Evil In Carnations by Kate Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

problem getting into the same group. All we have to do is show up at the restaurant at seven o’clock Thursday night with our credit cards in hand.”
    “ All we have to do? Are you kidding me? I have to find something to wear.” Nikki rubbed her hands together, her eyes sparkling with excitement for the first time in weeks. “This could be fun. Great idea, Abby!”
    I hoped Marco saw it that way.
     
    “You’re going to a speed-dating event?” Marco swung his feet off his desk and sat forward. “Why?”
    I’d stopped by Down the Hatch on my way back to Bloomers to tell him what I’d signed up for, and found him in his office, his nose buried in the sports section of the newspaper. I went around behind his chair to massage the muscles in his shoulders. That always mellowed him. “I’m going along to screen the guys. Nikki begged me, Marco. How could I refuse?”
    He leaned back to gaze at me speculatively. “She begged you?”
    “Well, she didn’t get down on her knees, if that’s what you mean.” That was a little diversionary tactic I called fudging.
    “How will the guys know you’re there only to screen for Nikki?”
    “I’ll tell them up front.”
    “What about the safety issue? Is every client given a background check?”
    “I doubt it, but I did look at the Cloud Nine Web site, and their policy is to prohibit any personal information from being exchanged during the event. Besides, I didn’t check your background before I went out with you. Did you check mine?”
    “Sure.”
    “What?”
    “Kidding.”
    I gave his shoulder a playful push. “You checked me out, didn’t you?”
    “We’re talking about you and Nikki subjecting yourselves to the scrutiny of nine strangers, not what I may or may not have done in the past.”
    Changing the subject was apparently Marco’s diversionary tactic.
    “Think about it, Marco. Is meeting someone at this event any different from hooking up in a bar? No. And with nine guys to choose from, Nikki can’t miss. Plus there’ll be a mixer afterward where she can meet even more guys.”
    “What will you be doing during this mixer?”
    “Checking out every guy she talks to. That’s my role.”
    “Want some advice? Let Nikki meet guys herself. You don’t need to hold her hand. If she’s not brave enough to go alone, then maybe it’s not meant to be. Don’t force her.”
    “I didn’t force her. I merely suggested she attend; then she leaped on the idea of me going along.” I leaned down to murmur in his ear, “Besides, I’m doing this for us as much as for Nikki. You don’t want me to be all worried about her when we’re down in Key West, do you?”
    Marco pulled me around to sit on his lap. “No, I don’t want you to be worried, but I’m still not sold on the idea. How soon is this event?”
    “Thursday evening.”
    He leaned his head toward me to kiss me, then stopped. “Wait. We’re leaving early Friday morning. That’s cutting it close, isn’t it?”
    “I’ll have my bags all packed and ready to go Thursday afternoon.”
    “ Bag , Abby. Not bags. We’re traveling light, remember? Carry-ons only? No waiting at the airport carousel? No lost luggage? Besides, it’ll be hot down in Key West, so you won’t need much, just a bikini, some sunscreen. . . .” He paused to think. “Yep, that should do it.”
    “Silly. I can’t wear a bikini all the time.”
    He lifted one dark eyebrow. “I know.”
    Oh, baby. This was going to be quite a weekend. “Just think,” I said, winding my arms around his neck. “Five days from today we’ll be sunning and funning down in Key West, Nikki will have found a new guy, and everyone will be happy.”
    “How happy?”
    I leaned forward to kiss him and his desk phone rang. Marco put the receiver to his ear and practically growled, “Salvare.”
    At once he straightened, nearly spilling me onto the floor. “No, my throat isn’t sore. I’m fine. No, I haven’t been ignoring you, Mama . I’ve been