Never Naughty Enough. Jill Monroe

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      2

      “WHY AM I HERE?” Annabelle shouted over the din of the crowd.

      “Do you mean philosophically?” Katie teased as she slid two drinks off the makeshift bar and handed one to Annabelle.

      “No, you know what I mean.” Annabelle had never really fit into the singles’ party scene, although this one was better than most. Someone’s home always won out over a loud bar. But noise was noise. She smoothed the muscles above her eyebrows, a headache already forming. She should have worn her glasses.

      Laughter drifted from the center of the room where two couples stood. Annabelle couldn’t miss the uncomfortable posture and forced smile on the face of one of the women. She did not relish an evening of doing the same. She tried to hand her drink back to Katie. “This is crazy. I hate parties.”

      “Which is exactly why you need to be here. You need to get back into the groove. A few years ago, you were the life of the party.”

      “Parties are all wrong for me. See that group of guys over there. They have ‘my-dot-com-start-up-went-bust-and-now-I’m-living-with-my-parents written all over them. They’re scouting for a woman to bankroll their next project. Not a soul mate.”

      Katie raised an eyebrow. “And are you trying to find a soul mate? No, you’re only trying to have a nice time, maybe have an intelligent conversation with an interesting man.”

      For six months, her best friend had been on a mission to give Annabelle a life—starting with the ridiculous toe ring now twisting around her index toe. Annabelle was amazed Katie still managed to gear up any energy for the project, especially after the picnic fiasco this afternoon. Of course, Katie did the easy part. Her best friend was all about suggestions.

      As hard as Katie might try to zap her into some semblance of hipness, Annabelle could never match Katie’s innate coolness from her pink gel-spiked hair to her glimmer eye shadow. Glimmer. She’d just gotten used to glitter. And this party was a mistake.

      Yes, it was time to leave. “Do you see any coasters?” Annabelle asked.

      Katie shrugged, lifting her tank top higher and emphasizing her belly ring. “Just set it anywhere.”

      Annabelle shook her head and scanned the room. Some deep-rooted sensibility prevented her from putting a glass on bare wood.

      Katie straightened her back and smiled. “Hey, Jeff’s over there. Let’s join him.”

      Annabelle glanced over to where Katie was pointing, then quietly groaned. She should have guessed. The group consisted of all men. Parties where her best friend felt an obligation to throw her into every cluster of eligible men were especially tiring. “Oh, not those guys.”

      “What’s wrong with them?”

      Too many reasons. They didn’t have blue eyes. They didn’t have a scar above their right eye or make every atom in her body jump.

      They weren’t Wagner.

      Annabelle shook her head. “I just can’t believe I left the office early for this.”

      Aline formed between Katie’s eyebrows. “I’ll have you know, leaving at five-thirty is not early for most people. Especially on a Thursday night.”

      “What’s the big deal about Thursday?”

      Katie rolled her eyes. “Pre-weekend party. You’d think you’d never been to college at all.”

      “I still have to go in early tomorrow. We’re working on a big project.” She searched for a coaster to set her drink. “In fact, I had a hard day at the office and I need to get some sleep. Thanks for inviting me, but I’m going to head on home.”

      “Mr. Monochrome working you all hours of the day and night?” Katie stomped her foot, sending her ankle bracelet jangling. “How is everything in the— sheesh, what is it he does?”

      “Solar cells. And it’s going extremely well. By replacing the silicone conductors currently used in the photovoltaic—”

      Katie held up a hand. “Wait, sorry. Forget I asked. I’m not up to a conversation like the ‘how batteries really work’ discussion we had last week. I wasn’t able to get nickel-metal hydride out of my head for several days.”

      Annabelle stood taller, ready to defend Wagner. “It won’t be long before his ideas revolutionize the way we power up our laptops and heat our homes. Besides, stop calling him Mr. Monochrome. That look happens to be very stylish and there’s a lot to be said about understatement.”

      “Yes, but he wore it before that millionaire show made it popular. And that trend’s long gone.”

      Annabelle turned toward the door, drink in hand. “I’m leaving. What kind of place doesn’t have coasters?”

      Katie waved her hand. “Forget I said anything about Mr. Color Deficient. You need to think of someone other than him and this party is the place to do it.”

      “We’ve been through this before.”

      “I know and I’ll shut up. I just want you to stop wasting your time on him and think about meeting someone new. You’ve been working for him, what, four years? Honey, I know it’s hard to hear and it’s hard for me to say, but the guy is never going to notice you. He’s too involved in his company and proving that he’s not his father.”

      Annabelle СКАЧАТЬ