Page 53 of Diamonds in the Mud

I felt good. My skin felt like it glowed thanks to the facial Charlotte had given me. I loved the soft pink on my nails. It wasn’t too bright or flashy.

It was strange to look at my reflection and see the changes they had made to me in such a short time. I looked… like a woman. Felt like one too. Not that I didn’t normally, but now I felt girlie.

“I love my job. Now, who’s ready for another round of margaritas?” Aria laughed.

Almost two hours later, the three of us stumbled to Tobias’ truck and climbed in.

“Thanks for the lift,” Aria said as she leaned over and planted a long heated kiss on his lips.

“It looks like you ladies had a blast. I like the new highlights,” he said, glancing back at me.

“Thanks!” I pretty much shouted my response, then fell into a fit of laughter against Charlotte.

Tobias dropped his sister off first since her apartment was only a few blocks from the salon. I was next. My home was in the opposite direction as Aria and Tobias’s place and, after Charlotte was gone, the drive seemed to drag on.

When the car finally came to a stop, I jerked awake.

“Want me to walk you in?” Tobias asked.

“No, I got it. Thanks.” I started to get out and then realized that I’d left my purse in the seat and had to reach across the seat for it. “Night. Thanks for the new me,” I told Aria, who smiled and waved funny at me.

Tobias kept the truck lights on my front door area as I unlocked it and stumbled inside. I waved to the bright lights and shut the door as I heard him drive off.

Leaning against the door, I sighed and thought about falling into my bed as I was. Instead, I felt my body sliding down the door, and I laughed when my butt hit the ground.

How long had it been since I’d allowed myself to let go? A year? Two?

I never drank this much. Sure, I’d have a few beers on the occasional girl’s night or my fake birthday, but nothing like tonight.

I suppose I felt there was a reason to celebrate. I’d not only locked up one of the worst scumballs in town, but I’d had great sex the night before.

Since the world was spinning, I started crawling across the thick rug runner that I’d purchased a few months ago.

In the past three years, I’d transformed the little wooden home with its wraparound porch. It was just the right size for my needs with two bedrooms, two baths, and the smaller front office. I glanced over at my desk and smiled as I crawled past it.

The kitchen was the only thing that I had spent real money on. When I’d moved in, it had been seriously outdated. Now, I had all new appliances, cabinets, and countertops.

Off the back of the house, where my bedroom sat, I had a massive deck that overlooked a small pond area. Since the property had come with five acres, I was secluded enough that I didn’t have to deal with any neighbors.

Not that I didn’t like people. I just didn’t want to wave at them over a fence or hear them arguing next door. Smell their cookouts. Hear their dogs barking. Those types of things.

I liked being alone. Well, at least I had.

My mind turned towards Jameson. God, I had been looking forward to spending the night with him. Feeling his hard, toned body against mine. Just the way he moved had my mind going to mush. How had the man done that to me so quickly?

It wasn’t just his body that I craved.

I daydreamed about spending time with him. Laughing and joking with him.

I had made it halfway across the living room rug when my front window shattered along with a glass vase that had been full of wildflowers that Randy and Edith had given me for my birthday. It exploded, sending glass and water spraying all over me.

Even in my inebriated state, I knew a gunshot when I heard it. I spread my body out flat on the rug as a barrage of bullets flew through my shattered front window, hitting my sofa and chair and embedding in the wall separating the living space from my kitchen.

I had my gun in my hand and my cell in the other. As I dialed 911 and rattled off my address, I kept my eyes and weapon trained on the window and my front door.

Seconds ticked off as the spray continued. Pain filled my mind for a split second then dulled.

When the spray of bullets finally died down, I counted my breaths and cursed the alcohol in my veins causing my eyes to blur. Blinking the water from the flowers out of my eyes, I wondered why it was red.