Party Girl (West Coast Girlz: Book Three) by Sandra Edwards Read Free Book Online Page A

arrogant ass should. First, because he was Rosanna’s cousin. Granted, they didn’t hang out in the same circles, but he had seen Casey with Rosanna upon occasion, and they’d been introduced. Secondly, and more annoyingly, he should recognize her because she frequented his courtroom several times a month during divorce and custody proceedings.
    Casey’s annoyance morphed into full-fledged anger. The judge had a nearly-full draft in front of him. She scanned the immediate area on the bar. Not much there. Just a bowl of peanuts. Ahhh…what the hell . He deserved it. Casey stifled the mischievous laugh trying to claw its way up her throat. She snagged the bowl, dumped it upside-down over his beer and left it sitting there on top of his glass.
    “What the…?” Chase leaped to his feet and shoved his barstool back, then settled his menacing gaze on Casey. “Are you mad?”
    She thought about it, propped her hand on one hip, and said, “Yes. I guess I am.” She tipped her head and gave him a one-sided shrug. “Enjoy your evening.” Casey took a step back, turned and strutted out.
    * * *
     
    A three-way call was a popular communications technique for Casey and her best friends Rosanna and Veronica when they weren’t able to get together in person.
    Casey moved about the kitchen, filling a glass with ice and water while her Bluetooth headset kept her in the conversation.
    “So when are we going to meet the ever-elusive, yet equally hot Jase Elliot?” Veronica’s insistent voice poured over the airwaves.
    Rosanna giggled. “At the party.”
    “Party?” Casey asked, sipping water as she headed to the couch in the living room.
    “Don’t give me that!” Rosanna’s stern tone raised the hair on Casey’s neck. “You know very well what I’m talking about. Mirabelle Winery’s masquerade party on the 22 nd .” Silence stifled the air around Casey. “You are coming...?”
    “Of course I’m coming.” Casey propped her feet up on the coffee table—something she took great pleasure in doing, having been chastised for it as a child.
    “Do you have your costume yet?” Rosanna asked.
    “Yes...” Casey let the word drag out on a secretive tone.
    “Well...?” Veronica chimed in.
    “Nuh-uh.” Casey shook her head.
    “Oh, come on...” Rosanna drawled. “I need to make sure we don’t show up in the same costume.”
    While her argument was a good one, it wasn’t good enough to convince Casey. “Never in a million years will you and I show up in the same costume.” Casey paused. “Nope. You, like everyone else, will see my costume on the night of the party.”
    “Okay. Make sure you show up on time,” Rosanna said.
    “Okay. Make sure you’ve got that hottie Jase Elliot front and center.” Casey waited for a comeback, but only heard Veronica’s soft laughter. “Niko’s coming, right?”
    Figures. Veronica and Rosanna both had found their princes , while Casey was doomed to live a life of loveless solitude.

CHAPTER 2
    CASEY HAD GONE to great lengths to authenticate her costume. From the tight, mustard-colored sweater and matching silk scarf, down to the dark-gray pencil skirt, Mary Janes, a shoulder-length blonde wig and a beige beret.
    Heading for the front door, she paused by the table in the foyer long enough to grab her keys and delicately pick up the Victorian Venetian mask, which for most of the evening would hide roughly three-quarters of her face.
    Casey hurried outside to the limo waiting to take her to Leslie’s, the venue Mirabelle Winery had secured for the party.
    Alone in the back of the limo, she fingered the silver glitter sparkling on the face of the black mask. She trailed her fingers over the soft, black feathers and the black rose decorating the left side. No matter how gothic-looking, it was a beautiful mask, and better still, it would cover most of her face. Only her closest friends would recognize her.
    Casey liked that idea. Tonight she was going to have some fun. She would