Page 37 of Dreamboat

I bow my head. “He was there on the ship, and we recognized each other from social media.”

“You hadn’t met him before that?” she questions. “Your brother works for him.”

“Your sister-in-law works for him,” I counter. “Have you met him?”

She nods. “A couple of times. He was at Jacob’s first birthday party and when I stopped by Tilly’s house one day to bring her a bunch of goodies, he was there helping Sebastian build a fence.”

Of course he was.

Donovan is that guy that everyone depends on to help with everything.

“I can’t believe you got naked with him.” She narrows her eyes. “And it was the best sex you’ve ever had?”

“By far,” I add.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she promises.” But, you need to get more of that. Please tell me that you’re going to keep sleeping with him. One of us needs to be having sex more than once every few months.”

Nikita’s dating life has mirrored mine for years. We’ve both had lovers but none of those relationships have worked out. We’ve repeatedly laughed about the fact that all of the great men in this city are already taken by people we know.

“We can’t.” I shake my head. “With Matthew working for him, it’s messy.”

“How is that messy?” she asks with a sigh. “Your brother’s working relationship with him has nothing to do with your bedroom relationship with him.”

I smile. “It has everything to do with it.”

I glance toward the bank of windows at the front of the store that overlook the sidewalk. The regular stream of morning pedestrian traffic is picking up. In just under an hour, two of her staff will arrive to help her handle the rush of customers that fill the store every day.

“You deserve to have fun, Delia,” she stresses my name. “You can keep this uncomplicated and still have mind-blowing orgasms.”

“I can’t.”

“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” Her gaze drops to where her phone is sitting on the counter as the screen lights up. “Dammit.”

I crane my neck to try and read the text message that has popped up on the screen, but I can’t. “What’s wrong?”

“Keely is fighting a bug.” She blows out a heavy exhale. “She’s in bed sick, so it’s just me and Mary today.”

“I’m free,” I offer since I’ve taken on shifts here in the past.

Her face brightens instantly. “Are you sure? You don’t have a paper due or another course to register for?”

My love of learning has become a source of constant teasing from her. I know that at its foundation it’s based in admiration since Nikita has told me she’s proud of how I’ve never ventured off the path I’m on to find a career that works for me.

Although I haven’t told her, or anyone else for that matter, that I’ve reached a crossroads on that path. I need to make a decision about my future soon.

“It’s summer break,” I remind her. “Do you have an extra T-shirt in the back for me?”

She tugs on the bottom hem of the black T-shirt she’s wearing. It’s branded in front with the Wolf Candy logo she designed. “You’ll find a bunch in my office. By the way, I love those jeans you’re wearing.”

I glance down at the faded ripped jeans I put on before I left home this morning. I didn’t put any thought into my outfit choice. That’s evident in the fact that I’m wearing a white sleeveless blouse with a tiny coffee stain on it and a pair of red sneakers I found in the back of my closet.

“These are your jeans,” I point out.

“I know.” She laughs. “You borrowed them months ago, but I haven’t said anything because…”

“Because the jeans you’re wearing right now are mine,” I finish her sentence.

She nods. “What the hell would we do for clothes if we weren’t the same size?”

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