Sweet Deal Read Online Free

know.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “So he looks like a stick-in-the-mud,” Myra said.
    “No, no! Not like stick-in-the-mud serious. Just like someone who’s maybe had some hard times. Maybe been hurt.”
    “Ooh.” They all nodded, feminine interest piqued by that. “Interesting.”
    “But he has a nice smile, and when we talked he was really listening. Not fake listening, you know? You can tell when people aren’t really paying attention. He’s always dressed to the nines. Expensive suits. Gorgeous ties.”
    Myra lifted a brow. “Gay?”
    “No!” Shelby would stake her life on that. “Not even metrosexual. Just very…well-groomed.”
    “That is metro.”
    Shelby had to laugh. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t go for manicures and pedicures. Although, he might use styling products in his hair.”
    “Well then, this is perfect!” Myra leaned forward.
    “It’s not real, My,” Shelby reminded her. “He’s just doing me a favor.”
    Her cell phone buzzed in her purse and she reached for it without thinking. She blinked at the call display. Jake. As if he were someone who actually belonged in her contacts list so his name popped up when he phoned.
    “It’s him.” She looked up at her friends.
    The other three women made little noises of surprise and pleasure. The phone buzzed again as she studied it. Was he calling to cancel?
    “Answer it!” Riley urged her.
    Taking a deep breath she answered the call. “Hello.”
    “Hi. Shelby?”
    “Yep, it’s me.”
    “Jake here. From the coffee shop the other day.”
    “I know.” She smiled. “How are you?”
    “Good. Listen. I was thinking about tomorrow…”
    He was canceling. And damned if a small wave of disappointment didn’t wash over her.
    “And if we want to fool your boss into thinking we actually have a relationship, we might need to know a little more about each other. So I thought maybe we should get together for a drink.”
    “Uh…when?” She sat up straight, her mind racing.
    “Tonight. In an hour? Or is that too short notice?”
    She looked at her friends around the table all watching expectantly. “I’m with my friends right now. We just finished dinner.”
    “Oh.”
    “Let me just check with them about any plans for tonight.” She lowered the cell phone down beside her chair and whispered, “He wants to meet for a drink. Tonight!”
    “Go!” they all said in unison.
    “We’re done here,” Riley added. “And we didn’t have anything else planned for tonight.”
    “I’m just going home,” Kiara said, folding her hands over her six-months-pregnant belly. “Adam’s not feeling well tonight. So go!”
    Shelby bit her lip, studied Kiara’s serene face, her soft, brown hair lying on her shoulders, and briefly worried about the mention of Kiara’s husband not being well. Seven months ago Adam had been diagnosed with cancer and given only a few months to live. Only thirty-three years old, it was tragic. He and Kiara had demonstrated amazing strength and determination and love since then. They’d made some difficult choices that Shelby and her other friends had questioned among themselves, though never to Kiara’s and Adam’s faces. They were living the rest of Adam’s life the way they wanted to, even though things were going to be difficult for Kiara.
    Then she lifted the phone to her ear again. “Okay, that works,” she said to Jake. “And you’re right, it would be a good idea.”
    “There’s a little bar on the corner of Juniper and Sequoia. Amigos. Let’s meet there.”
    “I know it. Sure.” She glanced at her watch. More insanity. “About nine o’clock?”
    “Yeah. That sounds good.”
    She lowered her phone to the table and gulped. Holy crap. Her body quivered.
    “He thinks we should know a little more about each other so we can be convincing tomorrow.”
    Myra folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, smirking. “See?”
    Shelby scowled, her insides all fluttery. “I see nothing.”
    “Well, he’s not