Read Online Friends to Lovers by Christi Barth - Free Book Online Page A

Comfortably ancient, she’d worn it in front of Gib a hundred times. Which was why she should wear it tonight. Make it just another ordinary night of them hanging out. Nothing special whatsoever. Two friends, no agendas, no tension, no unfulfilled sexual longings...damn it. She couldn’t fool herself. So how was she supposed to fool Gib into not noticing everything was different between them?
    Part of her wanted to crawl into yoga pants and a fleece. Play it cooler than cool. Another part of her wanted to slip on that aqua cashmere sweater Ivy had given her for Christmas. Low-cut and tight-fitting, it screamed date night. The last part of her brain wanted to strip completely down, lay herself out on the coffee table like an offering to the gods and hope like hell Gib took the bait. Obviously, her brain hadn’t really worked right since their kiss.
    Because she knew Gib wouldn’t take the bait. He’d probably ask her if all her clothes were in the laundry, then sit down in his usual spot on the couch and ignore her. The events of New Year’s Eve proved that he couldn’t begin to see her as anything but a buddy, a pal who just happened to have much longer hair than him. His indirect rejection that night had hurt worse than the two broken ribs she suffered during her days as captain of the high school field hockey team. She imagined that a direct, purposeful rejection by Gib would be somewhat on the level of being flayed alive.
    “Daph, he’ll be here any minute. Hurry up,” Mira yelled from the dining room.
    Right. Wouldn’t want to be caught fussing for the benefit of her sexy dinner partner for the sexiest dinner ever. To split the difference between loungewear and fit-to-be-seen-in-public wear, Daphne topped off her jeans with an oversize flannel shirt she’d borrowed from her brother Michael at Christmas. The garish red-and-green plaid screamed lumberjack, not sex kitten, even if it did occasionally slip off one shoulder.
    “How are you doing?” Mira hovered at her bedroom door.
    “Fine.” A strong slam of her sock drawer emphasized her calm, collected fine-ness. “At least I will be, after tonight. Gib and I are alone all the time. Once I get that behind me—without caving to more than five years of suppressed lust and sucking his lips right off his face—I’ll know that the weirdness of New Year’s Eve can be relegated to history.” Then she twitched at one set of the pale green sheers hanging from her canopy bed. “You making us do this ridiculous dinner together is good. I think. It’ll be totally normal.”
    Mira just stared at her for a minute while Daphne yanked on a pair of green socks so thick and fuzzy they could masquerade as slippers. Once she moved on to tugging her hair into two low pigtails, Mira crept forward to perch on the end of the bed. “Right now, it’s like you took normal and overdosed it on speed. Luckily, there are cocktails with dinner. Get a shot or two in you, and I bet you simmer down.”
    “Seriously? It’s not bad enough you’re making me eat food that’s supposed to stimulate naughty thoughts? You’re liquoring me up and loosening my inhibitions, too? Do you want me to utterly humiliate myself tonight?”
    “Don’t be silly. I’m on your team. If Gib can’t recognize what an awesome woman you are, he doesn’t deserve you. Therefore, there shall be no throwing yourself at him. No matter what. And I’m sorry about the drinks, but we’re including the recipes in the aphrodisiac picnic pack. This is business. I asked for your help before I knew anything about the whole kissing fiasco, remember?”
    “Business. That’s good. I can come at tonight in full-on business mode. Ivy’s clients dither about their wedding menus and ask my opinion all the time.”
    “There you go. Now, I go.” Mira stood. “Don’t forget to take notes. And I left you guys some fun facts about aphrodisiacs that we want to add. Let me know if they’re informative, or just too