Sizzling by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page B

anger. "This isn't your business. You will
stop right now."

"Who's gonna make me? You? You
think you're so tough, but I'm not afraid of you."

One
corner of Gloria's mouth twitched. "Very mature."

Lori
held in a grin. Oh, my. Was that a crack in the armor? A sign of
humanity? It couldn't be.

"I don't care about mature,"
Lori told her. "I do what works. What's going on with Cal? Why
don't you want to see him?"

Gloria turned to the window
again, but this time the action seemed more about pain than defiance.
"He's never respected me."

"I doubt
that."

"You don't know. And that woman he married.
She was pregnant with another man's baby. That child he's raising
isn't his."

And people thought home care could be boring.
"Did she cheat on him?"

"No. She was pregnant
before they got together."

"So technically she
didn't do anything wrong."

"That's not the
point."

"Actually it is the point. Is Cal
happy?"

"Any fool can be happy."

"I'll
take that as a yes." She leaned against the side of the bed.
"You might want to be careful about pushing people away too many
times. Eventually they stop trying to get close."

"You
must know this from experience," Gloria said, turning to look at
her.

Lori blinked. "Excuse me? I have no idea what you're
talking about."

"Of course you do. But it's not so
comfortable to have someone analyzing you, is it?" Gloria looked
her up and down. "How long have you done your best to ignore
your appearance? One might even say you play down your looks."

Lori
did her best not to react, and that included blushing. "I wear
scrubs because it's appropriate for my job."

"They're
shapeless and ugly. Your hair isn't horrible, but you pull it back in
that ridiculous braid. No makeup, those glasses."

"They
help me see," Lori said. "Blind nurses are much harder to
employ."

"You use humor as a weapon. I would say I'm
not the only one pushing people away. So what's your excuse? When did
you stop trying?"

A long, long time ago, Lori thought
grimly. When she'd realized her older sister was totally perfect and
that she, Lori, would never measure up.

"So, now you
don't have quite so much to say," Gloria said calmly.

"I
prefer telling other people what's wrong with them, but I can handle
whatever you say. I wear my hair back because it's practical. I dress
like this because it's appropriate. I don't wear makeup because I
have limited time in the morning and I'd rather spend it on a run
than painting my face."

"Excellent excuses. Have you
used them before or did you come up with them all right now?"

Lori
stared at her patient. The good news was Gloria was showing a
healthy, if slightly twisted interest in life. The bad news was she'd
shot a few unpleasant truths right into Lori's gut while doing
it.

"What do you want from me?" Lori asked. "Is
there a purpose or are your comments their own kind of fun?"

"I
want you to wear regular clothes. Jeans and a sweater. Looking at you
in those…what did you call them?"

"Scrubs."

"Right.
Looking at you in those scrubs is depressing. I'm already near death.
I don't need my demise hurried along by looking at your ugly
clothes."

Lori flipped up the hem of her shirt and
pretended to look for a tag. "There's no warning label that
being seen in scrubs can cause death."

"Insolent
child."

"Crabby old biddy."

Gloria
pressed her lips together, as if holding in a smile. "You will
wear regular clothes starting tomorrow."

"You
actually can't make me."

Gloria ignored her. "In
return, there is a slight chance I might be willing to see one of my
grandchildren."

That was a victory. And worth
wearing jeans. "You have a deal."

Gloria eyed her
head. "We also need to do something about your hair."

"Not
likely. The price for that is you singing karaoke."
    * * *
    DANI WAITED for her large nonfat latte at the crowded Daily
Grind across the street from the downtown Nordstrom.

This had
always been her favorite of Seattle's Daily Grinds— probably
because it was the first one her brother