Read Someone Like You for Free Online

isn’t war paint. It’s makeup.”
    “Hmm. You’re as pretty as a South Carolina sunrise.” He stood. “Miz Gorman. How was your evening?”
    “Fine. Yours?”
    “Super.”
    She felt an odd sense of excitement. “Did we win?”
    A huge grin spread across his face. How was it that she’d never noticed the dent in his chin? “We sure did.” His eyes danced. “Still undefeated.”
    “How’d Matt do?”
    He stared at her a moment, hands on hips, like she’d seen him do on the field when he was assessing a situation. She couldn’t help but notice how his jeans gloved his legs and his long sleeved navy shirt fit as well. “How ‘bout if I tell you that on your deck with a glass of vino. I got a good Cab in my wine rack.”
    Tugging Cella closer, she tried to resist. “I, um, I need to put Cella to bed.”
    “I can wait. Go ahead. I’ll meet you out back.”
    Cella smiled. “’Night, Mr. Corelli.”
    “’Night, pretty girl.”
    Sighing, Brie admitted she didn’t want to object to Nick’s pushing himself on her. She didn’t want to refuse his offer of wine on the deck. “All right, I’ll be a minute,” and went inside. She could sense he watched her walk into the house.
    o0o
    Nick was shocked Brie accepted his invite. Even though he was her closest neighbor, he hadn’t socialized with her after Jared died. Oh sure, he helped her when she got in a jam with the boat, when her water tank broke, or when she couldn’t put away the outdoor furniture by herself.
    So the fact that she said yes to his suggestion of a drink with him meant—exactly what did it mean?
    With a spring in his step, he grabbed the wine and glasses, trekked across their yards and sat in a chair out on her deck watching the waves peak on the lake.
    After a while, she came out of the house. “Hi.”
    Though the moon was bright, bathing her in a golden glow, he couldn’t see details of her face which was a damn shame. She still wore the pretty lilac shirt that probably made the color of her eyes lighten. Over it, she’d thrown a matching sweater.
    “Cella asleep?”
    “Yes. Lisa’s a terrific babysitter.” She dropped down into an Adirondack chair next to him. “She wears my daughter out.”
    Reaching to the wooden table in front of them, he poured wine for her. “Here you go.” He picked up his own glass.
    “Thanks.” She studied him. “You don’t usually drink wine, do you?”
    “Sometimes. Mostly, I’m a beer and peanuts kind of guy.”
    A sudden sense of nostalgia hit her. “That’s right. Jared used to drink beer with you.”
    A long, meaningful silence, then Nick said, “I miss him.”
    “I do, too.” Her voice was as hoarse as his.
    Another pause, while they both remembered the blond haired guy with a big heart who Nick had really cared about.
    “How was your date?”
    “Tell me about the game first.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    “No, as a matter of fact, we had a great time. Ian’s a nice guy.”
    “What’d you do?”
    “We went to see the new Robert Downey, Jr. movie then had pizza at Mario’s.”
    “Come on, share some down and dirty details.”
    “Drink your wine, Nick.”
    He chuckled, glad for the respite from the sadness over Jared.
    “Seriously, tell me about the game.”
    For ten minutes, he regaled her with a summary of their play. He thought she’d be bored, but she listened intently. After a pause, he added, “I thought maybe you’d come.”
    “I told you I wasn’t.”
    He waited a second, thinking about how to proceed. He didn’t want to scare her off, but after this past two weeks, he wasn’t satisfied anymore with the barbs they traded or her cold shoulder to him. Hell, he’d just go for it. “Are you gonna see Lancaster again?”
    “We said we might.” She waited this time, then looked at him pointedly. “Why?”
    “I didn’t know you dated men from school is all.”
    “I don’t as a rule.”
    “You making exceptions now, darlin’? Cuz I reckon I’d like to get in