The Naughty List by Jodi Redford Read Free Book Online Page A

meant everyone in that particular directory got the file. The contents of her stomach gave a dangerous lurch.
    “Lacey? You still there?”
    “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.” She hung up before Jana could protest. Her palms were so clammy, the cell phone nearly slipped from her hand. She shoved it into her coat pocket and collapsed against the wall. Her face alternated between icy cold and blistering hot. The blower had ceased its thunderous noise, making the pounding whoosh inside her head all the more apparent.
    There was no way this was happening.
    Only it was.
    The good news was her “lame laughs” contact list was woefully small. Besides Jana, the only other people on it were…
    Oh. Shit.
    Her belly roiled and she pressed a shaky hand to her mouth.
    Ry and Bram.
    How was she ever going to look them in the eye? She swallowed down her nausea. Even though she knew it was pointless, she darted her gaze around the bathroom, looking for a possible escape plan. One that would miraculously teleport her to her car so she could make a quick getaway. Preferably to Hawaii, or some other destination far, far away from here.
    A thought occurred to her in mid panic attack. Maybe Bram and Ry hadn’t seen the email yet. If not, she could hack into their accounts and—
    Lacey, we need to talk.
    Her heart sank as Ry’s tense demand spun in her mind.
    They’d read the email. She couldn’t fool herself into believing otherwise. Just like she couldn’t fool herself into thinking she’d get out of the conversation waiting for her on the other side of the bathroom door. Sucking in a deep, fortifying breath, she pushed away from the wall and prepared to face her best friends.
    Two men who now—without a question of a doubt—knew she wanted a kinky threesome.
    Yeah, this wouldn’t be awkward. At all.
    The desire to race back inside the restroom stall and have a mental breakdown—or throw up—was overwhelming. Somehow she found the fortitude to take a shaky step toward the door. Then another. You can do this, damn it . She stepped out into the back hallway. The restaurant was eerily quiet. It was easy to pretend that she was the only one in the entire building.
    If only.
    Shoving her hands into her coat pockets to hide their trembling, she walked into the main bar area. Ry and Bram hadn’t moved an inch from their posts. They both watched her as she approached, their expressions unreadable. That, more than anything, disturbed her. She’d half hoped Bram would be grinning and cracking lewd comments about how she’d pulled the world’s biggest prank on them.
    Prank…
    Wait, maybe that’s how she could get out of this—by convincing them it’d merely been a bad joke. It was a long shot, considering the incredibly personal stuff she’d included on the list, but maybe they’d take pity on her and let it go.
    She offered the guys a tentative smile. “Sorry about that. You know us women and our tiny bladders.” She winced at her overly cheery tone. Why am I talking about bladders? Trying not to feel like the biggest moron on the planet, she cleared her throat. “Anyway, you wanted to speak to me about something?”
    Ry stared at her for a long moment, his eyes dark and intense. She couldn’t remember ever having been under the full power of his focus like that. It took every ounce of her willpower not to shiver. Or duck and hide behind the bar. “Why didn’t you tell us, Lace?”
    Although it was pathetic and ridiculous, she decided to play dumb. “Tell you what?”
    Of course Ry wouldn’t let her off that easy. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. Your threesome fantasy.”
    She forced a laugh. “Oh. That . I thought you guys would get a chuckle over it. I only wish I could have seen your faces when you read the email.” Not that she’d needed to be there. It wasn’t exactly difficult to conjure twin expressions of stupefied shock.
    Actually, the shock she could handle. It was the inevitable