Fated for Love Read Online Free

one. Her stomach clenched momentarily until she remembered that she’d brought her laptop and could watch the DVD on that.
    Low voices filtered down from upstairs. Callie picked up her bags and went to join her friends. She found the three of them huddled in one of the two bedrooms.
    “Hey, what’s the big secret?”
    They turned deer-in-the-headlights eyes to her.
    “Uh-oh. What is it?” They’d been friends for so many years that she knew something was up, and the fact that she was the only one not whispering made her stomach lurch. She sank to the bed and took a deep breath.
    “Okay, tell me. What’s wrong?” She tucked her hands beneath her thighs, steeling herself for whatever it was that had her friends looking so worried. “You guys would only keep something from me because you think I can’t handle it. Oh no, please tell me no one is getting divorced, because you guys are the happiest couples I know. I couldn’t take that.” She lifted worried eyes to her too-damn-silent friends. She’d always been the most emotional of the group, and through the years her friends had tempered bad news—like when the sorority house cat got hit by a car—and she loved them even more for it. But no one had a cat at the moment, and she feared something worse might be waiting in the wings.
    Bonnie pulled her back down to the bed and sat beside her. “It’s not anything like that. Kathie, I’m going to just tell her.”
    “Tell me what ?”
    “Fine.” Kathie waved a hand in the air as if she’d forfeited an argument, then sat beside Callie.
    Christine sank to her knees in front of Callie. “I think it’s time to give our little girl the talk .”
    “Oh dear Lord. By the looks of you guys, I need that margarita…or the whole bottle.”
    “You might.” Bonnie shot a narrow-eyed look at Kathie.
    “Okay, here goes,” Kathie began. “Now that Christine is married, you’re the only single sister left in our little group.”
    “Yeah, so?”
    “So, we know how you hate to step outside your comfort zone, and now that you’re living so far away from us, we can’t exactly kidnap you once a week like we used to, to go out for drinks or dancing or to meet guys.” Kathie kicked Christine’s knee lightly.
    “Right,” Christine added. “So, we wanted to help you a little, you know? Get you out and about and show you how strong you really are, so you wouldn’t be afraid to go out and get in trouble—”
    Kathie kicked her again.
    “I mean, do things by yourself in your new town.” Christine glared at Kathie.
    “I’m missing something here. How will being at a spa make me stronger or want to go out by myself?” Callie looked at Bonnie, hoping to figure out what they were really telling her.
    “Cal, this isn’t a spa. It’s a dude ranch. And we’re here for a few days of toughening you up.” Bonnie held tight to Callie’s hand.
    “Toughening? Wait. What?” Callie pushed to her feet and went to the window. “So, there are no massages? No pool and no cabana boys to drool over?”
    Kathie went to her side. “No, but there are hot cowboys, and you’ll learn that you can do so much more than you ever thought. I scheduled a bunch of fun things that you’d never do on your own.”
    “There’s a reason I don’t go to places like this.” Callie stalked away, irritated and feeling duped. “I happen to like my life as it is. A dude ranch? Really, you guys?”
    “Yeah, we know you love the library, and you love your apartment.” Kathie picked up Callie’s bag and dug through it. She held up a romance book and her Jillian Michaels DVD. “Cal, you’ve slept with exactly three men in your life, two of whom were nerdy math students. Your sex life is fictional and your exercise is…” She eyed the DVD. “Okay, it’s tough and efficient, but it keeps you locked in your apartment. We just want you to be happy, and we want you to meet a guy who will adore you. And you can’t exactly do that in a