Page 33 of Christmas in Coconut Creek

“I’m old enough I shouldn’t care, but it’s still a reminder I’m no one’s center of the world anymore. Not like a kid is supposed to be for their parents.” I frowned. “I guess a phone works both ways, huh?”

Frankie worried his bottom lip with his teeth for a second as we walked. “I’ll text you then,” he decided. “I’ll text you every day. You should have my number.”

“Oh, should I?” I laughed. “I don’t know how many more unsolicited dick pics I can handle.”

“How many do you get?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“So…zero. Smooth way to admit you’d want mine though.”

“I don’t.”

“Phone, please.”

Hesitating briefly, I gave in and handed it over to him. The dim blue light illuminated his mischievous grin as he tapped away eagerly before handing it back.

I looked down at the screen. There was a text to my new contact labeledFrankie <3.

God damn, you know your way around a woman.

“Perfect.” I snorted sarcastically. “And I was worried about a dick pic.”

“Just keeping it for my records.”

“Are you this forward with all the women you date?”

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lip. “I haven’tdatedanyone in ten years. I was with my ex for seven of them.”

Ten years.He’d been out of the game longer than I’d been in it. Curiosity flagged me. His ex was with him through his years in the military, then. Mateodefinitelyknew her.

“That’s a long time,” I commented.

Frankie adjusted his hat on his head. “It was. And to answer your question with another question, are the guys you datenotthis forward with you?”

Obviously whatever had happened with his ex-girlfriend wasn’t a topic Frankie loved revisiting. He was a confident exterior, but every now and again the cracks did show.

I shook my head. “I can hardly tell if the men I date actually even like me.”

“You’re making my stomach hurt, Ophelia,” Frankie groaned. “I’m all about a woman exploring her sexuality, but please,God, please tell me you don’t sleep with these fucking idiots.”

“Notallof them,” I admitted, wincing.

“What am I doing wrong?” Frankie joked. Then, more seriously said, “That makes me crazy. Hearing you’re not getting what you deserve.”

I was thankful for the veil of night at that moment. If I could, I would have made like a sand crab and buried myself in the ground to hide. Instead I stared down at my feet, wondering how I was going to keep my own promises. With Frankie, nothing felt disingenuous. He always said exactly what he was thinking and that made him all the more attractive.

“I guess you’re forgiven,” I mumbled.

He stopped in his tracks. “What was that?”

“Never mind,” I decided, continuing a few steps until I felt the familiar hold of his fingers around my bicep.

“Notnever mind.” Frankie blinked down at me with a sweet grin. “Say it again.”

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“It’s important to me.”

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