The Lovers

The Lovers by Eden Bradley Page B

Book: The Lovers by Eden Bradley Read Free Book Online
Authors: Eden Bradley
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chocolate from the well-stocked pantry. Viviane always has plenty of chocolate on hand; it seems to be a universal staple for writers.
    â€œAre we going back to the living room?” I want to be alone with her, but I can’t seem to say so.
    â€œLet’s go to your cottage. I don’t want to wake anyone up. Do you have some nail polish? We can make it a real girls’ night.”
    â€œI do, but it’s pink. Don’t you usually wear red?”
    â€œI don’t mind. Come on.”
    We go outside, and the air is chilly, making goose bumps rise on my skin. Or maybe it’s knowing I will finally be alone with her.
    Once inside my cottage, I turn on the lights and head into the bathroom.
    â€œI have some polish remover, too,” I call over my shoulder. I look through the drawer where I’ve placed most of my toiletries, everything lined up in neat rows, and come up with the polish remover, a file, some cotton, and bring it back into the main room.
    â€œPerfect,” Audrey says, and I feel unaccountably pleased.
    She opens the wine and pours it into two glasses she brought with her from the house. I arrange all the nail supplies on the table and sit on the edge of the bed.
    â€œI’m not very good at this,” I tell her, taking a long swallow of the wine. It’s rich and dark on my tongue. I swallow some more.
    â€œOh, I’m sure you are,” she says, her tone throaty, flirtatious.
    But that’s Audrey, isn’t it? I shouldn’t read too much into it, no matter how much I want to.
    â€œNo, really. I’m not that much of a girlie girl. I don’t wear much makeup. Keeping my toes painted is one of my few nods to being female.”
    â€œDon’t sell yourself short, Bettina. You’re very female,” she says, sipping her wine, watching me over the rim of her glass.
    A small flutter starts in my stomach.
    Don’t be foolish. This is just Audrey being Audrey.
    I take a breath, forcing my pulse to steady. I drink some more of my wine, finishing off the glass. It helps a little.
    â€œCan I do your toes?” she asks me as she refills both our glasses.
    I am not going to say no.
    â€œSure.”
    â€œHere, scoot up and sit on the bed against the pillows.”
    She shakes the polish, and I wait with my breath held in my lungs as though I am waiting for her to bend over me, to undress me, kiss me.
    Stop it.
    She leans over my toes and strokes the old polish off with a ball of cotton. I can feel her fingertips around the cotton ball. I drink some more of my wine, trying not to watch the way her hair falls around her face, like dark satin.
    â€œSo, tell me what kind of guys you like,” she says to me. I laugh uncomfortably. “What?”
    â€œWe can’t have a slumber party without taking about boys!”
    â€œI’ve never actually had a slumber party before.”
    Audrey pauses to look up at me. “You’re kidding.”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œPardon me for saying so, but that’s a little weird, Bettina.”
    â€œI know. I’ve had a weird life, I guess, but not in any sort of interesting way. I’ve just missed out on a lot.”
    â€œWell, it’s an awfully good thing that I came along then, isn’t it?”
    She’s teasing me, but it’s true, I think.
    â€œYes. It is.”
    She grins at me, and I smile back, and she empties her wineglass before bending her head to her task once more. I swallow the rest of my wine in a few gulps. It goes down easy, and my body relaxes.
    â€œSo. About the boys,” she prompts.
    â€œI don’t know if I have a type. Guys are so…they’re a mystery to me. I don’t like that I never seem to know what they’re thinking.”
    Audrey laughs as she opens the bottle of polish and begins to paint my nails. “I can tell you what they’re thinking. They’re thinking they want to get in your

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