Unzipped Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Andy Bomstad was taking Viagra?”
    “Apparently.”
    “And you didn’t know?”
    “No.”
    “But . . . Even so . . . Viagra is perfectly safe, unless ingested in extreme doses.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Good lord,” he said and tightened his grip on my hands before releasing them and rising abruptly. “You don’t need a consultation. What you need is a drink.”
    “I’m just in time, then,” someone said.
    I glanced up. A goddess had appeared in the doorway. She stood about five four and couldn’t have weighed more than a can of peas. Her hair was swept up in a complicated knot that would have made a sailor swoon, and her ensemble was impeccable; her slacks pressed just so, her silk blouse without a wrinkle. She even wore heels—in the house.
    Generally when at home I’m a little more casual. In fact, the outfit I had worn during Rivera’s last visit was a considerable improvement over my usual attire. Just now I was dressed in blue jeans and a T-shirt. Usually, I make it a point to look presentable when I’m out and about. But . . . the staring eyes . . . the ridiculously large erection . . . I was lucky to be dressed and coherent instead of running around stark naked, yammering about gummy bears in wine sauce.
    Still, I tugged at my shirt, making sure it was well past the bulge that overlooked my jeans. Some people become anorexic under stress. I don’t have that problem.
    “Ahh, Kathryn,” David said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek before taking the drinks she held in perfectly manicured hands. I curled my fingernails against my palms and noticed the glasses were cut crystal. Austrian probably.
    “Chrissy, this is my fiancée.” He beamed. First at her, then at me. “Kathryn LaMere. My dear friend and colleague, Christina McMullen.”
    She smiled. Her teeth were aligned like perfect, pearlescent soldiers. “It’s so very nice to meet you. I’ve heard nothing but good.” She had a faint but elegant accent, and she smelled delicious. Like high-priced heaven.
    Reality dawned on me with belated brilliance: David was engaged . . . to be married. I let the fact sink slowly into my subconscious. It shouldn’t have been surprising, really. After all, he was an attractive, intelligent man. But . . . I had bananas older than that girl. And maybe I had secretly fantasized about becoming the future Mrs. Dr. David. After all, he exuded kindness and good taste, while my own sprawling family leaned toward pranks involving flatulence and dead vermin.
    “I’m sorry.” I bobbled to my feet, feeling idiotic. Obviously they had planned to go out. It was Friday night, after all, and some people did that sort of thing on the weekend. “I’m interrupting your evening.”
    “Don’t be silly,” David said.
    “Not at all,” Kathryn chimed in. “This is the ideal opportunity for me to see to my work. Please, make yourself at home,” she said and smiling, exited, closing the double French doors behind her.
    We were left alone. David crossed the floor and pressed a Scotch into my hand.
    “You’re engaged,” I said. Perhaps it sounded as lame to him as it did to me, but my fantasies are nothing if not tenacious and prefer to be smothered rather than drowned.
    “Nearly a month now,” he said, and motioned me back toward the couch. “Wedding’s in May. Kathryn wanted to move it up. At least that’s what she said. Personally, I think she was just trying to stroke an old man’s fragile ego.”
    I stifled a sigh and dropped listlessly onto the cushy leather.
    “You still look shocky,” he said, taking a seat and studying my eyes. “You didn’t see clients today, did you?”
    I assured him I hadn’t.
    “Good. Take Monday off as well.”
    “I don’t know if I can afford to—”
    “Chrissy.” He was the only person outside of my immediate family who called me that. My youngest brother still referred to me as Christopher Robin because of my former obsession with Pooh and the Hundred Acre