Silver Heart Read Online Free Page B

particularly awkward moment to burst into the room. “I can always count on Maddie Evans to make my ears bleed with her naughty eloquence,” he grumbled. “Congratulations on inventing a new disease—oversharitis.”
    “You love it,” she teased. “If you’re anything like your sister, you’re in need of a dirty talking to.”
    “Really, Mads?” I covered my face with a pillow.
    “How about we go out and have a few drinks instead?” Adam suggested. “I need to be inebriated if I’m going to be forced to listen to any more girl talk.”
    “I’m in!” Maddie grinned, pulling me up off the bed. She shot me her best attempt at an apologetic smile as she whispered, “I can’t pass up the opportunity to get your brother drunk.” Then she shifted her attention to Adam and winked. “I’ll protect you from all forms of girl talk if you promise to dance with me.”
    A small scowl began to form across my brother’s lips, but Maddie pushed us both through the door before he could verbally protest. “We’re gonna have the best night ever, baby!”

    The Ice Palace wasn’t one of those fancy clubs made of actual ice, but its interior was cold enough to warrant the name. Both the air-conditioning and the music blared at full-force, and I immediately regretted allowing Maddie to talk me into dashing across the snow-covered street without my jacket. Not even the countless bodies jostling around the tightly packed space could bring about any warmth.
    I was also starting to regret having brought my camera gear. The bulky Canon body and its lens weighed more than most purses, so lugging them around was no walk in the park. A club was probably one of the worst places for a professional camera. I could already envision worst-case scenarios—a tipsy passer-by spilling a drink on it or the camera accidentally assaulting poor victims with its weight while I danced—but I’d been eager to take it for a spin. Too much time had passed since I’d indulged in my passion. Maddie could campaign for the benefits of sex until she was blue in the face, but inserting a clean memory card into the empty camera slot and having the device spring to life in my hand gave me an entire different type of chills.
    Party photography wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, but I liked snapping pictures of people and movement. Every so often, there would be a split second where something magnificent happened and I didn’t want to miss it. A great shot could come from anywhere, and I planned to give my camera a good workout this week before placing it back in the dark to gather dust for another four years while I worked my way through medical school.
    The lighting inside the Ice Palace helped bring out some interesting shades and very unique tones in pictures. Electric blue lights were embedded inside the base of the dance floor and within the décor along the walls, giving the entire place a shimmering, icy glow.
    We threaded our way through the crowd and reached the bar at the far end of the room. Adam grabbed a beer and I ordered my go-to Vodka Soda combo, not winning any creativity points with Maddie who put the bartender through an ordeal of mixing three shots of some special alcoholic concoction she learned about in Thailand. Most of the ingredients weren’t in stock—not just at the bar, but also in the entire country—so the poor guy had to improvise to the best of his ability.
    To my surprise, Maddie’s drink ended up tasting delicious. When she slipped the fruity beverage into Adam’s hand, his jaw tightened and his eyes hardened. However, after downing the shot, he asked for seconds.
    “Liquid libido!” she whispered to me as she watched my brother drink.
    It was in that moment that I vowed never to put myself in the middle of another torturous Maddie-Adam situation. There were some things a girl shouldn’t have to witness. The explicit details of her horny best friend’s crush on her brother topped that list.
    Two drinks