Page 66 of Every Beat of My Heart

“It was mostly texting. We didn’t call each other until the end—” I flushed at the memory of how hard I orgasmed to the sound of his voice—“and there was no video.” Jameson was protecting me then too.

“When are you going to do it again? This time in person?” Violet asked eagerly.

The waitress stopped at our table. “Would you like a second glass?”

“Yes,” Violet said for both of us.

We’d both taken a car service to get here and would share one on the way home. “Jameson invited me to Thanksgiving dinner with his family.”

“Oh, this is serious.”

My forehead wrinkled. “I hung out with his family last weekend. They played football with Owen and probably only invited us because they felt bad for us. We didn’t have anyone to spend the holiday with.”

“Yeah, what happened to your parents?” Violet asked.

I gave her a look. “They decided to go on vacation.”

“On Thanksgiving? Your favorite holiday of the year.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. They’ve never put you first. You’re an afterthought to them.”

“I don’t know about that.” Violet didn’t know me growing up. My parents were always there. Maybe a little wrapped up in work and their own love life. But I wasn’t lacking for anything except maybe attention.

“How did you leave things with Jameson?”

“We didn’t really talk about it. We said goodnight and went to sleep.”

“You had to talk about it at some point. Not even after the kiss?”

Something was niggling my brain. “I think before the kiss I said something like it didn’t have to mean anything. Or I didn’t want a relationship kind of thing. I can’t quite remember. I was just desperate for him to kiss me, and I got the impression he was trying to be noble by holding back. Before that, I wasn’t even sure he felt the same attraction I did. So when we finally kissed, it was explosive.”

“Why would he be noble?” Violet asked, confusion lacing her tone.

“Because I just got divorced.”

Violet waved a hand to the side. “It was six months ago, and you were separated for a year before that. It’s hardly recent.”

“I guess not, but I haven’t dated much since then.”

The waitress stopped by with our drinks, and we thanked her before turning our attention back to each other.

“You have to get out there at some point, and Jameson seems like the perfect guy for it. He doesn’t have to be your forever guy or even someone you date long-term. You can just have fun.”

Why did it feel so empty when Violet said it? I thought she’d want me to take it more seriously since she was a romantic. “Are you encouraging me to have a fling with him?”

Violet rolled her eyes. “A fling? How old-fashioned. No. Just have fun.”

“Have fun.” Could I do that? Could I take this thing with Jameson and keep it light? It already felt like it had weight to it. I’d trusted Jameson the other night on the phone to not only take care of me but not to share what we did with any else.

Violet fixed her gaze on me. “Yeah, you remember what that is, don’t you?”

My phone buzzed.

Your boy’s doing great.

“What is it?” Violet asked.

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