I Love My Secret (Nicole's Erotic Romance) Read Online Free PDF

“Um…
ladies. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
    They’re looking at the menus again, all fake
innocence and deliberate avoidance.
    I run my finger around the rim of my mug, thinking
how I can get out of this. I could tell them I’m scared, but they see me as
confident and sure of myself in all aspects. I don’t want to fall down in their
esteem. I don’t want to be flawed. “I’m not going there today. My partner is
going to be there. It’s his time today.” Now that is a damn lie, but they don’t
know that.
    Amber’s face falls. “Oh no. Awww. Bummer.”
    Jess suggests, “Well, then we’d finally get a
chance to meet him. You’ve been hiding this guy like he’s some secret you’re
keeping from us.” She leans forward like a mystery is afoot and whispers, “He’s
not a three-hundred-year-old hunchback magician who’s captured your heart and
keeps it a jar… is he?”
    Amber grins at the image and looks at me with
eyebrows so high that if they got any higher, they’d be in the space shuttle. I
lean in and whisper back, looking from one to the other. “Yes, that’s exactly
what he is. And if I bring you there, you’ll try to steal my heart back. But then the curse would be solidified forever! And
my heart would be lost for all eternity.”
    Jessica thinks about this. “Oooo, that’d be bad.”
    I lean back and say, “It’d be very bad,” in my
normal voice. Truth is, though? I don’t like how close she got about the heart
held hostage part. “He’s very serious about his work and he doesn’t like to be
interrupted. That’s all.”
    Amber gets it. “I hate it when people show up at
my office unannounced.”
    Jessica agrees, “Yeah. I guess I think of what I
do as work… and what you do as play. Sorry.”
    “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. He’s not that
interesting. He’s just a guy who’s giving me a break on rent for studio space.”
    Amber picks up on this and points out something I
hadn’t thought of before: “Then he must really believe in your work.”
    This warms my heart unexpectedly. Does he? I
hadn’t thought of the possibility. I bite my lip, thinking about it, and pick
up my mug. I offer to them, “Another time though. Let’s plan ahead, and I’ll
make sure he’s not there.”
    Amber smiles and drops it. Jess still looks like
she wants to go, but has no argument to make. The subject is dropped… or so I
had hoped. Jess’s frown vanishes and she says, “You should have a show soon!
Then everyone can see your greatness!”
    My stomach rolls over again and I take a deep
breath and crinkle up my nose, make a tssss sound like a ball deflated slowly,
shaking my head. “I don’t think I’m ready yet, Jess.”
    Amber inspects my face, her intelligent blue eyes
inspecting me. “You’re going to be great Nicole. You don’t have to be scared.”
    “I’m not scared!” I look from one to the other,
but they see right through me. And here I thought I was hiding it.
    “Is he really there today?” Jess asks, and Amber
looks at me to inspect again.
    “Yes! Yes! He’s really there! I’m not lying so you
don’t see my stuff before I’m ready. God, you guys – stop!” I grin, but
they’re not sold. I’ll stick to my guns though and…
    “Nicole!” a male voice interrupts. I look up to
see who just saved me, but it takes me a second to recognize Danny, Grant’s
friend.
    “Danny! Oh, hi!” I put down my coffee and stand to
give him a hug. I stay standing next to him, practically looking him in the eye
since he’s not much taller than I am. Nice body, though.
    “I was just leaving,” he tells me apologetically,
and I turn to follow his eyes to a pretty brunette who’s looking at me as she’s
walking to the front door. She’s obviously wondering who the hell I am and why
hasn’t Danny stayed locked at her side like a good boy?
    “Oh, that’s too bad. I’d ask you to join us.”
Would I? Maybe…
    “I didn’t see you sitting here, or I would