The Best Thing Read Online Free

anything—anything at all about him hitting on a woman since the night of the Christmas party last year?”
    Tori chewed on her bottom lip and thought about it. “Well, actually...no.”
    Calliope pointed the stir stick at her again. “Aha! And that’s because he wants you.”
    “He does not. He never even asked me out.”
    “Because you’ve been such a mean bitch no one wants to get within twenty feet of you. Can you blame him?”
    Okay, maybe Calliope had a point about that. She couldn’t help her natural self-preservation instincts. But she still thought Calliope was crazy. Brody was a sought-after commodity. All the women flocked to him. Surely there’d been someone in all these months...
    Then again, maybe there hadn’t. There was a network of gossip—especially when it came to who Brody was sleeping with—that would rival network entertainment sites. Some of the women in this town had such finely honed stalking skills they could easily get jobs as paparazzi. If Brody had been sleeping around, or sleeping with anyone since last December, it would have made the rounds of the gossip mill and Tori would have heard about it.
    “You know what, Calliope, you might be right about that.”
    Calliope lifted one half-drunken brow in question. “I am? Right about what?”
    “Brody. Not having been with anyone since December.”
    “’Course I’m right, Tori. Told ya. You should jump him.”
    Tori laughed. “And I’m cutting you off margaritas. Let’s have some dinner.”
    Calliope frowned. “Buzz killer. I had a hard week. Children are evil, you know.”
    “You love those kids at the day care center. And you adore your job.”
    “I do.” Calliope grinned. “And I love Wyatt. And you. And my sister. And Wyatt’s whole family. And...”
    Tori rolled her eyes and signaled for the waitress. Definitely time to put some food into her inebriated best friend.
    After some food and several glasses of water, Calliope had sobered up—at least a little, though she did order a post-dinner margarita. And why not—it was Friday night, after all, Calliope had had a miserable week, and her friend deserved to let loose a little.
    Tori had thought a lot about what Calliope had said about Brody. Her job would be a lot easier if she and Brody could at least go back to the way things used to be. What had happened between them had been a fluke—a onetime kiss and nothing more. He’d obviously put no expectations on her, she hadn’t lost her job, so nothing had really changed. There was no reason to act as if the world was coming to an end just because they’d kissed, and he never needed to know how she felt about him.
    Men were easily clueless, since most of the time they didn’t want to know the truth that was right in front of them anyway.
    She decided she’d go back to being her normal self on Monday.
    By the end of dinner it was obvious Calliope was not going to be able to drive herself home. When she got back from the restroom, Tori said, “Since you picked me up, I’ll drive you home. Then I’ll bring your car back to your place tomorrow.”
    Calliope shook her head. “I already called for a ride home. I’m very smart and I know better than to drive myself home when I’ve been drinking.”
    “I’d have driven you home, Calliope.”
    “It’s okay. There’s my ride now.”
    Tori looked up and her stomach dropped.
    Brody. She’d called Brody to drive her home.

Chapter Three
    Brody hadn’t expected to run into Tori tonight, but when Calliope had called saying she’d had some cocktails and needed a ride, he had no problem giving it to her, especially since Wyatt was on an out-of-town job this weekend.
    What he hadn’t expected was for Tori to be with her, though that shouldn’t surprise him since Calliope and Tori were best friends.
    He pulled up a chair at their table. “Celebrating tonight, Calliope?”
    She nodded, her curls bouncing. “Yup. I’m celebrating an end to a hellish week. Parents are