It Had To Be You by Kathryn Shay Read Free Book Online Page B

Beck still had
trouble seeing her so girly with her brown hair down and
sporting a pretty, light purple blouse. Ryan grinned. “Though Licia
said she wants to use it to play dress up in the
bedroom.”
    “ In your dreams, pal.” Felicia made the
quip, but her expression was so loving it took any sting out of her
words. Beck had to quell a spurt of longing as he scanned the room
of happy couples.
    Dressed in a short, gray skirt, which showed
off legs Beck didn’t know could be so long, Sydney started teasing
Brody about being a staid homeowner. Beck tried to relax and enjoy
the banter. Gabe interrupted it by saying, “Ah, there he is. I was
hoping you’d make it, hombre.”
    Beck craned his neck as Tony Ramirez entered
the room, his wife behind him. “Hola, todos ustedes,” Tony
said with a smile.
    Beck was thinking about how the group
referred to them as the Beautiful People, when Sophia dragged
someone else out from behind her.
    Ah! The woman who’d been occupying some of
Beck’s thoughts—and a couple of X-rated dreams—stood with her
friends. He’d never seen her in a dress before, and this one was
clingy and looked soft to the touch. It spiked his blood pressure.
He’d had contact with her at least twice a week at the support
group and a couple more times during a run to the hospital. But
he’d never seen her in such feminine clothes. He was reminded of
the story she’d told him about her husband having seen her only in
army wear.
    “ Hi, guys,” Sophia said cheerfully. “I
talked my friend, Lela, into coming with me.”
    Greats and more-the-merriers abounded. Felicia’s brother, who’d flown in from Colorado to share
in his in-law’s success, stood. “Over here Lela. Take my chair.
I’ll get another.”
    Nodding, she crossed to the man. The attractive man, who put his hand on the small of her back to
help seat her. Lela scanned the table, said hellos, and when her
gaze landed on Beck, gave him a big, bright smile that might be
able to eclipse the sun. It hit him square in the gut. “Hi, Beck. I
was hoping you’d be here.”
    “ Yeah?”
    “ You said you don’t get out much.” Her
eyes were alight. “Me, either, which is why I let Sophia talk me
into tagging along. I had a free night because Josh is with his
grandparents’.”
    Garth White pulled up a chair, way too close
to Lela. “So, pretty lady, what do you do?”
    “ I’m a nurse.”
    Felicia added, “She was an army medic, too,
so she’s used to fending off characters like you, buddy.”
    “ I do not need fending off.” He leaned
in closer. “Yet.”
    Lela laughed as the waitress approached and
she gave an order for straight-up, double malt scotch. Beck’s brows
raised and she caught his reaction. “Well, you didn’t expect an
army gal to drink something with a little umbrella in it, did
you?”
    “ No, ma’am. Though I bet you had some
of those mint-julep things down south.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “Too sweet.”
    “ You from the south?” Garth asked. “Say
something so I can hear the accent.”
    “ I’ve lost most of it, but here goes.
Y’all better watch yourself, or my daddy’s gonna be on you like
fleas on a dog.” She’d dragged out some of the vowels.
    Everyone laughed.
    Beck sipped his own drink—a tart
Manhattan—and watched the night unfold. It wasn’t long before Chief
Erikson arrived with a stunning dark-haired woman on his arm, who
everyone addressed as Parker. So this was the famous
journalist/blogger who’d sparred with the chief over
fire-department matters, then unexpectedly fell in love with him.
Beck hoped it worked out for them, but he didn’t believe much in
happily-ever-after. Again, his gaze strayed to Nurse Allen.
    o0o
    Lela took surreptitious glances at Beck—he’d
changed into jeans and a gauzy, white shirt—as they ate some of the
best pizza she’d ever had. Afterward, the group drifted out to the
main bar area to dance and socialize with some of the cops who’d
shown up.