Page 28 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

Grabbing underwear and a bra from her new oak dresser, she shimmied into them swiftly before wrapping her hair up in the towel. Her phone started blaring the Britney Spears song “Boys,” and she picked it up off her bed. Ellie’s smiling face flashed across the screen.

Sliding her thumb across the talk icon, she said, “All right, what kind of trouble did you get in now?”

“You know, I resent that, especially when I’m calling to help you,” Ellie said, sounding insulted. “Why do you and Val always assume the worst of me?”

Caroline grinned. Val and she were closer, that was for sure, but Ellie was wild and funny, easy to be around. Val almost tried to mother them both, even though Caroline was older.

“Well, you know us Willis girls,” Caroline said, grabbing a simple black dress from her closet. “Even when we’re trying to be good, we seem to find trouble.”

“Don’t I know it! Did you see Miss Know It All’s blog this morning? She said if I was a super-villain, I’d be the Enthraller, because I can control the male population with a flip of my hair. I swear, that woman either hates me or loves me, but I’m not quite sure which yet.”

“I didn’t see it but sounds about right.”

“Very funny, but it’s not important. Two things. I was calling to see if you wanted to go to Buck’s with me tonight. I want to go to Travis Bowers’s performance, but all my friends are busy, and Val is going with Justin and his friends.”

“Aw, nothing like being last choice,” Caroline teased, not taking it personally. Ellie and she had been getting to know each other again as adults, but they still had their awkward moments.

“Come on, don’t give me shit. Just say you’ll go. I can’t go to Buck’s alone or guys will think I’m available.”

“And you aren’t?” Caroline asked. She hadn’t realized her little sister had a boyfriend.

“No.”

“Okay, are you going to tell me about him?”

“Nothing to tell yet,” Ellie said casually. “We’re hanging out . . . testing the waters.”

Oh well. If Ellie wasn’t ready to share, then Caroline wasn’t going to push her. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

“Awesome. Can we take separate cars, though? I might have to cut out early.”

Even though she wouldn’t push, it didn’t stop her curiosity from almost getting the best of her. “Fine. I’ll meet you there around six thirty. I want to do a little networking before it gets crazy.”

“Great!”

“And the other thing?” Caroline prodded.

“Oh, right, I need you to handle the birthday cake for Val’s birthday. Justin and I are planning a barbecue, but if I make the cake, she’s gonna know what’s up.”

Caroline groaned. “Seriously? Can’t I just order one from Hall’s?”

“No, this is tradition! We always have homemade cakes for our birthdays!” Ellie said, adding with a giggle, “Remember that cake Val and I made for your sixteenth birthday? We tried to make it in the shape of a car.”

“But it came out looking more like a shapeless blob. Yes, I remember,” Caroline said, her heart squeezing. It was one of the last birthdays she’d celebrated at home.

“See, and you loved it. Val’s favorite is rainbow chip, in case you forgot. I’ll see you tonight!”

Her sister hung up the phone before Caroline could protest again. The fact that Ellie hadn’t wanted to share her boyfriend’s name bothered Caroline. Most women wanted to be seen with their significant others, not hide them away.

Unless there’s something wrong with him—like being married.

Which was exactly why she avoided getting involved in other people’s business. Dealing with other people’s baggage was too much for her emotionally. Her own baggage could fill up an airplane’s cargo hold.

Besides, she had been so caught up in her work and becoming successful, it hadn’t left a lot of time for relationships, except perhaps of the wham-bam, thank-you-man variety.

She heard the shower start up next to her room. Gabe was in there, lathering up all that hard muscle and delectable mocha-colored skin. It would be so easy to walk in on him and offer a little “roommate perk.”

You wanted a fresh start, to prove you aren’t the same girl making bad decisions. That means a successful business, playing nice with the rest of the townsfolk, and dating a respectable man, not the convenient bad boy you could never get serious with.

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