Not that my man isn’t great, because he is great. I’m just saying it couldn’t hurt to figure out how to do the two hitter thing. Stuart’s more like a bomb expert, if you know what I mean. One big explosion for both of us.”
They eyed each other over their jacked-up lattes and then started giggling over their innuendos. Eve was the first to sober up.
“What am I supposed to do, Hilde? I did not see this coming—oh shut up. That wasn’t innuendo.”
Eve sighed. Hilde’s snickering made her cheeks heat.
“You laugh, but I have sat across the table from Sam every morning for months and never had one hot thought until he kissed me under my freaking mistletoe. Now I want to jump him every time he comes into view. How the hell is it possible to go from gee-isn’t-Sam-nice to skin-crawling lust? I feel like I’m losing my mind trying to reconcile what I know with what I’m learning he’s really like. He kisses me like he’s working on getting a master’s degree in it.”
“Do you remember when you met David? You said there was no way you were going to sleep with a man who had a gold-plated stick up his keester. He came from old money. You were worried because you knew his parents would never approve of him dating a girl who worked four jobs to put herself through college. You had all these ideas about what David was like, but when you did finally get to know him, he wasn’t like anything you thought, now was he? No. David was different when he was with you. You two had that love magic you’re always talking about. If David had lived, we would not be having this conversation about Sam, because all other men would be invisible to you.”
Eve sighed as Dr. Peppercorn paused in her analysis to take a drink of her coffee. “I admit that David was not like any of the ideas I initially had about him. And you’re also right about the other men being invisible.”
“Well, see? Love magic can do some amazing things. I don’t think Sam is what you’ve been thinking he is either. It sounds like he’s a hell of a lot more. If you had met Sam two weeks ago, thought he was just some super hot guy, and decided to date him, you’d be thinking you’d won the man lottery after last night and this morning. Am I right?”
Eve nodded reluctantly as she sipped her cooling brain fuel. “Probably. Yes. Okay—yes. I’m thinking that anyway.”
“My point exactly. What’s got your wet panties all in a tizzy is that Sam wants to be there for every part of your life. He’s already insinuated himself deep in your business—no pun intended—and you know deep down what that means.”
“I do?” Eve exclaimed, not following Hilde’s last comment at all.
“Don’t give me that ditzy blonde stare. You know what I mean, Evelyn. The man’s been acting like a husband to you for months, taking care of chores, rescuing you when you need it. Last night you just consummated your relationship. Face the truth before the man shocks you with a ring and a marriage proposal. Now that Sam has conquered the bedroom hurtle, I don’t think that’s far off,” Hilde said.
“Oh God,” Eve groaned, putting her head in her hand. “That scares me to death. I just got comfortable with my life. I got used to being alone and taking care of myself.”
“Except for the past six or seven months that Sam’s been at your beck and call,” Hilde insisted, giving Eve a pointed look.
Eve groaned again and dropped her gaze to her now empty coffee cup. “Are you saying I’ve been pseudo-dating him for months?”
After mulling it over for a minute, Hilde nodded. “Yes. That sounds right. I’m saying you’ve been telling yourself a friends-only story about Sam being in your life. Maybe you need to revise that story to make room for Sam to be in your bed.”
“Did you have to revise your story very often?” Eve asked.
Hilde made a face and shook her head. “No. Divorce is different. It was like pulling a voracious weed out of my
They eyed each other over their jacked-up lattes and then started giggling over their innuendos. Eve was the first to sober up.
“What am I supposed to do, Hilde? I did not see this coming—oh shut up. That wasn’t innuendo.”
Eve sighed. Hilde’s snickering made her cheeks heat.
“You laugh, but I have sat across the table from Sam every morning for months and never had one hot thought until he kissed me under my freaking mistletoe. Now I want to jump him every time he comes into view. How the hell is it possible to go from gee-isn’t-Sam-nice to skin-crawling lust? I feel like I’m losing my mind trying to reconcile what I know with what I’m learning he’s really like. He kisses me like he’s working on getting a master’s degree in it.”
“Do you remember when you met David? You said there was no way you were going to sleep with a man who had a gold-plated stick up his keester. He came from old money. You were worried because you knew his parents would never approve of him dating a girl who worked four jobs to put herself through college. You had all these ideas about what David was like, but when you did finally get to know him, he wasn’t like anything you thought, now was he? No. David was different when he was with you. You two had that love magic you’re always talking about. If David had lived, we would not be having this conversation about Sam, because all other men would be invisible to you.”
Eve sighed as Dr. Peppercorn paused in her analysis to take a drink of her coffee. “I admit that David was not like any of the ideas I initially had about him. And you’re also right about the other men being invisible.”
“Well, see? Love magic can do some amazing things. I don’t think Sam is what you’ve been thinking he is either. It sounds like he’s a hell of a lot more. If you had met Sam two weeks ago, thought he was just some super hot guy, and decided to date him, you’d be thinking you’d won the man lottery after last night and this morning. Am I right?”
Eve nodded reluctantly as she sipped her cooling brain fuel. “Probably. Yes. Okay—yes. I’m thinking that anyway.”
“My point exactly. What’s got your wet panties all in a tizzy is that Sam wants to be there for every part of your life. He’s already insinuated himself deep in your business—no pun intended—and you know deep down what that means.”
“I do?” Eve exclaimed, not following Hilde’s last comment at all.
“Don’t give me that ditzy blonde stare. You know what I mean, Evelyn. The man’s been acting like a husband to you for months, taking care of chores, rescuing you when you need it. Last night you just consummated your relationship. Face the truth before the man shocks you with a ring and a marriage proposal. Now that Sam has conquered the bedroom hurtle, I don’t think that’s far off,” Hilde said.
“Oh God,” Eve groaned, putting her head in her hand. “That scares me to death. I just got comfortable with my life. I got used to being alone and taking care of myself.”
“Except for the past six or seven months that Sam’s been at your beck and call,” Hilde insisted, giving Eve a pointed look.
Eve groaned again and dropped her gaze to her now empty coffee cup. “Are you saying I’ve been pseudo-dating him for months?”
After mulling it over for a minute, Hilde nodded. “Yes. That sounds right. I’m saying you’ve been telling yourself a friends-only story about Sam being in your life. Maybe you need to revise that story to make room for Sam to be in your bed.”
“Did you have to revise your story very often?” Eve asked.
Hilde made a face and shook her head. “No. Divorce is different. It was like pulling a voracious weed out of my
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