Not That Kind of Girl by Susan Donovan Read Free Book Online

it to attack me, didn’t you? You did this on purpose!”
    “I need an ambulance,” Roxie said to the 911 operator. “My dog just bit a home intruder.”
    “What?” Raymond struggled to a sitting position, his face scarlet with rage. The veins in his neck—the ones not shredded by Lilith—pulsed wildly. “You bitch!”
    Only then did Roxanne notice that Mrs. Delano stood on the stoop, broom in hand, head pivoting back and forth as she passed judgment.
    Next, Roxanne noticed that the pizza box had been carefully placed in the doorway, along with the receipt. The delivery guy was gone, and so was the twenty-dollar bill that had slipped from Roxanne’s hand in the melee.

Chapter 4
    “I’m so sorry,” Roxanne whispered, dropping her head into her hands, pressing the ice pack into her lump. “I know this isn’t the traditional way to wrap up a baby shower.”
    Josie patted Roxie on the shoulder. Ginger stroked her knee. Bea paced wildly between the rows of waiting room chairs in the emergency room of the California Pacific Medical Center, mumbling obscenities to herself.
    A sudden outburst from Lucio surprised everyone. “That sohn uva towzand beet-chez !” Ginger’s husband waved his hands around wildly the way he did when he got worked up. “¡Gilipollas!”
    Bea stopped her pacing and looked to Lucio with approval. “Amen to whatever it is you just said,” she told him.
    From her slump of defeat, Roxanne laughed sarcastically. “You know what I just realized? Mrs. Needleman was almost right.” She peeked up at Bea. “I left my door open just a crack like she suggested, and voilà! A man waltzes right in. Only he wasn’t the man of my dreams. He was my worst nightmare!”
    Bea pursed her lips. “That was supposed to be a metaphor.”
    “Oh, really?” Roxanne asked, laughing harder. “I’ve never seen a metaphor bleed like that!”
    Just then, Rick and Teeny came marching through the waiting room, provoking openmouthed stares from most of the women within visual range. Teeny was very big, black, and bald, and he wore a substantial diamond in one of his ears. Plus he dressed like a movie star. Rick was his usual hunky self, part casual and scruffy surfer dude and part GQ CEO.
    Roxie stood up to greet them.
    “Door’s fixed,” Teeny announced. “We built a whole new frame, put in a sturdier chain, and added a dead bolt. We recommend you use it.”
    She nodded.
    “Don’t forget to prime the frame before you paint,” he added.
    “Of course,” she said, overwhelmed by the kindness of her friends. She gave both of them a quick hug. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
    “It’s nothing,” Rick said. “How’s the head?”
    Roxie absently touched the sore bump a few inches above her left temple, where the door had hit her. “The doctors said it’s just a minor contusion.”
    Rick nodded, looking worried. “Listen, Roxie, I left a message for my lawyer to see who he’d recommend for this kind of situation. Hope you don’t mind.”
    Roxanne shook her head. “You didn’t need to do that. I’ll find someone.” She returned to her seat between Josie and Ginger and resumed her slump.
    Teeny frowned. “You’d better listen to what he’s telling you,” he admonished Roxanne.
    “Yeah. Listen to the man, Rox,” Bea said.
    Rick stepped closer to Roxanne and squatted, putting a hand on her knee. “If you don’t have the best defense money can buy, Raymond Sandberg’s going to chew you up and spit you out.”
    Roxanne moaned, returning her face to her hands. “Raymond is the best defense lawyer money can buy,” she mumbled.
    “What you really need is a damn time machine,” Teeny said, his voice soft. “Then you could go back in time and take out any mention of him on your Web site.”
    Roxanne raised her eyes and huffed, offended. “I’ve never once used his name! I only provided a general description of him!”
    “Come on now, Rox,” Bea said,