Friends and Lovers Trilogy 02 - Charmed by Beth Ciotta Read Free Book Online

business. He wanted to talk about …” Hmm. She shoved her fingers through her damp curls, trying to kick-start her stalled brain. He’d found her shoe, freed her gown, criticized the hiding place of her house key, and scrutinized the mystery gift. “Actually, I’m not exactly clear on why he was here, although he did give me his number and—”
    “Was he cute?”
    He’d certainly made
her
mouth water. “More like quietly handsome, not that that matters.”
    “No, but it’s a definite bonus.”
    She heard Sofie jostling around, could easily envision her in the Carnevale dressing room reapplying her makeup and slipping into something sexy for her date. Then her sister asked, “Was he nice?”
    Lulu shrugged. “He protects people for a living. How
nice
can he be?”
    “What, like a bodyguard? A sexy bad boy with a ripped body?” Audibly jazzed, Sofie adopted the tone of a drill sergeant. “Call him. Ask him out. Be adventurous! You’ve got to get back in the dating game at some point, Lu. You’re full of life and love and you’re wasting away because of Terry-the-bastard. Fuck him.” She banged something loudly. “Strike that. Fuck the bodyguard. All that testosterone. He’s probably hot as hell in bed. It’s about time you discovered the joy of no expectations sex.”
    Lulu fell back on the bed, winded and speechless. She wasn’t sure which stunned her more—Sofie’s language or her suggestion. Not wanting to seem like a prude, she forced a reply. “I can’t have sex with a stranger.”
    “Sure you can. Just make sure he wears a condom and let me or Rudy know where you are.”
    Lulu rolled her eyes. “Why not Jean-Pierre?” As if she didn’t know.
    “Because Frenchie, bless his heart, wouldn’t know what to do if, God forbid, you needed rescuing.”
    “But you and Rudy would.”
Here it comes.
    Sofie’s confidence was evident in her cocky tone. “Let’s just say we’re excelling in our Tae Kwon Do class.”
    Lulu sighed. Rudy had enrolled in the martial arts class for spiritual reasons. Sofie had joined out of curiosity. Now it was an obsession. “You really need to ditch this Lara Croft fixation, Sof.”
    “It’s not a fixation. It’s a goal. So are you going to do it?”
    “Learn Tae Kwon Do?” As if she’d ever purposely strike anyone!
    Sofie laughed. “No, silly. Are you going to screw the bodyguard?”
    “I wish you wouldn’t talk like that.”
    “Are you?”
    A nervous giggle bubbled in her throat. “Okay. I am officially mortified. That is so not me, and you know it.”
    “That’s why I’ve decided to give you a makeover.”
    “You’re giving me a beauty makeover?”
    “Not exactly. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. My date’s waiting.”
    Lulu palmed her forehead, trying to reassemble her thoughts. Her baby sister had blown her mind. “Do me a favor and make this guy buy you dinner,” she said, needing to reassert herself as the older, wiser sibling. “You left your Thermos at home which probably means you skipped lunch. You have to eat, Sof.”
    “I’ll order a Bloody Mary with a celery stalk.”
    “I’m serious.”
    “So am I.”
    “Sofia—”
    “This chick’s gotta fly, Mother Hen. Don’t wait up.”
    Lulu frowned at the sound of silence. Disconnected from her sister … in more ways than one. She tossed aside the phone, snagged Binky Bear, a childhood gift from her grandmother, and hugged him tight. This was as close to a heart-to-heart as the Marino sisters had had in a long time. It seemed that each of them was always trying to downplay whatever emotional crisis she might be suffering in order to spare the other worry. They were incredibly different—the seductress and the clown—yet intensely the same. Like Lulu, Sofie struggled with insecurities and broken dreams.
    Her thoughts drifted toward Terry and his pregnant girlfriend. Her stomach cramped, and she quickly shoved the man from her mind. Brooding about something you had no control over