Risk (It's Complicated Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

shoulders, long legs, hard planes, and angles, he looked ridiculous in this bastion of femininity—like a stallion in Victoria’s Secret. He regarded her gravely, but some of his tension eased after a couple seconds, as if he felt satisfied she wasn’t contemplating homicide or suicide.
    Then he smiled. “I kicked his ass for you.”
    Angela gaped at him before bursting into wild laughter she had no hope of controlling. Tears were streaming down her face again by the time she reined it in.
    “Did you make him cry?”
    “Squealed like a newborn pig,” Justus assured her gravely.
    “Good.” Her mood abruptly swung back to despair and she ducked her head even though she was done crying. There was no point to wasting any more of her tears on a man who didn’t deserve them.
    She sure could use a new tissue, though.
    Justus sat onto the loveseat next to her and his hand, clutching a blindingly white handkerchief—wait, a handkerchief ?—came into her field of vision.
    “What’s this?” Hesitating, she looked up, took the fine linen, and wiped her nose with it. Oh, wow. It smelled like him. She remembered his spicy scent very clearly from that long-ago night.
    His lips twisted with amusement. “It’s a hankie, you ignorant girl.”
    Laughing again, she blotted her eyes. “I really wish you’d stop making me laugh when I was trying to cry here.”
    “I really wish you’d stop trying to cry. Especially over that fool.”
    She had to smile at that. “He is a fool, isn’t he?”
    Justus stared her in the face, all signs of humor gone. “Biggest one I’ve ever seen.”
    She looked away because sympathy always made her cry harder, and that was the last thing she needed to do right now.
    “I wouldn’t take you for the hankie type, Justus.”
    “I’m quirky,” he said, grinning.
    It occurred to her that he’d interrupted his date to check on her. “You should go. I’m sure your girlfriend—”
    He scowled. “There you go assuming again.”
    “Yeah, okay,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure the woman you’re having sex with later is wondering what happened to you.”
    He was about to say something when the door swung open again. In came another well-dressed woman and a brief burst of music and chatter from the crowded outer hallway.
    She stopped dead when she saw Justus. “This is the ladies’ room,” she snapped.
    “I know,” he said irritably, not looking away from Angela. “I read the sign on the door when I came in.”
    “ Excuse me? ”
    Justus seemed to realize he’d been rude. He twisted at the waist and, focusing his gaze on the woman, smiled a dazzling smile that was like the sun hitting a handful of diamonds. “I hope you don’t mind, but we need to talk for a minute.”
    The poor woman never had a chance, and melted like a Hershey’s bar left on the dashboard in August. Blushing furiously, she smiled. “Of course.” With apparent difficulty, she peeled her gaze away from Justus and backed out.
    “Unbelievable,” Angela said. “You really ought to stop.”
    Chuckling, he leaned back against the cushions and studied the ceiling as if he considered it perfectly normal to spend a Friday night in a ladies’ bathroom. “Do you need a ride home?”
    “I asked the hostess to call me a cab.”
    “I could take you.”
    She felt an unexpected surge of fondness for him. “What are you? My knight on a white horse?”
    “Just got my armor back from the dry cleaners. Do you want to talk about it?”
    “ No .”
    “What was his name?” he persisted. “ Ronald? Fucking jackass.”
    In the past, if she’d ever heard someone make a comment like that about Ronnie, she would have come out swinging. But under the current circumstances, defending Ronnie was a colossal waste of time.
    “And here it took me three years to realize he’s a fucking jackass.”
    Justus snorted out a laugh.
    The door swung open again, and the hostess peered inside. “Your cab is here.”
    “Thanks,”