Read Online Double Dare: April Fools' For Love by Jodi Redford - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jodi Redford
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outrageous prankster. That’s not me.” Me, outrageous? These days, I colored so much within the lines, I felt weird smudging my eyeliner.
“Not me, either.” Thor flashed palms like stop signs. “Camille, I tried before and…let’s just say it didn’t work out.” Somehow, he made “Didn’t-work-out” sound like “Ti-tan-ic”.
The finger came out again, jab-jab. “Look, Not-Me and Not-Me-Either. I hired extra help to grow my customer base. The winning prank gets played at the award ceremony and covered in the paper—basically, free citywide advertising. So we win, we grow. We don’t win, we don’t grow, and I don’t need help. Capiche? ”
“But why us?” I exchanged another baffled glance with Thor, getting the same combination of zing and reassurance.
“Because you both need to loosen up and show more Sexy And Fun . Besides, no one else is available. Consider this incentive to prove to me that you have the right va-voom to be at Nieman’s. Win the April Fools’ Day competition—or you’re fired.”
My insides iced.
Camille sailed out, leaving Thor and me riveted in place, staring after her, shocked like we’d just had cattle prod enemas.
This was a disaster. Me, play a joke? And not just any trick, but a winning prank in a city of master pranksters?
Thor groaned. “It’s March twenty-ninth. How does she expect me to come up with a gag in three days?”
“We don’t stand a chance.” Now I groaned too. Maybe I could’ve done it when I was a kid, but, like Scrooge visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, I’d had a change of heart—although in my case, I’d been visited by the Kangaroo of Karma. Monkeyshines were no longer part of my life.
“We?” Thor said.
Slowly, he and I turned to face each other. I use the phrase “face each other” loosely. With me in my barmaid flats and him in his boots, he stood nearly a foot above me.
But his expression…it wasn’t the usual faint disapproval, but a stunned disbelief—strangely tinged with what almost looked like yearning.
He actually wanted to do this?
Then he gave a sharp shake of the head. “Ridiculous. She couldn’t have designed worse partners.”
That stung. “Hey.”
“I didn’t mean…” His mouth tightened.
I jumped in before he could pound in yet again what a killjoy I was for a little old lady just trying to have some fun. “My mistake. No we about it. Camille only said we had to do this, she didn’t say we had to work together.” My chin jutted.
“Don’t.” Thor growled, low in his throat. “We can work together. All I meant was neither one of us is into pranks.”
“Right.” I heard killjoy.
“Look, I’m just saying I’ve entered this contest before, and I didn’t stand a chance even when I had a fun partner.”
“A fun partner?” What was I, chopped obligation?
“All I mean is that it takes a sort of daredevil mentality to win. It’s not like either of us has a single adventurous bone in our bodies.”
“Keep talking.” The night had turned sour. “Reinforces just how much you don’t want to work with me.”
He looked away. “I want to work with you.”
His mouth said yes but every other stunning body part underlined no.
“Right. And all the sniping we do has nothing to do with our mutual dislike.”
I knew it was a mistake the moment it left my lips.
His gaze swung back. “ Mutual dislike? ” His eyes were like arctic storms. Angry?
Or hurt?
“You know what I mean. You’re always on my case about Granny.”
“Just because I don’t agree with how you treat Ms. Butt doesn’t mean…fuck. Doesn’t matter. Camille ordered us to do this, so we do this.” He jerked one shoulder in a shrug.
The sleeveless T-shirt and leather vest meant what shrugged was bronzed, naked skin, muscles jerking, especially luscious triple-scoop deltoids that I wanted to lick.
Wanted to lick so bad, to keep myself from doing it, I had to run my tongue over my suddenly throbbing
“Not me, either.” Thor flashed palms like stop signs. “Camille, I tried before and…let’s just say it didn’t work out.” Somehow, he made “Didn’t-work-out” sound like “Ti-tan-ic”.
The finger came out again, jab-jab. “Look, Not-Me and Not-Me-Either. I hired extra help to grow my customer base. The winning prank gets played at the award ceremony and covered in the paper—basically, free citywide advertising. So we win, we grow. We don’t win, we don’t grow, and I don’t need help. Capiche? ”
“But why us?” I exchanged another baffled glance with Thor, getting the same combination of zing and reassurance.
“Because you both need to loosen up and show more Sexy And Fun . Besides, no one else is available. Consider this incentive to prove to me that you have the right va-voom to be at Nieman’s. Win the April Fools’ Day competition—or you’re fired.”
My insides iced.
Camille sailed out, leaving Thor and me riveted in place, staring after her, shocked like we’d just had cattle prod enemas.
This was a disaster. Me, play a joke? And not just any trick, but a winning prank in a city of master pranksters?
Thor groaned. “It’s March twenty-ninth. How does she expect me to come up with a gag in three days?”
“We don’t stand a chance.” Now I groaned too. Maybe I could’ve done it when I was a kid, but, like Scrooge visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, I’d had a change of heart—although in my case, I’d been visited by the Kangaroo of Karma. Monkeyshines were no longer part of my life.
“We?” Thor said.
Slowly, he and I turned to face each other. I use the phrase “face each other” loosely. With me in my barmaid flats and him in his boots, he stood nearly a foot above me.
But his expression…it wasn’t the usual faint disapproval, but a stunned disbelief—strangely tinged with what almost looked like yearning.
He actually wanted to do this?
Then he gave a sharp shake of the head. “Ridiculous. She couldn’t have designed worse partners.”
That stung. “Hey.”
“I didn’t mean…” His mouth tightened.
I jumped in before he could pound in yet again what a killjoy I was for a little old lady just trying to have some fun. “My mistake. No we about it. Camille only said we had to do this, she didn’t say we had to work together.” My chin jutted.
“Don’t.” Thor growled, low in his throat. “We can work together. All I meant was neither one of us is into pranks.”
“Right.” I heard killjoy.
“Look, I’m just saying I’ve entered this contest before, and I didn’t stand a chance even when I had a fun partner.”
“A fun partner?” What was I, chopped obligation?
“All I mean is that it takes a sort of daredevil mentality to win. It’s not like either of us has a single adventurous bone in our bodies.”
“Keep talking.” The night had turned sour. “Reinforces just how much you don’t want to work with me.”
He looked away. “I want to work with you.”
His mouth said yes but every other stunning body part underlined no.
“Right. And all the sniping we do has nothing to do with our mutual dislike.”
I knew it was a mistake the moment it left my lips.
His gaze swung back. “ Mutual dislike? ” His eyes were like arctic storms. Angry?
Or hurt?
“You know what I mean. You’re always on my case about Granny.”
“Just because I don’t agree with how you treat Ms. Butt doesn’t mean…fuck. Doesn’t matter. Camille ordered us to do this, so we do this.” He jerked one shoulder in a shrug.
The sleeveless T-shirt and leather vest meant what shrugged was bronzed, naked skin, muscles jerking, especially luscious triple-scoop deltoids that I wanted to lick.
Wanted to lick so bad, to keep myself from doing it, I had to run my tongue over my suddenly throbbing
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