Page 6 of Hot For You

“So he’s a real ladies’ man?” Carilyn asked, a little disappointed.

“Not in the go-out-with-anything-in-a-skirt sense.” Leigh gave an amused smile. “Just that women want him without him even trying.”

Carilyn’s sense of disappointment vanished. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“He’s a great guy.” Leigh smiled. “And I seriously think he’s got the hots for you.”

“Yeah, right.” Carilyn rolled her eyes. “Even if he did, I’m only going to be here a month.” She moved her attention to the living room. “Your home is gorgeous, Leigh.”

“You might be inclined to stay,” Leigh said with a laugh, ignoring Carilyn’s attempt to change the subject.

“Not happening.” Although she was single now that Sam had left her to join the Peace Corps, and her mother and stepfather had retired in Florida… There wasn’t much tying Carilyn to Kansas anymore.

Leigh put her hand on Carilyn’s arm. “How’s everything with your anxiety?” Leigh asked quietly. “This car fire didn’t trigger anything, did it?”

“No.” Carilyn shook her head. “I’ve made a lot of progress and I haven’t had a panic attack in well over a year now.”

“Good.” Leigh gave Carilyn a quick hug. “It’s so great to see you.”

“I’m happy to be here,” Carilyn said with a smile. She turned and stepped from the rug in front of the door onto the tiled floor. “I love how you’ve decorated.”

“It’s taken a lot of remodeling to get it the way I want it.” Leigh’s blonde hair swung about her shoulders as she turned and headed toward an archway. “Come on and I’ll show you the place and then we’ll sit down and you can tell me what happened to your car.”

Leigh had beautiful antique furniture in every room. She always wanted Carilyn to go antiquing with her, wherever they traveled.

As they walked through the living room, Carilyn spotted a photograph of herself, Leigh, and their friend Misha from their sorority days. Carilyn laughed. “I have this same photo, framed and in my bedroom.”

With a smile, Leigh said, “It’s my favorite of the three of us.”

After Leigh had given the tour of the house, she led Carilyn to the kitchen. Leigh had a thing for roosters and chickens in her kitchen décor.

“Coffee?” Leigh turned on her Keurig. “I’m dying for a cup.”

“I’d love some.” Carilyn held back a yawn that suddenly came on. “I could use a little stimulation. It was a long drive out here.”

Leigh offered Carilyn a choice of flavored coffee and used the individual serving cups to make Carilyn a cup of Belgium chocolate and butter toffee for herself.

“I bought ice cream.” Leigh set the cups of coffee on the table before heading for the freezer.

“Chocolate?” Carilyn asked hopefully.

“Do you even have to ask?” Leigh took a carton of dark chocolate ice cream from the freezer and grabbed an ice cream scoop out of a drawer. She told Carilyn where to find the dessert bowls and spoons.

Carilyn set the dishes and silverware on the kitchen table then took a seat. Still standing, Leigh put two big scoops of ice cream into each of their bowls.

When she’d seated herself, Leigh grabbed a spoon. Carilyn took a bite and gave a blissful smile. “I needed this.”

“I’ll bet.” Leigh dug her own spoon into her chocolate ice cream. “Okay, tell me about your car.”

Carilyn sighed. “I arrived two hours early and couldn’t get hold of you so I went to a café called the Hummingbird.”

Leigh frowned as she picked up her cup of coffee. “You called?”

Carilyn nodded. “Several times.”

“My phone never rang.” She set down her coffee to dig in her pocket then pulled out a cell phone. When she looked at it she shook her head. “Damn, it’s dead. Forgot to charge it.” She set it on the table. “You could have come straight here.”

“I probably would have eventually,” Carilyn said. “I just didn’t want to drop in when you weren’t expecting me.”

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