Shiver Sweet Read Online Free Page B

leg.
    “Ouch,” she yelped.
    “As I was saying, Claire called,” Brian said.  He glanced at me with bright blue eyes that reminded me of Sarah’s.  “Her car’s stuck on Jackson street.  Wheels spinning, churning up sludge but not getting anywhere.  You were right.”
    “I was?”
    “Yes.  Before heading over to your place, she planned to stop at the shops, but skidded into a ditch.  She tried to get her car free so she wouldn’t have to tell me."
    "She’s probably cold and stressed," I said.  "Don't worry about dropping us home.  Go help her."  Typical Brian.  Forever the nice guy.  His girlfriend was stuck in the snow and he still wanted to ensure we got home safely.
    Brian glanced my way, then surprised me by saying, "I wasn't planning on dropping you home... yet.  I hoped you'd give me a hand towing her out.  I think if you two would just spend a little time together, you’d start getting along.”  Brian stopped at the red lights. 
    Nicola leaned forward between the front seats.  She set her hand on Brian’s shoulder and interrupted my mumbling excuse that Claire would not appreciate my unexpected appearance.  “Christa would love to assist you.”
    I turned in my seat, ready to give her the ‘what the hell did you say that for?’ eye, when the back door clicked open.
    “But not me,” Nicola said, legs already dangling out of the car.  “You two go.  I’m not venturing anywhere else with green muck on my face.  My street cred will be in tatters.”
    I twisted around, wanting to grab her by the sleeve to stop her.  “N-no.  No, Nicola.”
    She reached back into the car and clasped my shoulder.  “Someone needs to play security guard at your house, right?” 
    I crushed my bottom lip between my teeth, torn two ways.  Sarah was, and always would be, my number one priority.  The sooner we rescued Claire, the sooner Brian would return to Sarah.  But in the meantime, I did not want my house to be a sitting duck to the underbelly of society, nor did I particularly want to see Claire.  “But I don’t want you to be on your own in the house.  It’s not safe.”
    “I’m a big girl.  I’ll make it obvious the house is occupied; stick music on, open all the curtains and prance around in the nude like you do.”
    “You do what?” Brian turned to me, his voice sky high, eyes glittering.
    “Don’t listen to her.”
    “And an anonymous admirer mailed her more goodies this morning.  She’ll not be single forever.”
    Limit reached.  “Nicola.  Shut up!” I snapped.
    “Okay, okay, I’m going.” She left the car with wicked satisfaction flashing across her face.  “But if you two finally decide that you can’t be good... be careful.” 
    “Jeez!” I said, but she slammed the door shut.  Oh, God.   Did she really say all that out loud?  I shifted in my seat feeling awkward about how Brian might respond to her comments.  Nicola always read our friendship so wrong and I feared it would one day cause an irreversible awkwardness.  He drove off without saying anything.  His expression unreadable.  Is that good or bad? 
    “Claire’s not gonna be happy about my being there,” I warned him. 
    “Don’t worry.  I’ve already told her you’re coming to help me.”
    Rather presumptuous.   “Let’s just get this over with so we can all go home.” 
    “Sorry your birthday celebrations didn’t pan out,” Brian said, steering around the corner.
    “Thanks.”
    He winked at me, then took a right.  “And just for the record, you’re wrong about Claire.  She does like you.”
    I shook my head.   Impossible.
    He glanced my way.  “I'm serious.  She told me so.”
    Then she lied.   “Really?  How nice.”
    He winked again.  “What’s not to like?”
    I settled into my seat and buckled up.  Why was Brian so blind to Claire’s dark way of thinking?  Or maybe my intuition was off, and she was indeed the sweet person he made her out to be.  If so,