Mistletoe by Lyn Gardner Read Free Book Online Page A

direction.”
    “Oh, I see,” Linda said. “Well, I suppose that you could take it as a good sign that she didn’t tell you off…or slap you in the face.”
    “Yeah, I guess. I’m just hoping she’ll accept my apology. She told me that she was going to go to Lillian’s party on Saturday night with Gwen, so that’ll give me the chance to tell her that I’m sorry.”
    “Is that all you’re going to say? Perhaps you should try telling her how you feel about her. You never know, she could feel the same way.”
    “Linda, the chances that Diana Clarke fell in love with me in a span of less than fifteen minutes is right up there with believing in Santa Claus. It’s a wonderful idea, but it’s hardly reality.”

Chapter Four

    Y ou’re not ready?” Gwen asked.
    “Now there’s a surprise.”
    “I’m sorry, but I won’t be long. Come on up,” Diana said with a guilty smile, running back up the stairs to her bedroom.
    Sniggering at her friend’s penchant for lateness, Gwen tossed her coat on a nearby chair, and climbed the stairs.
    Entering Diana’s bedroom, she looked around and smiled.
    “Someone went on a shopping spree,” she said loudly, seeing several empty shopping bags tossed about.
    “No, I just needed a few things,” Diana called back from behind the bathroom door.
    Picking up one of the bags, Gwen read the name imprinted on the side and jerked back her head. “Since when do you shop at Saks? A bit out of your budget, isn’t it?”
    “I wanted to get a new dress, and they were having a sale.”
    Noticing the name on another bag, Gwen called out, “And you needed new shoes because…no, let me guess. They were having a sale, too?”
    “Actually, they were.”
    Nodding her head at Diana’s answer, Gwen smiled to herself as she picked up another bag, and when she saw the name of Joelliane stamped on the plastic, it was all she could do not to burst out laughing. Already having a sneaking suspicion that Diana’s need for new clothes had nothing to do with bargain shopping and everything to do with a certain attractive blonde lawyer, it was all but confirmed seeing the packaging from the well-known lingerie store.
    Sitting on the edge of the bed, Gwen tried to compose her mirth along with her next sentence. Finally, she called out, “So, what you’re saying is that none of this has anything at all to do with that lip-lock you shared with Jamie Nash?”
    In the bathroom, Diana was leaning over the sink with her face close to the mirror as she applied her last bit of makeup. Hearing the question, she promptly poked herself in the eye with her eyeliner. “Shit,” she said, blinking several times to clear the pain. Groaning at the site of the mess she just created, Diana grabbed a tissue and wiped away the swipe of black pencil from under her eye.
    Hearing no response, Gwen said, “You okay in there?”
    “Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” Diana replied, quickly repairing the damage. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
    Growing tired of shouting their conversation, Gwen waited until she heard the bathroom door open, and when she saw the dress Diana was wearing, her jaw dropped open. “Wow!”
    “You like?” Diana asked as she felt her cheeks heat.
    Gwen’s eyes started at Diana’s feet and slowly worked their way up, and then back down again. The dress was short, strapless, shimmering and very, very red. Pleated around the bust, with a wrapped skirt that was loose and flowing, it was beautiful. The addition of a small rhinestone brooch centered on the fabric between Diana’s breasts added a hint of sparkle, and Diana did the rest. The swells of her breasts rose slightly above the pleats, helped, Gwen suspected, by a very expensive brassiere. The hem ended a few inches above her knees, allowing whoever was looking to get more than a hint of Diana’s shapely legs, and at that moment in time, Gwen was looking…a lot.
    “Well, what do you think?” Diana asked again, tickled by her friend’s