Page 24 of Stone Rules

Jenna guffaws. “Says the old lady of twenty-eight. You know Jordan and Maddox would love a little sibling, don’t you? And as you pointed out, you’re not getting any younger.”

Baylor plucks a grape from the bowl on the bar, pelting it at Jenna. “What about you? When is Jake going to put a ring on that finger and a bun in that oven?”

Jenna tips back her glass, emptying it in three swallows. “Seems like never. We’ve always said he should get a job that doesn’t take him away so much before we get hitched. And being a batting coach for the Yankees has him on the road half the time.”

“That never stopped us,” Piper says. “If you really want it to work, it’ll work. Mason was gone a lot in the fall.” Her finger traces the rim of her glass as her cheeks start to pink up. “The Internet is amazing for long-distance relationships.”

Everyone laughs.

“TMI,” Skylar says.

“Just sayin’.” Piper shrugs. “It’s doable.”

Mindy clears her throat loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “I want to get the scoop on Jarod’s hot cousin,” she says, staring me down. “You know, the one who follows Charlie’s every move at work and eye-fucks her every chance he gets.”

Silence overtakes Skylar’s townhouse as they all stare at me, waiting for a response.

“What?” I shrug.

“What do you mean,what?”Mindy says. “The guy comes in all the time. But only when you are working I might add. He’s seriously hot and he’s obviously into you. What’s the deal?”

“There is no deal,” I tell them. “He’s working for me, actually. He’s a private investigator and he’s helping me dig up information about my mother.”

“Private investigator?” Jenna says, fanning herself. “That’s sexy.”

“What’s so sexy about being a private investigator?” I ask, as if I didn’t very well know.

“I don’t know. All those cheating husbands and lowlife criminals he must have to deal with. It’s a risky job. That’s hot. Don’t you guys think?” Her eyes sweep the room to find four heads nodding in agreement. “Anyway,” Jenna adds, “I’m just saying if I were you, I’d totally go after that.”

“He works for me, Jenna. Kind of a conflict of interest, wouldn’t you say?”

“He won’t work for you forever,” Skylar says. “How long can it take to find information about your famous mom?”

I shoot Skylar an annoyed look that Piper doesn’t miss. Piper studies me. Hard. She scratches her face and runs a finger across the curve of her brow. Then after a long silence, she shrieks, “Oh my God, Charlie!” She turns to the others, pointing a finger at me. “This girl likes to talk about sex. In fact, I’ve heard every nauseating detail of every sexual encounter she had in Europe.”

She turns her attention back to me. “I’ve never seen you so tight-lipped about a guy before. Why aren’t you sickening us with tales of your sexcapades? That can only mean one thing—you like him. I mean, youlikehim, like him. So what’s—”

“Wait a minute,” Baylor interrupts. “You’ve had sex with him? With the P.I.?”

Heads snap in my direction, eagerly awaiting my answer as I shoot Piper a traitorous stare.

“I may have hooked up with him once.”

“When?” Skylar asks.

“The day I met him.”

Mindy shrieks. “And now he comes around almost daily just so you can serve him lunch? What—is your pussy made out of crack-cocaine or something?”

Jenna spews her drink all over the counter. “Mindy, you are so crude,” she says.

Then, while the girls enter into a conversation about the animal magnetism of their vaginas, I realize that Piper may be onto something. I do like Ethan Stone. I like him a lot. But that very well may be my downfall.

Chapter Twelve

“What the fuck, Charlie?” Ethan freezes in place when he sees me.

Although it’s been a few days and my bruise has faded to something of a yellowish hue, it’s still hard to completely hide it, even under makeup and my work glasses.

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