If She Dares (Contemporary Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

something for you.” Turning, Wren began to dig through her giant quilted handbag.
    She was in full excavation mode, half the contents of her purse piled on the table—why the hell did she have a TV remote control?—when the waitress came with their food. Still focused on her search, Wren absently pushed her salad bowl forward. Riley exchanged her cucumbers for her sister’s tomatoes.
    “Here it is!” Wren held up a small drawstring bag in triumph. “I made you this.”
    She handed over the bag. Inside was a silver bracelet, beaded with tiger’s eyes and deep blue stones.
    “Oh, Wren. Wow.”
    “It’s a talisman bracelet, for protection. From...bad luck and stuff.” She ducked her gaze, her tone troubled. Of all the Kendricks, she’d seemed to take what happened to Riley the hardest. She cleared her throat. “Like getting stuck in elevators. Rochelle mentioned the power outage in your building over the weekend.”
    A smile tugged at the corner of Riley’s lips. Would she describe the time she’d spent stranded with Jack as bad luck?
No.
Despite her initial trepidation and the inconvenient situation, the overall experience had turned out to be...fun. She hadn’t seen him in the two days since, but he drifted into her thoughts at odd moments.
    His teasing encouragement had been uppermost in her mind this morning when she’d emailed the tenant board to declare herself in the running for the election in November. She’d written a first draft yesterday, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible, thanking all the board members for their hard work and saying she’d like to step forward and take her turn. In the event that Anna Tyler’s response to the email was to show up at Riley’s door with a bazooka, Riley had waited until she was ready to leave her apartment before hitting Send. Between this morning’s medical checkup, lunch with Wren and a self-defense class this afternoon, Riley hoped her hours of not being home gave the current president time to calm down.
    Wren was busily scooping her belongings back into her purse. “I don’t know if the mystical qualities people ascribe to crystals and gems are real, but it can’t hurt to try, right? At the very least, maybe wearing them will make you feel braver.”
    “The jewelry equivalent of a security blanket.” Riley’s tone was more defensive than she’d intended, as if she was embarrassed her little sister thought she was a wuss. She took a deep breath and tried again, determined to sound suitably grateful. “The bracelet is lovely, and I’ll treasure it.”
    Wren smiled, looking relieved. “Once I’ve built up some inventory, I’ll want you to do my website.”
    “Naturally. I’m the best.”
    Laughing, Wren reached past her salad for the plate of chocolate cake. Riley snagged a forkful before the entire piece was gone, and the two of them chatted and joked their way through lunch. They jumped from topic to topic, from the weather—“Blecch” was Wren’s succinct opinion—to the most recently eliminated chefs on Wren’s favorite TV cooking competition. As lunch ended, Riley found herself wondering if it was odd that she hadn’t brought up Jack. There’d been several moments in conversation where it would have been natural to mention him, but she’d stopped herself each time.
    Come to think of it, she hadn’t specifically told Rochelle about him on Saturday, either, had only said that she wasn’t alone in the elevator during the power outage and there’d been plenty of moral support.
You barely know the guy. Not much to discuss
. Yeah, that was probably it—not that she was holding the memory of his rough velvet voice close like a guilty secret.
Ever kissed a stranger in the dark?
    “You seem preoccupied,” Wren noted. “We were having a good time, then I lost you somewhere. Are you worried about getting to class on time?”
    “No, I still have a few minutes.” Riley used her straw to fish an ice cube from her empty drink. It