Dear Diary by Nancy Bush Read Free Book Online Page B

instinctively. If J.D. walked through that door she wasn’t certain what she’d do, but by God, he’d know it had been done!
    The door creaked open. Framed in the aperture was Nick. Quickly he shut the door behind him, as if afraid to awaken her.
    “I’m awake,” Rory told him.
    He crossed the room carefully, his eyes apparently not adjusted to the dark. His toe bumped into her leg. “Sorry. I can’t see.”
    “It’s all right.”
    “You could’ve used the bed. I can sleep on the couch downstairs.”
    “This is fine.” Rory sat up, plumped the pillow, then leaned back on her elbows. She was wearing a Wazzu T-shirt; nightgowns weren’t her thing. Nick crouched down beside her and yawned.
    “J.D. didn’t bother you while I was gone, did he?” he asked, his voice sharpening as the thought occurred to him.
    “I think he left about the same time you did.”
    He snorted in disgust. “I’m going to be glad to graduate next year, even if it means joining the ‘real world.’”
    He started untying his shoes. Rory watched, feeling kind of strange. She’d known they might be sleeping in the same room regardless of his comments about the downstairs couch, yet it suddenly seemed odd. “You’re still majoring in business?”
    “Investments. That’s what I want. To handle other people’s money.” His teeth flashed white in the dim light. “I’m expecting you to make a fortune and let me invest it for you.”
    “Ha. I wouldn’t trust you with a nickel.”
    “Why not?” He sounded genuinely surprised.
    Because you’re a man, Rory thought before the implication struck home. How prejudiced. How unfair. But it was true. Nick, though he was a wonderful, terrific friend, was just as fickle about love and romance as any other man. She didn’t trust a lot of them. Not with her heart, not with her money, not with nothing.
    “Well, it’s something we won’t have to worry about because I’ll never make a fortune anyway,” she assured him. “I just want a nice, safe job with no surprises.”
    “That’s B.S., you’d vegetate. You need a challenge as much as I do.”
    “Since when are you an expert on me?”
    “I’ve always been.” After his shoes came his socks and then he stood up, undoing his belt. Panic lanced through Rory, and she shut her eyes so tightly they hurt. Nick didn’t seem to notice. She heard the soft swish and jingle of his pants hitting the floor. Shortly thereafter the bedsprings creaked. During a look out of the corner of her eye she saw that he’d tossed a blanket over himself. She wondered if he had anything on. He was watching her, smiling. Damn. He knew what she was thinking.
    “This is interesting, don’t you think?” he asked. “We’re sleeping in the same room together.”
    “Big deal.” Rory scrunched back into her sleeping bag until just her nose and eyes showed.
    “Have you ever slept with someone, Rory?”
    She was shocked to the soles of her feet. “You mean besides that girl I met first semester?”
    “Yeah, her. What was her name again?”
    Rory couldn’t stop her smile. Nick was so quick on going there with her. “I’m having trouble thinking of it myself.”
    “Seriously,” he said. “Anyone?”
    “I believe it’s none of your business. And if you’re offering your services, forget it.”
    Now she’d shocked him. His jaw dropped. “The way you talk, Ms. Camden,” he drawled.
    “Yeah? Well, get used to it. Nobody’s going to push me around any longer. I’ve learned my lesson.”
    “Is that what this trip to Seattle’s all about?”
    “Something like that. Good night, Nick.” Rory turned over, offering him a view of the back of her head.
    “Rory.” She jerked at the feel of his hand on her shoulder.
    “What?”
    A long moment passed. His touch, though light, sent strange signals along her nerves. Oh, come on! she railed at herself. Here she was, shattered and disillusioned; her trust in human beings half dead, and all she could think