Dear Diary by Nancy Bush Read Free Book Online

wasn’t the usual reaction to his overbearing charm. Rory never moved her eyes from his. Beneath her bravado, her heart was thundering in her chest. She could scarcely breathe. But she’d be damned if she let him see that. She was going to give him five seconds, then she was going to do something drastic.

    “What’s the matter with you?” Jenny Sumpter asked, her smile teasing. “I swear, if you don’t pay some attention to me, I’m going to get a complex!”
    “Sorry.” Nick jerked his gaze from the living room doorway back to Jenny. The crown of her head reached his shoulder as she stood in front of him, hands on her hips slim hips in a pose of mock anger. A metallic belt cinched in the waist of her long skirt, and her tanned slim arms were shown off well by her white tank top. Jenny was pretty and teasing. Sometimes the way she turned her head or looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, her lips fighting a smile, reminded him a little of Rory.
    Rory. His chest tightened. Something was going on with her. He didn’t know what, but his instincts where she was concerned were unerring. Trouble. Her eyes were full of suppressed emotion. Hurt, anxiety, misery, fury. He wanted to help. Hell, she’d come to him for help. Why else would she be here? But the timing was awful, and there was Jenny.
    “Well?” Jenny asked, her brows lifting.
    Impulsively he pulled her close and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Eager to please, she tossed her arms around his neck and giggled.
    “I’ve got to check on Rory,” he said, pushing her to arm’s length, his lips caught in the tangle of her hair.
    “What is she‌—‌helpless or something?”
    “Rory?” He laughed silently.
    “Then why do you feel like you have to protect her?”
    “I just want make sure she has a good time, and that my roommates don’t bother her.”
    He tried to ease away from her, but Jenny was reluctant to let go. “If she’s so tough, she can take care of herself. I’m the one who’s weak and needs protection.”
    “Like a barracuda,” he teased dryly.
    “Nick!”
    “You are a woman who always gets what she wants.”
    “Does that include you?”
    “Of course,” he said. Clasping her hand, he led her down the hallway to the living room. There were people everywhere.
    “Hi, Nick,” a blond named Hannah greeted him as she squeezed by.
    “Is there a brown-haired girl with blue eyes in there somewhere?” he asked her.
    “Beats me.” She drifted outside to where soft rain was pattering against the porch roof.
    Jenny tugged on Nick’s hand. “Let’s go somewhere. These parties are boring.”
    “In a minute.” He let go of her, slipping past dancing bodies to the center of the room. And that was when he saw her, with J.D.’s hand resting on her inner thigh and her gaze drilling into him in a way that would have intimidated any normal male. But J.D. possessed the sensitivity of a Cro-Magnon. Nick threaded his way toward them.
    “… Not okay. Ya got that?”
    Rory’s tone was glacial. The power of her personality was stamped on her determined chin. Her lips, normally full and wide, were a thin line of pure fury. The nostrils of her pug nose were flared in outrage. For a heartbeat Nick almost laughed, until J.D. daringly placed his hand back where it was on Rory’s inner thigh.
    She slapped him, her hand quick as a cobra as she thrust his hand away. Only then did Nick see how she was trembling.
    “Jesus!” J.D. bellowed.
    Nick lunged for J.D.’s arm before his friend could react. “Hey, buddy,” he said. “Lighten up. We’ve got places to go. Jenny wants to leave. Rory, I’ve been looking for you. You want something besides pizza?”
    She didn’t even glance his way. If looks could kill, J.D. would be a pile of ashes. It was J.D. who responded, “I’m outta here,” he snarled. “This bitch is all yours.”
    He bulldozed his way through the crowd. Nick’s gaze was on Rory, who regarded him with wide, hollow