Page 31 of Smooth Sailing

“Hugger,” she called.

He stopped and turned to her.

“I’m starting dinner,” she stated. “We eat in an hour.”

Was she serious?

“If I’m not here, eat without me,” he said.

“And how’s Suzette going to get to know you if you’re not at dinner?” she asked.

Fucking hell.

“Like Eight said, I’ll be about an hour.”

“It’s rush hour now. That gets hectic in Phoenix.”

“Then make something that keeps warm, woman, ’cause I don’t have control of traffic.”

“Fine,” she snapped.

“Great,” he said. “Can I go now?”

She shrugged. “Sure.”

Christ, he wanted to bang her.

Shit.

He scowled at Eight, who grinned in return.

Then he got the fuck out of there.

4

LIKE THESE GUYS

Diana

“Oh my God, Diana, how could a completely untenable situation get more untenable?” Nicole demanded to know in my ear.

Yes, Nicole had once been my father’s PA.

Yes, Nicole had been the only one of them who’d achieved the aim of earning a ring and a trip down the aisle to exchange vows with a man who had no intention of keeping them.

Yes, Nicole had been Dad’s PA when Dad was still married to Mom.

Yes, in the beginning, this was a big issue for me.

And last, yes, Nicole had won me over along the way, because she was just that awesome.

Part of that awesome was owning her shit, learning life’s lessons when they slapped you across the face, sharing that knowledge and being there for me even, I hated to admit it, in the important times my mother wasn’t.

Like when I started my period, when I went on my first date, when I needed the perfect prom dress, and when my first boyfriend broke my heart.

FYI: all of that happened after Dad scraped her off.

Including, obviously, when she was there for me after I was sexually assaulted on a study date.

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