Read Online Caroselli's Baby Chase by Michelle Celmer - Free Book Online Page A

bar—”
    “Carrie, I understand. Believe me. Maybe it was just…fate.”
    If it was, fate had played a very cruel trick on both of them. “We couldn’t be more wrong for each other. In more ways than I can even count.”
    “Six months ago, if you had told me I would be married to Nick and trying to have a baby, I would have thought you were nuts. Yet here we are.”
    “So what happened? What changed?”
    “That is a very long story, and I promise to tell you about it when you come to the party tomorrow.”
    “I hardly know you and you’re already blackmailing me?”
    Terri smiled wryly. “It’s the Caroselli way.”
    “I’ll definitely be there, but I’ll find my own ride.”
    “Well, I should go,” Terri said. “If there’s anything you need, or if you have a question, just give me or Nick a call.”
    “It was really nice talking to you,” Carrie told her.
    “I think so, too,” Terri said, looking a little embarrassed. She struck Carrie as the type who probably had more male than female friends. While Carrie had very few of either.
    “And thanks for the advice,” Carrie said.
    “Anytime.” Terri pulled on her coat, then fished a set of keys from her pocket and handed them to Carrie. “Those open the front and garage door.”
    “Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
    When she was gone, Carrie started to explore the kitchen cabinets, feeling a little like a snoop. But she was sure that Terri would have removed anything of a personal nature before she rented out the condo.
    She opened the refrigerator and smiled. On the shelf sat an unopened half gallon of low-fat milk, a dozen organic eggs and a loaf of organic nine-grain bread. One shelf down was a bottle of very expensive champagne.
    Terri had gone above and beyond to make her feel welcome, and Carrie hoped they would have time to get to know one another better.
    Carrie returned to the hotel to collect her things, then took a cab back to the condo, doing her best to memorize the street names so she could find her way around when she had a car. It had begun to snow, so rather than have the driver track it through the living room and potentially ruin the carpet, she had him leave the bags in the garage.
    She opened the door to total darkness, cursing herself for not remembering to leave a light on. She felt around on the inside wall for a light switch. She found it and as she was flipping it upward, she felt a cold hand settle on top of hers.
    She shrieked and yanked her hand back, the bright light temporarily blinding her. She blinked hard and when she opened her eyes again, no one was there. She peeked around the corner, but the only thing there was a door. Probably to the basement.
    She took a slow, deep breath to calm her pounding heart. It was just her imagination. No one was there. She’d clearly been watching too many episodes of Ghost Hunter .
    She turned to grab her bags, nearly colliding with the very large person standing there. She shrieked again, then realized that it was only Rob.
    “You scared me half to death!” she said.
    He wore a long black wool coat and black leather gloves…and an amused grin. Fat flakes of snow dotted his dark hair and he’d left snowy footprints on the garage floor. “A little jumpy?”
    “What do you want?”
    “What made you scream?”
    “ You did!”
    “No, the first time.”
    “Nothing. I was imagining things.”
    “Imagining what?”
    She shook her head. “ Nothing . It wasn’t real.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “What wasn’t real?”
    She blew out an exasperated breath. “If you must know, when I reached around for the light switch, I could swear somebody put their hand over mine, but when I turned on the light, no one was there.”
    “It must have been the lady in the basement.”
    She blinked. “The who? ”
    “We call her the lady in the basement. Not everyone senses her. Terri and Nick never did, but a lot of other people have. Sometimes she touches people, some people hear her walking up