One More Night with You Read Online Free Page A

and enduring the reception without a date to keep her company didn’t seem fair, either. So she’d held off, finding reasons to avoid the conversation.
    â€œThe wedding is next month. Nate and I need to know.”
    â€œHave you asked your sisters or any of your other friends?”
    â€œNo. I asked you. I chose you.”
    â€œBut I can’t, Lottie.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œCan you not let this go? Are you that much like your parents?”
    â€œThe Blues usually don’t give up pursuit without a good fight. I didn’t come here to fight with you, though. I’m here to tell you that you’re my friend and I want you to be maid of honor.” She averted her eyes then edged away from the punching dummy. “Are you hesitating because of Nate? Do you not approve?”
    â€œWe tabled this issue, didn’t we? Nate’s fine.”
    â€œHis family’s not. His father attempted suicide a few months ago. And his godfather—” The interior doors to the gymnasium were hauled open and a cluster of people in sweats fiddling with MP3 players, phones and activity trackers trooped inside. “You know where I’m going with this.”
    And his godfather was arrested. But Gian DiGorgio was a free man again, having been released a few short weeks after being collected in a police cruiser. Joey had followed the developments through federal contacts who knew what was happening before the media could sense it. The man’s high-roller haven casino was up for sale, a technicality had spared him an indictment on illegal gambling dealings and charges involving his attempt to procure a murder had been vacated.
    Technicality be damned. The charges should have held up. They were legit, and Joey knew because she had been the one to uncover the unregulated ring Nate Franco’s godfather and father were running out of the DiGorgio Royal Casino.
    She’d needed those charges to stick. It was more than a matter of gratifying her ego or proving that her investigative skills were top-notch. DiGorgio’s name was a chill skittering down her spine.
    â€œI know exactly where you’re going with this, Lottie, and I wish you wouldn’t. Nate’s a good man and he loves you. I pray to Mary that your marriage is a blessed one.”
    â€œBut you don’t want to be a part of the wedding.”
    Joey rested her hands against the mannequin’s pectorals, leaning on it for support. “I can’t.”
    â€œYou won’t,” Charlotte corrected. Her voice was free of accusation, gentle with compassion. “There’s a difference, Jo.”
    â€œThat’s fair. I won’t do it. I won’t embarrass you with a cane that’ll ruin the outfit.”
    â€œYou look badass with the cane.”
    â€œLooking badass all the time gets tiring. Besides, I have a limp and...and...”
    â€œAnd what?”
    â€œAnd I’ll have no date. Men don’t want me because of this cane and because of this limp. When anyone looks past the damage and sees me, I tell myself ‘Oh, Josephine, you’d better not be choosy. Hang on tight ’cause another man might not come around.’ This is my world, Lottie. Welcome.” Frustrated, Joey pushed against the dummy, landed her uppercut crisply against its jaw. Then came another punch paired with an angry, guttural scream. “Son of a bitch,” she sobbed, staggering back a few steps until she wound up square on her ass on the gymnasium floor. “Son of a bitch !”
    â€œIs she going to be okay?” Joey heard someone ask as she drew up her healthy leg and hugged her knee. Through a tangle of light brown strands she saw a gym employee hovering, his laminated ID badge swinging from a lanyard.
    â€œShe will. Thanks for checking up,” Charlotte answered, kneeling down. “Okay, Jo, what time do you clock in today?”
    â€œNine sharp.” Don’t ask