Sizzling by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page A

emotionally eviscerate her with a couple of well chosen
words.

She braced herself for the attack as he rose and stared
down at her. But he didn't say what she'd expected.

"I
thought you were different," he said quietly. "I didn't
think you were the type to kick me when I was down. Guess I was
wrong."

And then he was gone and she was alone.

Shame
returned, but this time it had nothing to do with wanting a man she
could never have. Instead it was about hurting someone who didn't
deserve to be hurt.

She'd been trying to make herself feel
better by saying he was nothing more than an empty shell— a
pretty façade, not a real person. But she'd been wrong. Reid
was very real.

She'd been disrespectful and dismissive. Pretty
much acting the way she'd expected him to act. The way others had
acted toward her.

She'd become someone she didn't like and she
didn't know how to fix that.
    CHAPTER
FOUR
    LORI STARED at the ringing phone. "Are you going to get
that?" she asked.

Gloria continued to flip through the
DVD magazine. "There's no one I want to talk to."

"Then
I guess I'll talk to them." Lori grabbed the phone.
"Hello?"

"This is Cal Buchanan. You're,
ah…"

"Lori Johnston. We spoke when you called
before. Hi. How are you?"

"Good. I'm phoning to
check on my grandmother. I thought I might come by later and
visit."

"That's great." Lori covered the phone
and smiled at Gloria. "It's Cal. He wants to see you."

Gloria
didn't bother looking up. "No. Tell him to go away."

Lori
uncovered the phone. "She's thrilled and can't wait to see
you."

Cal chuckled. "Want to let me hear her say
that?"

"Not really. She doesn't always say what she
means. You have to read between the lines."

Gloria glared
at Lori. "Hang up this instant. You will not answer my phone
again, nor will you speak for me."

Lori took a step back
so she was out of reach. "Your grandmother is doing great. She's
making progress every day. Even her physical therapist is impressed
and he's one tough guy to please. She's gained a little weight. Not
as much as I would like, but then I'm just bitter at how good she
must look in her clothes."

Gloria's scowl didn't soften.
"You're annoying me. Hang up. Or tell Cal he can visit, but just
him. Not that whore he married or her horrible baby."

Lori
winced. She hadn't had the phone covered and based on how Cal swore,
he'd heard every word.

"Why do I bother?" he asked
before he hung up.

Lori put down the phone. "What is
wrong with you?" she demanded. "Why would you do that? He's
your grandson. This is the second time he's called, wanting to come
see you. To me that shows an impressive level of commitment. If he
was just being polite, he would have stopped after one
call."

Instead of answering, Gloria turned her attention
back to the catalog.

Lori snatched it from her and tossed it
on the ground. "I'm talking to you."

"I have no
interest in this conversation. You need to be careful. You're coming
very close to overstepping your bounds."

"Excuse me
while I tremble in fear." Lori stalked to the bookcases and
turned back to face the bed. "What's wrong with you?" she
asked again. "Why are you acting like this? It doesn't make any
sense. I know you're lonely. I know you're hurting and feeling a
sense of your own mortality. Who wouldn't after what you've been
through? So you deal with that by connecting with people. But you don't connect. We're talking about your family and you keep pushing
them away. Why?"

"I will not discuss this with
you."

"Too bad, because I'm not leaving until I
understand."

Gloria folded her arms across her chest and
looked out the window. Lori stared at her.

"I thought you
had the most selfish grandkids in the world," she said slowly.
"You'd lost your only child, you took them in, raised them, ran
the family business and your reward was for them to ignore you. But
it's not like that, is it? You push them away. What are you trying to
prove?"

"Stay out of this," Gloria told her,
her face tight with