Page 42 of Perfect Imperfections

He’d checked her temperature and then some.

She’d woken late, her breathing heavy as if she’d run five miles.

“Not so much as you’re late,” her friend replied, taking a sip of her coffee.

Ellie glanced at the clock. “I’m not late. I’m right on time.”

“Exactly. You’re always here before me. Right on time in Ellie world is late.” A sly grin turned up the corners of her friend’s lips. “Soooooo?”

Opening the lid of her coffee, she blew across the hot beverage. The first sip ran over her tongue like liquid magic. She might be a morning person, but Ellie loved her coffee as much as the next person. The legal stimulant coursed through her veins, waking up all the muddy parts of her brain that were still rusty and distracted from her late-night fantasies.

“So what?”

Cam rolled her eyes. “So how was yesterday?”

She shrugged, taking another sip to stall before answering. “Fine. It was a kids’ party. They ran around, screamed, ate cake. Charlotte liked her gift, though. I thought she might cut off my circulation with the bear hug she gave me when she opened it.”

“I told you the elephant adoption plan would be an excellent gift.”

She had, because her friend was fantastic at picking out presents, especially for kids. She had to be with the number of nieces and nephews she had to buy for. Cam always said she loved being an aunt. All the fun, none of the responsibility. Ellie knew that was true for her friend. But for her, watching Sullivan with Charlotte, seeing how much joy the little girl brought into his life, she thought the responsibility might make it all the better.

“Thanks for the idea. She loved it. You were right.”

“Duh, of course I was, but enough about the party.”

“You’re the one who asked.”

“No, I asked how yesterday was.”

Had Cam put whiskey in her coffee this morning? Maybe she’d enjoyed a few of her mother’s “special brownies.” That was the only reason her friend wasn’t making any sense this morning.

“Yeah, and yesterday was the party.”

Cam shook her head as if Ellie was being the exasperating one. “I know, but I wasn’t asking about that sweet girl’s birthday bash. I was asking how your night went with her sexy, single father.”

Ellie had chosen that unfortunate moment to take a sip of her coffee. She choked, snorting hot, sugary liquid up her nose. Her eyes watered as the sting burned her nostrils. Cam grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser on the wall. The tall woman held them out with an apology.

“Oh sweetie, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

She nodded, unable to talk as the back of her throat was currently on fire.

“So, can I take that as the night went well?”

The twinkle in her friend’s eye was back. Cam was like a dog with a bone when she wanted to know something. She never gave up.

“How do you know I didn’t go home right after the party?” For some reason, she didn’t want to spill the beans about her and Sullivan just yet. Right now, it was simply a wonderful moment between the two of them. Something she could hold close and take out whenever she needed a little pick me up. To reveal what happened against the wall in his kitchen last night to someone else would make it…real. And real things could end.

“I went by your place last night around eight to see if you wanted to go to Toppers with me, but you weren’t there. Figured you were still at Dr. Sexy’s house.”

“His name is Sullivan, and you could have texted me.”

“No, because then you would have made some excuse not to come out.”

True. She didn’t like bars all that much and while Toppers wasn’t that bad, she still preferred a quiet night at home to a crowded, loud, bar full of strangers where the drinks cost three times as much as what she could make them for at home. Plus, at home she could drink in her comfy jammies.

“Soooooo?”

“So what?”

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