Evil In Carnations by Kate Collins Read Free Book Online

know where to look!”
    “Well . . . how about the hospital?”
    She wiped tears off her face with the backs of her hands. “Yeah, right. The doctors are engaged, gay, or married and wanting to fool around. Great selection there.”
    “How about the single guys at Marco’s bar?”
    “College students and lawyers, all of whom drink too much. No, thanks.”
    “You could try an online dating service.”
    “Are you serious? I’d probably choose a too-good-to-be-true, ‘loves holding hands and walking on the beach at night’ guy who turns out to be an ax murderer.”
    “You’re being ridiculous. It’s not that hard to meet someone. If I tried, I’ll bet I could find a really nice guy for you in one week.”
    She lifted her head and gazed at me with watery eyes. “You’ll do that for me?”
    “What? No, wait, I said if I tried, not—”
    “Thank you, Abby,” she cried, and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing so hard my eyeballs bulged. Then she picked up her glass of wine and held it to mine. “To my best friend, the one person in the entire world I can count on.”
    Hear, hear?

CHAPTER FOUR
    A t noon on Monday, instead of grabbing a bite to eat from the deli on the square, I rushed home to share some exciting news with Nikki. She was standing at the kitchen counter making herself a tuna-salad-and-cream-cheese sandwich on white bread, with a side of ice cream, something the old Nikki never would have eaten.
    “Hey, Nik, you’ll never guess what I saw in the New Chapel News this morning.”
    “Oh, I don’t know—news?”
    “Ha. Funny. Try an ad for a speed-dating event.” I held the newspaper ad in front of her. “See? Listen to this: ‘Meet your dream date and you’ll be on cloud nine. Register today for the Cloud Nine Date Night event. Nine dates, nine minutes. If you don’t meet at least one person you’d like to see again, come to the next event for free.’ ”
    “It’s being held in Maraville,” she said with a scoff.
    “So? That’s a mere forty minutes away. Come on, Nik. It’s a win-win situation.”
    She ran her index finger down the flat side of the knife, then licked the cream cheese off her fingertip. “No way.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I’m horrible at picking out guys. Look at my track record. Five guys in two years. How can I trust my instincts?”
    “Nikki, listen to me. You’ll have nine guys to choose from. Nine!”
    “How do I know the one I pick won’t be a loser?”
    “You don’t know. But at least give it a try.”
    She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. I watched in dismay as she took her plate into the living room and turned on the TV.
    Great. Now what?
    “Come on, Nikki. How can I find someone for you if you won’t work with me?”
    “No speed dating.”
    I sat beside her on the sofa, thinking hard. No bar, no online dating service, no doctors, no speed dating . . . and only four days left before my romantic weekend in Key West. Out of desperation I said, “How about if we both go?”
    She turned to stare at me. With her mouth full of bread she said, “Seriously?”
    “I’ll arrange it so we can meet the same nine guys, and then we can compare notes afterward and make a choice.”
    She swallowed her food. “What are you going to tell Marco? He’s not going to be thrilled about your meeting nine single guys.”
    “Once I explain everything, he’ll be fine with it. He wants you to find someone to be happy with, too, Nikki.” She had no idea how much.
    “You know,” she said, perking up, “it just might work.”
    “So you’ll go?”
    Nikki smiled, her dimples deepening. “Yes.”
    Before she had time to rethink her decision, I ran for the phone and dialed the number in the ad. “Hi, I’d like to register two people for your speed-dating event this Thursday.”
    I wrote down the info, registered the two of us, and hung up. “Okay, here’s the scoop. According to the event organizer, Carmen Gold, there won’t be a