Wish 01 - A Secret Wish by Barbara Freethy Read Free Book Online Page A

celebration going.” A mischievous sparkle entered his eyes. “I know a great dance club south of Market.”
    She was tempted. She hadn’t gone dancing in a couple of years. “I’m not dressed for it. I should be wearing a short dress with high heels and a pound of makeup.”
    “Who cares? We’ll never see those people again.”
    “If they even let us in.”
    “Oh, we’ll get in,” he said confidently.
    “You don’t take no for an answer, do you?” She wondered what it would be like to attack life without any fear of rejection.
    Another shadow filled his eyes. “Not if I can help it. So what you do say?”
    “It might be fun,” she said, very tempted to keep their party going. “You’re not going to put down some incredible dance moves, are you?”
    “You won’t know unless you come. I dare you to say yes.”
    She smiled at his words. “Nobody has dared me to do anything since I was twelve years old and played Truth or Dare in Marcy Bennett’s attic during her birthday slumber party.”
    “Did you pick truth or dare?”
    “Dare.”
    “Interesting.”
    “Why is that interesting?”
    “The choice says a lot about you. You’d rather do something crazy than answer some truth about yourself.”
    “Yeah, and from where I sit, you’re exactly the same,” she said pointedly.
    He tipped his head. “Okay, tell me about the dare. What did you have to do?”
    “I had to go into her parents’ room and steal her father’s slippers from under the bed without anyone waking up.”
    “Did you succeed?”
    “No. I tripped over the dog. He started barking. Marcy’s mother screamed because she thought I was a burglar. Mr. Bennett jumped out of bed stark naked. At the time, it seemed to me that his penis was enormous. I had never seen a grown man fully erect. It scared the hell out of me. Pretty soon we were all screaming. And that was pretty much the end of the game and the end of the party.”
    John started laughing and couldn’t seem to stop.
    “It’s not funny,” she said, biting back a laugh. “I was never invited back to Marcy’s house again.” She drank the last of her champagne. “So I don’t do dares anymore.”
    “Yes, you do. I dared you to come out for a drink with me, and you came,” he reminded her.
    “Okay, but you caught me at a weak moment. I’ve been wanting to make some changes in my life, and your invitation seemed like a good place to start over, or again, or whatever you want to call it.”
    “Why do you want to change your life?”
    “Because I want more,” she said simply. “I want what everyone else has.”
    He leaned forward, his eyes curious. “And what do they have, Liz?”
    It would sound silly to say it out loud, but the alcohol she’d consumed was acting like a truth serum. “Excitement, passion, all that crazy mad-about-you stuff. I want to fall in love.” She drew in a breath. “And now I’ve probably scared you, and you’re thinking, God, I hope she doesn’t expect me to give her all that. I just asked her out for a drink.”
    He laughed. “I wasn’t thinking that. You’re very honest, Liz. I like it.”
    “I haven’t really been that honest,” she said slowly. “But I should probably start.”
    “What do you lie about?”
    “Different things.”
    “Lies to keep people from knowing the real you?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “Why?”
    “That is way too long a story for tonight.” She sighed as he gave her an expectant look. “I'll tell you this much. I had a boyfriend for three years. Kyle. I wanted to make it work, but he dumped me.”
    “Sorry.”
    “The worst part is that I should have been the one to walk. I was just too afraid of being alone. I hated being the single one with all my married friends. I didn’t like going to the movies by myself. It was a very stupid reason for staying in a relationship.”
    “The devil you know…”
    “Exactly. Kyle was solid and stable, had a good job, with goals and plans and budgets.”
    “That