Page 37 of Single Mom's Guide to Love

“Oh! So this was alone time?”

I shoot a look at Ainsley as Quinn and Stella let out deserved snickers. “Ainsley Mae! I expect that kind of comment from Quinn. Not from my good sister.”

She just shrugs as she reaches for her water. “Am I wrong?”

“You’re not,” I say in a sigh. “He’s…”

I trail off as I sit across from my sisters in my favorite chair. How do I tell this story? Do I just tell them about the trip? Do I admit that I had a one-night stand? Do I tell them that he was the mystery client? I mean, at some point I’m sure all of this will come out, but am I ready for it to come out in a large heaping of word vomit?

“Oh! Oh my God!” Stella shrieks, making both Quinn and Ainsley jump. “He’s the guy! The red cheeks! The trip! Oh my God, Maeve had sex!”

My two other sisters turn to Stella then back to me with looks that are filled with confusion, shock, and maybe a little hopefulness.

I guess that’s what I get when I’ve been five years man free.

“Yes,” I say. “But it’s a lot more than that.”

“Then what are you waiting for!” Quinn says, fixing herself on the couch like she’s ready to listen to a fireside story. “All the details. And don’t you dare leave a fucking thing out.”

“It’s a lot more than you think,” I admit.

“Great, we’ll order a pizza,” Stella says. “Now quit stalling. Spill.”

I take a breath and start at the beginning. This story is so convoluted, and now has so many moving parts, it feels like the best place.

I tell them about the airport bar, our flights getting canceled, and how I for some reason agreed to go to the hotel with him. How I knew it probably wasn’t my best decision, but I was going to need a room, so I might as well head over. And if another drink happened, then so be it. And that one thing led to another…

“You knew what you were doing,” Quinn says. “You wanted to fuck him.”

I shake my head, even though I don’t know if I believe me on this one. “He was attractive. Yes, but you know me. I wasn’t about to just spread my legs just because I thought he was hot.”

“Your self-control is both amazing and frustrating,” Quinn says.

“And apparently non-existent,” I say. “It took only a few martinis, some good conversation, and a hot British guy to make me lose it.”

The three let out a gasp.

“You didn’t tell us he was British!” Ainsley exclaims.

“Oh, I didn’t?” I actually didn’t mean to leave that part out. But then I realize that I left out another big detail. Might as well drop it now. “This would probably be a good time for me to tell everyone that his name is Logan Matthews.”

It takes two seconds for my sisters to register the name I just dropped.

“Shut the fucking front door!” Stella yells. “You’re telling me the man who ended my sister’s dry spell is one of the hottest billionaires in the fucking world!”

“Wait!” Quinn yells, taking a little longer to figure it out. “Isn’t that the video game tycoon who dates all those models?”

“It is,” Ainsley says. “And if I’m remembering correctly, he’s Stella’s age.”

Open mouths and wide eyes turn to me. And yup, here come the red cheeks again.

“Cougar!” Quinn crows, pointing at me.

“He’s notthatyoung,” I defend. Though I did feel like it when I found out. “It doesn’t matter. Because it was a one-night thing. And it was great. Memorable even. But then I left in the middle of the night and went to the airport to avoid the awkward talk in the morning.”

“I bet it was memorable,” Quinn adds with an eyebrow wag.

“I can’t believe you slept with Logan Matthews,” Stella says. “This might be the best thing to ever happen to one of us.”

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