Mr. Wonderful Lies Read Free Page B

hyenas and her face took on a distinctive pout, which made Jared and I laugh all the harder. No matter what life held for me, I was really thankful for my friends.
    “You’re not helping her see reason, Jared,” Anna told him, reaching over to smack him on the back of his blonde head. “I could use some back up here.”
    “Baby, you’re on your own,” he rumbled before lapsing into another chuckle.
    As always, Jared’s Missouri drawl made my heart thud against my ribcage. It reminded me a little bit of Ollie’s distinctive voice, also guaranteed to melt you from the inside out.
    Just as that thought bounced through my head, my fully charged and full volume phone began to sing inside my purse. I didn’t even have to wonder who was calling. My face blushed red hot and my heart began to race. Why did this have to happen right here and right now?
    “Are you going to answer that?” Jared asked, picking up his glass and taking a long swig of honey-colored beer.
    I swallowed, wishing I didn’t feel as if I’d just run five miles on the treadmill. I was even sweating!
    Anna gave me a penetrating stare before skinning her olives from their green plastic sword with her even white teeth.
    I dug my iPhone from my purse and slid the touchscreen to answer. The happy Marimba jingle blasting at full volume told me exactly who it was, and because Anna and Jared knew that I had firm feelings about chipper, upbeat ringtones versus traditional ringers, they did too.
    “Hey baby,” Ollie’s baritone rumbled in my ear. “I’m missin’ you.”
    That new and yet familiar tone of his voice tickled my ear and sent a riot of chills all over my body. I’m not usually a big fan of pet names, but every time the man called me baby, it gave me that butterfly sensation in my stomach.
    “Hey Ollie,” I said, trying to keep my voice somewhat normal. “What’s up?”
    “I was thinking about what you said earlier, about meeting somewhere public. I was thinking over a couple of possibilities, but I want you to be the one to make a decision. I just want you to feel good about it. If you don’t want to do this yet, just tell me.”
    My heart swelled and I stopped worrying about my audience. That was one of the things I liked best about Ollie. He was the antithesis of pushy about our relationship. I smiled into the phone, more than ready to make this decision. “I’m ready to do this. Just tell me where. You know my schedule is more flexible than yours.”
    “Okay, then how about we meet tomorrow for breakfast at that café like we talked about earlier? It’s pretty much halfway between work for both of us.”
    The butterflies in my belly exploded like the Fourth of July. “I’ll be there.”
    He chuckled nervously. “I feel like a teenager again. I’m afraid I’ll get tongue tied and you’ll think I’m an idiot.”
    “I feel the exact same way. We’ll probably sit and stare for half an hour, and that’s okay. One step at a time, right?”
    I could practically hear him smile into the phone. “That’s exactly right. Listen, I know you’re out with friends tonight, so I’ll let you go. I miss you, baby, and I can’t wait to meet you in person.”
    “Me too,” I murmured, hanging up while trying and failing to suppress my gigantic grin.
    I was going to meet Ollie! Finally after three weeks of Facebook chatting and phone conversations, I was going to meet the man who seemed almost too perfect for me. It was wonderful and horrible and scary and exciting all at the same time. I wasn’t completely deluded. I knew that I could be walking into a total disaster, but something inside me knew I had to try it or I’d always regret the not knowing.
    Putting my phone down was a little like waking up from dream with a bucket of cold water. Anna and Jared were both staring at me like they thought I needed to be locked up in a padded room.
    “You already made plans to meet this guy?” Anna said through her tight-lipped expression.