside the limo. Pink burst out of the speakers, singing about getting the party started. Brenna found that ironic since all she wanted to do was take off her shoes and go to bed.
    The limo pulled up in front of the Fife and Drum and Brenna gratefully stepped out when the driver held the door open. She took a deep breath of the sweet night air, as if she were a felon being paroled. Tenley followed, looking as relieved as Brenna felt.
    Tara was about to step out as well, as her bungalow was easily within walking distance, but Britney looped an arm about her friend’s waist and pulled her back into the car and slammed the door.
    Tenley and Brenna exchanged a glance, and then Britney’s, and Tara’s heads popped up out of the sunroof on the limo looking like a two-headed jack-in-the-box.
    “Woo hoo!” Britney yelled. “Driver, to the Brass Rail!”
    The man hurried back around the car and got into the driver’s seat.
    “Oh, I really think I should call it a night,” Tara said.
    “Don’t be such a party pooper!” Britney snapped. “I came all this way