Page 55 of One Touch

To my surprise, instead of teasing me more, Elara put a hand on mine. “Lily, you deserve to be happy. Don’t overthink it. Ifthere could be something real between you two, you owe it to yourself to explore it. Ethan is a decent guy.”

“That’s the whole problem. I’m surprisingly over what happened with Vlad, because he’s obviously such a giant ass. But if Ethan decided I wasn’t good enough for him—”

“Excuse me?” Now she looked furious. “Don’t even go there, Lily Lane. You are good enough foranyone. A king would be lucky to date you. And not just any old king. A king who was also a male model, fighter pilot, professional mixed-martial-arts master, musician, and a cowboy.”

“Okay, now that’s a romance novel I would read.”

“Lils, I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one’s watching. Cole and I have commented on it on more than one occasion.”

“How?”

She smiled just for a moment, then did her very best brooding, stern, Ethan McCoy impression. All pouting lips and smoky eyes. “Like this,” she put on a deep voice.

“Careful, El, because this sexy look of yours is causing some very confusing feelings for me.”

It felt so good to laugh together. When we eventually stopped, I admitted, “I don’t know what to do, El. There are a million reasons he could go off me. I’m scared of getting hurt again. Of getting carried away and ruining everything.”

Elara reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “I know, honey. But you can’t let fear control your life. Sometimes the greatest risks reap the greatest rewards.”

“I really don’t think I’m ready for any kind of relationship.”

“So don’t do one. But there’s no reason you can’t have some fun with him.”

“That’s what I told him. But he didn’t buy it. He said he’d destroy me.”

“Destroy you?”

There was a knock on the door. It was Connie.

“Hold that thought,” I told Elara.

“Hey there!” I said, letting Connie in.

“I’m so glad you’re open!” Connie was, again, impeccably dressed. This time, she wore a tailored blazer in a soft dove gray, the lines crisp and sharp. Beneath the blazer, a delicate ivory blouse with intricate lace detailing peeked out, adding a touch of femininity. “I need book two in the Hamilton Hove series and I need it now!”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Hamilton Hove book two? I think we have—”

“I’ll get book three while I’m here. And do you have the Hamilton Hove prequel series?” Just then, she noticed Elara and nodded at her. “You in for a hit of the hot stuff, too?”

“Kind of,” Elara said, then blushed such a fierce pink I almost let out a shriek of horror.

“Oh?” Connie said.

“Nothing to see here,” I said, my own face most likely outdoing Elara’s.

“Yep,” said Elara. “I just came over to remind Lily she agreed to go through my wedding plan the day after tomorrow.”

Shit. I’d forgotten. “Yep, I’ll be there,” I said, breezily as I could.

“I won’t pry,” Connie said, holding her hands up. “I honestly didn’t think I’d get hooked on this stuff,” she said. “But there’s something about forbidden love that gets me all hot under the collar. The fact most of the heroes are billionaires helps.” She laughed. “But I only like them if they’re total cinnamon rolls.” For a moment, there was a sad look in her eye that I couldn’t quite place. “No bad boys for me.”

“Tell me about it,” I replied. “Trouble is, in real life, cinnamon roll guys just don’t exist. They’re all more like . . . the heels of a loaf of bread.”

“Too true,” Connie sighed.

I passed her a heavy stack of small-town billionaire novels.

“Thank you! It’s not quite ten this time, but you’ve got a customer for life now. I’m completely addicted.”

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