Read Online How To Bring Your Love Life Back From The Dead by Wendy Sparrow - Free Book Online

private collection room like his nightly
harem? She’d totally fell for a line! That was both insulting and
very, very strange. Still, she had some pride and besides she
really didn’t like Carly. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,”
Ana said, going back to glancing at the book. She cleared her
throat.
    Carly sniffed, once, a nasty little
disgusted sound. They were two seconds from a cat fight over
nothing.
    Ana clenched her teeth. Must not
commit homicide. Must not commit homicide…yet . In a few more
minutes, it would be justifiable. Carly was such a brat, and Ana
certainly wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more insufferable
people today.
    Insufferable—troublesome;
intolerable; unendurable; see also Carly.
    She’d been hoping Carly would leave
the whole time she’d been here today, but snipes like Carly sensed
and tried to thwart all plans for peace and happiness—to annoy you
more. It was working.
    “The painting,” Carly said. The
“duh” was implied.
    So, this conversation had turned
weird. One minute they’d been talking about Shane the hot ghost
with his made-for-sin body and his arrogant attitude that made you
want to slap him and drag him closer…and now Carly wanted to talk
about paintings? “What painting?”
    Carly no longer looked snide, only
baffled. Then, her eyes narrowed as if she was staring straight
into Ana’s soul—right before she sucked Ana’s humanity out with a
horrible suctioning, squelching noise.
    “That’s not how you know him?” she
asked Ana.
    “Know who?”
    Was Carly completely unable to speak
clearly? This coyness made her want to rip Carly’s arms off and
smack Carly upside the head with them. It wasn’t her fault Ana was
out of sorts; people were just being extraordinarily annoying
today. And Carly was Carly. They’d once worked together on a
fundraiser for the library. It was the longest two hours of Ana’s
life, and it ended with them both muttering obscenities under their
breaths. Ana had used her entire knowledge of profanity that
day…and she’d briefly dated a Marine—it was extensive.
    Carly gestured for Ana to follow
her. They walked back into the private collection room which Ana
had been avoiding until dark. It felt pathetic to hang around when
Shane wasn’t here. In the corner of the room, amongst a dozen
landscapes portraying lame rural scenes, sat a full-size painting
of her ghost. In the portrait, he was standing in the C. Franklin
Collection room, staring into a book with a thoughtful frown on his
face. The painter had managed to capture a lot of his personality
in there. You could see the arrogance in his stance and the frown
that was charming and a bit of a pout. It was as if being painted
had pissed him off. You could tell he was a bad boy. A scoundrel.
Her hormones sat up at attention.
    “How did I miss this?” Analise
asked.
    Carly was back to looking snide.
“Beats me. We used to get teenage girls mooning over him in here so
we made this a room that needs approval.” The Franklin Collection
room housed all the rare books for the entire library as well as a
plethora of small printings of local books. There was a velvet rope
across the entrance with a sign that said “See front desk for
approval.”
    “So, who was he?” Ana asked. The
hair on the back of her neck was prickling up as if someone was
watching her. Was he here?
    Carly laughed—a stupid grating laugh
that sounded like a horse neighing. Was it wrong to smack someone
just for an annoying laugh? Of course, one didn’t need the
accompanying eye roll from Carly to know that she was laughing at
you—and never with you. “Your great, great grandfather’s business
partner.” Once again, the ‘duh’ was implied. How did people like
her make it to adolescence? If they ever were put on a committee
together again, Ana would have to renege or face a prison sentence,
and the feeling was obviously mutual. “He disappeared shortly after
this painting was completed