Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

until she opened the door.
    Bri wore a gray knee length dress,
that draped from her shoulders to a conservative, but definitely sexy, scoop
neck, and hugged her curves all the way down.  She had a silver ribbon tied at
her waist, and gray suede heels.  Her auburn hair, a glorious shock of color
against her dress, fell in long waves over her shoulder.  She smiled up at him,
and Cole felt his heart stutter.   
    He had no idea how she could afford
a new outfit every time they went out.  He had a sneaking suspicion that she
probably spent his total monthly living allotment on clothes alone.  Things
were tight as his dad’s auto shop, and Jimmy didn’t have a lot of extra money
to send Cole.  Fortunately Cole’s athletic scholarship covered all of the
important things.  But still, it must be nice having a rich daddy.  Shame
immediately flooded him, and he chased away that thought.  He knew Bri’s dad,
and Connor was a good man.  Cole didn’t know where that sudden surge of
bitterness came from, but he quickly shot it down.  The fact that Bri was well
taken care of was nothing to complain about.  Especially when it produced
results like this.  She was breathtaking.
    She smiled, and her amber eyes took
him in, obviously liking what she was seeing.  He couldn’t help the satisfied
smile that crossed his face, knowing she was as proud that he was hers, as he
was that she was his.  After a moment of awkward gawking, Cole cleared his
throat.
    “Hi,”he smiled reaching for her hand.  He was suddenly desperate to touch
her.  “Are you ready?”
    Nodding, she took his hand and they
headed out to her Jeep.  She handed him the keys, and he helped her into the
passenger seat.  Pulling out of the parking lot, Cole glanced sideways at her.
    “You look beautiful tonight.”
    “Thanks, so do you,”she smiled back.
    “No, really.  You look absolutely
stunning,”he
pressed, and was rewarded by a blush in her cheeks.
    “So, I finally get to meet the rest
of your team.  This should be interesting,”she grinned.
    “Yep,”he replied, unable to keep his eyes off her.  This posed kind of a
problem while he was trying to drive.  Shaking himself mentally, he returned
his focus to the road.  “Hopefully dinner won’t last too long, and we can do
something fun after.”  
    “That’d be great.”   She eyed him from
her seat, and Cole wished more than anything that they could forget dinner, and
head back to his room.
    Coach had reserved a banquet room in
one of the nicer hotels in Durham, and as Cole and Bri entered, dozens of eyes
snapped up to watch them.  Cole quickly led Bri over to a table, and most of
the eyes moved on.  Most, but not all.  Cole glared pointedly at a couple of
his teammates before they finally dropped their eyes.  Satisfied that Bri was
no longer being ogled, he turned to her and smiled.  But the expression on her
face stopped him cold.
    “What?  Ambria, was is it?”
    Bri looked like her worst nightmare
had just come to life.
    “Jillian.  Jillian is here.”   She nodded towards
a girl at a nearby table with long, dark brown hair and narrowed blue eyes. 
That icy stare was aimed right at Bri.
    “That’s Jillian?”   Cole recognized
the girl, though he hadn’t known her name.
    “Unfortunately.  I just hope she
doesn't try to embarrass me or anything.  She looks like she’s trying really
hard to come up with something.”   Bri tried to smile, but her distress came through loud and clear. 
    Cole was shocked.  He hadn’t
realized that Jillian worried Bri so much, that things were that bad. 
Thinking, he hoped he had something that would take her worry away.
    “That is Jillian.  Hmm.  All the
guys on the basketball team call her something else.”   He grinned wickedly at Bri, and her
lips turned up hopefully.
    “Oh really?  What do they call her?”
    “Well, they call her a lot of
things, but the nicest is a lap bunny.  I don’t know if anyone even knows