“Yeah,” she says while shaking her head. “I guess the gunshots woke the neighborhood and my shouting match with Jake when he came flying out of the whore-bag’s house probably didn’t help much.”

“Holy crap, gunshots?” I know my eyes are bugging out of my head, which no doubt makes my battered face look even more unsightly than it already does.

Rose shrugs her shoulders. “I got a little excited and took my emergency shovel out of the boot of my car and knocked his windows out, but I wasn’t strong enough to puncture his tires with it, so I had to use my gun.” She looks so matter-of-fact that I feel like I’m overreacting for a moment before I shake it off. Hell, no I’m not!

“Oh, my God! Are you crazy? And what are you doing with a gun and a shovel in your car?”

Sounding perfectly reasonable, she says, “You know how much it snows around here in the wintertime. Sometimes, you need a shovel to navigate sidewalks or parking lots. As for the gun, I’ve had one for years. My daddy is a firm believer in protecting yourself. I’ve been able to hit a bull’s-eye in target practice every time since I was eight.” Cocking her finger, she points at me, adding, “Honey, if you’re ever in a gunfight, you are going to hope and pray I’m on your side.”

“Who are you, and where is my Martha Stewart best friend?” I ask, still flabbergasted. Do I know this girl at all?

Rose starts giggling, clutching her sides as she rolls around on the couch. “I’m still your Martha, bitch, but I’m also your Dirty Harry. Thanks to Mama and Daddy demanding equal time, I can bake and shoot with the best of them.”

I laugh with her for what seems like the first time in years. I’ve had nothing to laugh about lately, and my voice sounds rough as if it hasn’t been used nearly enough. Before I can catch my breath, Lucian comes into the room at a fast clip, looking startled by the scene in front of him. The male fantasy of two girls lying all over each other is probably a little skewed for him as he takes in me slumped over a reclining Rose as we both hold our sides and howl with laughter. I don’t know what’s so funny anymore, but I can’t seem to stop the flow. He pauses next to my head and as I stare up at him, I only laugh harder. He looks adorably confused, but I also see the glimmer of a smile at the corners of his mouth. He’s been so serious and uptight the last few days that it pulls at something deep inside me to see him relax if even for a moment.

“What’s so funny, ladies?” he asks when our laughter finally dies down to something more like hiccups.

“Just talking to my friend Martha Harry here,” I say with almost a straight face. Beside me, Rose giggles while Lucian looks between us as if trying to solve a puzzle. In a move that surprises me, he lowers a hand to my face, gently tracing my smiling lips before cupping my cheek.

“I’m almost afraid to know what that means, but if it puts this smile on your face, I don’t care. I’m even going to brave it and ask.” He lifts a brow in inquiry to Rose.

She raises a brow right at him, saying, “I’m pretty sure you already know.”

“You do?” I frown, wondering why I’m the last to know about my best friend’s crazy antics.

Lucian looks confused for a moment before saying, “Ah, maybe I do, Annie Oakley.” He gives me a look of apology. “Sorry, baby; Max asked me not to tell anyone. He didn’t want to betray Rose’s legal rights.”

Completely puzzled by his statement, I ask, “What does Max have to do with it?”

Rose speaks up before Lucian can, looking a bit embarrassed. “I had to call him to get me out of jail. Although my daddy would have probably been proud to come get me, they were out of town and I would have been forced to stay in jail until they could get there.”

I barely know Max, so I’m not sure when Rose could have become acquainted with him. “Oh, did you call Luc?”

“Er…no,” she answers. “I kind of met him while you were in the hospital. Jake and I got into a small argument, and he came over to check on me. He gave me his card in case I had any other problems and I stuck it in my purse. When I was arrested, I remembered it and made him my one phone call. He’s pretty hot, too, so I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know him better.”

Lucian seems totally bemused by her explanation. He drops down onto the couch, tucking me under his arm almost absently before looking at her. “You thought having him bail you out of jail was a good way to take the next step with him? Did you ever stop to think that it might not make the best impression?”

“Nah,” she winks, “when there’s a spark between two people, the circumstances you meet under don’t matter. I felt it that first day at the hospital, but I was too upset to act on it. When I saw him again at the police station, the spark was more like a raging inferno, and this time I didn’t miss the opportunity to explore it further.”

“So I heard,” Lucian muttered under his breath, causing me to jerk around to stare at him.

Exasperated, I huff out, “All right, what else have I missed here?” I can’t believe he has kept all this from me. Attorney-client privilege be damned—this is my best friend and frankly a freaking juicy tale, which no one has shared with me. I want to pitch a childish tantrum right here between them.

Lucian looks at Rose to fill me in. I cross my arms, giving her my best, ‘you better start talking now’ look. She takes what seems like an unusually long amount of time to get comfortable before finally answering my questions. “Well, after Max got me out of the whole mess with just a slap on the wrist and a minor dent in my bank account, I asked him to take me home. The police had impounded my car, and I couldn’t get it until the lot opened later on. So, when we reached the apartment, I wanted to leave him with a little parting gift to think about.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. A quick glance at Lucian shows he looks both fascinated and leery. I’m surprised he hasn’t bolted yet, but I guess it’s hard for a guy to turn down a sex story.

“What kind of parting gift are we talking here?” I ask warily, not sure if I want to know. I just can’t imagine the normally suave and composed Max Decker having car sex with someone he barely knows. It seems so…beneath him somehow.

“Oh, just a little slip of the tongue and hand here and there. I have to say, he sure hides a big…”

Lucian jumps to his feet, looking a bit harried. “I think I need to go now.” He looks down at me as if he’s not sure he wants me to stay, either. Hearing my best friend tell me about the size of his friend and lawyer’s penis is probably not something he relishes. In the end, though, he decides to retreat after he says over his shoulder, “Call me if you need me, baby.”