Page 42 of Wine and Research
“Who’s up for brunch at my place?” Faith asked as they walked toward the parking lot, after their class ended.
“Sounds amazing,” Elle said, and her stomach rumbled in confirmation. Too bad she had a deadline. Torn between want and need, she sighed. “But I have to write.”
She’d never had this problem in the past.
That’s because you never allowed yourself to have friends before, her mind interjected.
When she’d needed to write, she wrote. There was never anywhere else she had to be or wanted to be, until now.
“Can you put it off for two hours? I mean, you have to eat, right?” Jenna asked.
True.
All she’d eaten was a banana on the way to yoga. Once again, her stomach growled in confirmation.
She lifted a shoulder. “I suppose I can for two hours.”
It still gave her the rest of the day to get her words in.
“Perfect,” Faith smiled as they reached their cars. “I’ll get the mimosas ready.”
Elle wrinkled her nose. “As much as I’d love one or two, I’m going to pass and stick to one of Jill’s large mochas.”
“I’ll grab it for you when I stop there for some of her delicious chocolate croissants and cinnamon buns,” Jenna offered.
“Thanks,” she told Jenna. “Caffeine and chocolate are a must when facing down a day of writing.”
Faith snickered. “Makes sense to me. They’re good for a lot of things.”
Jenna laughed as they all unlocked their vehicles.
“I’m also in dire need of protein, so I’ll stop at Gabe’s for one of his breakfast sandwiches. Anyone else want one?” she asked, and when both women nodded, she got in her car.
A half hour later, Elle parked in Faith’s driveway. The woman lived in a cute Victorian with a wraparound porch on one side. It was located on the street behind Main Street and apparently right next door to Scott’s grandmother, who owned a slightly bigger Victorian, which was yellow with white trim and a wraparound porch on both sides.
Elle had been to Faith’s a few times for game nights and to binge watch a romantic time-travel series on TV. Painted a light purple with cream trim and eggplant accents, the house was stunning and vibrant like it’s owner.
Both Victorians were gorgeous, warm, and inviting, and Elle had no trouble imagining the stories the properties could tell.
Gripping the bag with their delicious-smelling eggs and bacon sandwiches on English muffins, she knocked on Faith’s door.
Jenna answered, face a little flushed. “Just in time. Come on,” she said, ushering her into the entryway. “We’re eating outside on the patio.”
Elle hid her surprise as she followed her friend through the house to the back door. They’d never eaten outside before.
But as soon as she stepped out, the reason for the new location became clear.
Faith’s yard butted up against the back of the fire station, separated by a small chainlink fence. On the other side, a vigorous game of basketball was being played between six hot, muscular men on the half court set up behind the building.
Scott and two firefighters, Nico and Noah, were shirtless. The latter was the husband of the cat café owner, Layla. Which left the other three men with shirts on. Elle assumed they were policemen, since Jeremy was one of them.
Awareness shot to her toes then back up her body so fast, her knees wobbled.
The handsome guy didn’t need to be shirtless for her to remember his amazing muscles and ridges, since she’d touched, kissed, and licked every magnificent inch of them.
“Oh, wow,” she mumbled, dropping down into the vacant chair on Faith’s left while Jenna sat on Faith’s right, leaving all the chairs on the other side of the table empty.
Couldn’t view the…actionfrom there.
