Page 28 of Be Mine Forever

Ah, the good old days. When things were slightly less complicated. As she had expected, she hadn’t heard from nor seen Cam since her first date with Peter two weeks ago. Shaundra was coordinating everything with Cam’s agent Sebastian for now, leaving Cam to “create.”

Meredith’s “Wild Thing” ringtone made Jo grin, as usual. She answered, using Bluetooth to keep her hands free.

“Hey, Mer. What’s up?”

“I should ask you that,” Meredith said, her words slightly distorted by whatever food she’d shoved in her mouth. “You’re the one with a new boyfriend.”

“You mean Peter?” Jo paused in slicing her banana, allowing herself a small frown. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.”

“But you say he’s just a friend!” Meredith sang the Biz Markie classic before continuing in her usual deceptively light voice. “A friend who takes you to the ballet, to the opera, to concerts, fancy dinners.”

“Peter’s a great guy, but I’ve been very clear that I need to take things really slowly.”

“You might wanna tell your libido that before you Forrest Gump yourself into a size zero.”

“Excuse me?” Jo abandoned the sandwich altogether, plopping onto the leather stool and leaning her elbows on the marble island countertop.

“You think I don’t know you run like a million miles a day to keep that sex drive under control?”

Well, damn. It had taken Jo months to make the connection.

“Barking up the wrong tree, Mer. I just like to run.”

“Oh, yeah, right. And all that knitting.” Meredith smacked her lips together, clearly disgusted. “If I get one more scarf, hat, or glove from you in the middle of July, I swear!”

Jo couldn’t help but laugh, even though her cheeks heated up. So she needed hobbies to keep herself from combusting.

“Knitting is a very constructive and satisfying pastime. I will share the fruit of my labor with someone more appreciative.”

“Look, unless you are a helluva lot kinkier than I thought, a knitting needle won’t satisfy you.”

“Gross, Mer.” Even alone in the house, Jo buried her head in her folded arms on the counter to hide her face. “Just…no.”

“All I’m saying is you’re dating this strapping Viking. He’s obviously got it bad for you. He wants to screw you. You need to be screwed. Badda-bing, badda-bang.”

“No badda-banging. I like Peter a lot, but I’m not ready for that, and he knows it.”

“To me, it’s simple, sexy math. Your one plus his one equals you less horny and knitting me fewer muffs.”

There wasn’t anythingsimpleabout the situation Jo found herself in. Did she find Peter attractive, witty, considerate, intelligent? The perfect package?

Absolutely.

Could she make herself forget the brooding man who seemed determined to push her away at every turn and make her life a living hell of unrequited torture?

So far, no.

“It’s been a long day, Mer. Can I go now?”

“Oh, because you have soooo much to do tonight. Your daddy’s out of town. So you’re home alone. Unless Mrs. Quentin is there and prepared a gourmet meal for you?”

Jo glanced at the pitiful sandwich on a paper towel in front of her. Her taste buds weren’t thirteen anymore, and they weren’t impressed.

“Q is actually out of town, too.” Jo pulled the crust off her bread and glanced around the kitchen to see if there was a casserole or a loaf of something she had overlooked. “Her aunt in Arkansas died, and she’s attending the funeral.”

“Poor little rich girl home alone. Get some rest, then.”

“We running in the morning?”

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