Page 41 of Seducing Cinderella

“We can leave it here and pick it up another day. Come on. I’ll get you into a hot shower and then into bed.”

She arched a saucy eyebrow in his direction. “You didn’t get enough just now?”

Grinning he said, “I don’t think I could ever get enough of you, Lucie, but no, that’s not what I meant. I want to take you back, take care of you, and tuck you into your warm bed so I can hold you until the sun comes up.”

“Oh.” A sarcastic retort. A perverted line. An unsavory joke. Any of those things would’ve been the response she expected from him. But never something that made her insides turn to complete mush.

He locked the studio, kissed the top of her head, and tucked her into his side as they made their way back to the car.

Was it possible to physically feel the moment you lost your heart to someone? Because Lucie was fairly sure she’d just lost hers, and the spot where it should have been literally hurt.

Chapter Fifteen

“Thanks,Fritz. Run me a tab will ya?”

The man winked in response before attending the next bar patron as Lucie grabbed the large glasses of beer and carried them to the booth in the back corner of the room. Vanessa was on her cell, arguing with someone as usual.

“Absolutely not. I don’t care what they’re offering, we’re not settling. Look, I’m entering a very important meeting right now, so I’ll call you tomorrow. Uh-huh, buh-bye.” Tossing her wild curls over a shoulder she dropped her phone unceremoniously into her purse with a dramatic exhale of relief as they performed their habitual clinking of drinks and toast to their health. “So what’s up? You haven’t called an EDM since you were freaked out about finals senior year.”

True. Usually Vanessa was the one calling for an Emergency Drinks Meeting due to her latest drama, whether personal or professional. She had a flair for melodrama, which made her amazing to watch in a courtroom, but it also meant she was either riding the highs life had to offer or drowning in the inevitable lows. Lucie had always been the even keeled one. Yet another way they balanced each other out.

Lucie took another drink to bolster her courage and then voiced her problem aloud for the first time since it had wormed its way into her head. “I think I’m falling for Reid.”

Her friend let out an obnoxious whoop like she’d just won a few hundred bucks on a scratch-off she expected to be worth nothing. “I thought you said something was wrong, but this is awesome! Congratulations, honey, he is one fine male specimen. Mm-mm-mm. What’s he like in bed? I bet he’s fantastic, right? Damn! I want every last detail, including length, girth, and if it hooks to the side.”

“For the love of God, will you please lower your voice?” Lucie hissed. “I amnotgiving you any details of his anatomy.”

Cue gigantic, pleading kitty-cat eyes. “Don’t make me beg, Lucie. The men in this town aren’t even worth the effort to tear the foil wrapper off a condom, much less talk about the disappointment afterward. You have to tell me what it’s like to ride a stallion like him.”

Lucie clapped a hand over her nose and mouth until she’d successfully swallowed her beer without choking on it. “What makes you even think we had sex?”

“Now you’re insulting my intelligence.”

She snorted. “More like your freaky sixth sense.”

Vanessa shrugged. “Tomato, tomahto. C’mon, give mesomething.”

Glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping she said, “Yeah, okay. We’ve…”

“Screwed like rabbits?”

“Been intimate,” Lucie said with a quelling look. “And it was…”

“Phenomenal, out of this world, good enough to make you instantly bend over and grab your ankles every time he looks at you?”

Lucie stared with mouth open and eyes wide. “That was a little over the top, even for you, Nessie.”

“Sorry, I got carried away. Continue.”

“It was wonderful.”

Vanessa screwed up her face like she’d just swallowed stale beer. “Wonderful? You can’t come up with a better adjective thanwonderful?”

Lucie gazed at the ceiling in thought for a moment, then back at the crestfallen woman across from her. “Nope. It really was wonderful, in the true sense of the word.”

“Okay, fine, I get it. I need to wait till you’re drunk before I’ll get any of the good stuff out of you.” Lucie laughed and thanked Fritz’s daughter when she brought their next round just as they were finishing the others. “So why is it a bad thing you’re falling for Reid? I must be missing something because I don’t see any evidence to support that theory.”

“What do you mean?”

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