Read Online Truth or Dare by Mira Lyn Kelly - Free Book Online Page B

voice as he could muster. It wasn’t as hard as it had been at the beginning. And he was rewarded for his effort when he heard her long sigh into the line.
    “Okay, I guess.”
    And like that, he didn’t care that she’d screwed around with making him wait again.
    “That doesn’t sound very good, Gina. Want to talk about it?”
    “You’re not calling to hear about my problems.”
    That’s where she was wrong. Her problems were the solution he’d been waiting for.
    “I care about you, Gina. Of course I want to hear if you’ve got a problem. I want to help.”
    “Oh Tyler, I don’t know what to do…”

Chapter Eight

Maggie should have been ashamed of herself, but in her world of forced dates, shame was a luxury she couldn’t afford. So it was with her head held high and an exaggerated swing in her step that she strode into the gym, working her “come hither” for everything it was worth.
    Jackpot.
    Not only was Neil at the front desk, but she was pretty sure that audible click she’d heard from across the entry was his throat after catching sight of her.
    Just what she’d been hoping for.
    She was wearing her bad-girl boots, after all, a pair of black stilettos that zipped up in a snug caress of leather ending at her knee and leaving a few inches of bare skin below the hem of her tight skirt. Top that with a fitted V-neck sweater and the outfit did wonders for her figure—which thanks to her more legitimate visits to the gym was still in shape.
    Neil leaned over the desk, checking her out head to toe. “Miss Maggie Mae. No workout gear? What brings you in today?”
    “What? These aren’t regulation for the treadmill?” she asked, making herself want to puke when she swiveled her boot, drawing the kind of attention to her legs that was shameless indeed. But today working her coy, little kicked-out ankle was a necessary evil. She was doing her part for the pact. Sending signals and making herself available. Laying the foundation of flirt they would build their one, possibly two, dates upon before she razed the relationship completely.
    Unless somehow, Neil turned out to be “The One.”
    Open to the possibilities.
    He wrinkled his nose at her and flexed his pecs.
    Showy. But who was she to judge after donning the cruel shoes from hell because of their miraculous throat-clicking potential?
    Twelve and a half minutes later, Maggie was around the corner from the club, replacing her stilettos with a pair of knockoff Uggs pulled from her bottomless tote and congratulating herself on landing her date for Saturday night.
    Not only had she checked off December, but Neil had invited her to his roommate’s holiday party. Which meant lots of people. And considering they’d managed an awkward silence within less than fifteen minutes just now, that was probably a good thing.
    This date was going to be a piece of cake.
    —
    Hands gripping the steering wheel at ten and two, nose running, her body swelling in spots she didn’t want to think about, Maggie coughed out a curse with Neil’s name on it and signaled left. The air whistled through her lungs with each tight, furious breath. Almost home.
    “But it’s not
my
cat.”
    Turned out the conversational disconnect Maggie had noticed from the start was a bigger problem than she’d anticipated.
    “It lives in your apartment,” she’d gasped.
    With her cat allergies, she always checked. And this was the reason.
    Neil nodded, smiling in a way that suggested he didn’t get how precarious his situation was. “Uh-huh, but it’s not mine.”
    The guy had been lucky she hadn’t had time to maim him.
    Another block and, miracle of miracles, she scored a parking spot right in front. Maybe things were looking up.
    Hands shaking, she jerked the keys from the ignition and sucked a too-thin breath into her lungs, already getting the skimp on oxygen. This was the worst of it. As bad as it was going to get.
    Another minute and she’d be snacking on Benadryl, hopping