Page 49 of The House on Blueberry Lane

Velvet breathed out a deep sigh. “You recall that time when I told you about my hormones and how they’d almost gotten the best of me once?”

Sierra nodded. “Yes. That was the time you thought about flying back to Phoenix for a one-night stand with Jaye and then disappear again, right?”

“Yes. Well, I did it, Sierra, and I didn’t have to fly to Arizona for it.”

Sierra’s mouth dropped open. “Are you saying that...”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Jaye and I had a one-night stand. And it was just what I wanted, and definitely what I needed. After, I made it clear it was a one-and-done with no continuation.”

Sierra studied her over the rim of her glass. “He agreed to that?”

“Yes.” She leaned closer and said, “That’s the way he preferred things, too. But now, according to Jaye, he no longer engages in sex-only affairs.”

Sierra lifted a brow. “Since when?”

“Not sure. He did say he hadn’t had sex with a woman since me.”

“He actually admitted that?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, what do you think of that?”

Velvet shrugged. “I honestly don’t know what to think, Sierra. Granted, given his womanizing reputation, nobody could believe it when he agreed to an exclusive relationship with me. But when we broke up, there was no reason for him not to go back to his womanizing ways.”

“What if he’s changed?”

Velvet didn’t say anything for a minute. “He has changed, Sierra, but not the way you think. I figure since all his close friends have gotten married, for the first time ever he probably feels out of his element and is merely taking a social break. I’ll give him a few months and he’ll be back to sex-only affairs again.”

“Do you really think that’s what it is?”

“I have no reason not to think so. I suggested that reason to him and he claims that’s not it, and that he’s merely giving himself time to explore his inner self to determine why he engaged in those kinds of affairs in the first place. Honestly, what’s there to figure out? He’s a man who enjoys sex and women.”

“So, the two of you haven’t had any other contact since sleeping together that one time?”

“Not sexually, but he did ask me to go jogging with him, which I found very odd.”

“What’s so odd about it?”

“For one thing, during the three years we were together, Jaye never invited me to go jogging with him. Not once. He always said that it was his private time.”

“Did you go?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm...now he’s including you in that private time?”

“I guess you can say that. And another thing, he didn’t freak out when I told him unpleasant news.”

“Freak out how?”

“In the past, whenever I would bring up unpleasant news from work, with my corporation or if I tried discussing our future, he would either end the conversation or immediately change the subject. Yesterday, when we were jogging, he actually listened when I told him about that situation with Allen Bordeaux.” Velvet took another sip of wine. “And there’s something else.”

“What?”

“He hasn’t tried taking me to bed again.”

“But didn’t you tell him it was only a one-night stand?”

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