Page 77 of Digging Up Love
Alisha:
You’re making me blush, Dr.Harris.
Another picture popped up: Quentin biting down on the earpiece of his frames. His teeth shone bright white, and ... oh Lordy, his shirt was gone. Gosh, those round, muscular shoulders, and abs for days ... she bit her lip against the impulse to run her hands down the smooth expanse of muscle.
Alisha:
Quentin Cecilio Harris, I didn’t know you had it in you.
Quentin:
Alisha, there’s a lot about me you’d be interested to learn.
A phone inched across the table, propelled by Simone’s finger:Get a room.
Caught out, Alisha put the phone in her lap, and her little sister shook her head. “Seriously? I’mright here. Can’t you keep it in your pants for the next few hours?”
“Sorry, sis.” She put the phone back into her purse.
Simone tucked her chin back, and her eyebrows shot up. “Wow, that was surprisingly easy.”
“Yeah, well, I only get to see my baby sister once in a while.” Alisha pulled the container of jelly packets over and started rearranging them by color. “I don’t wanna be ‘that girl.’”
“Alisha, you could never be ‘that girl.’ Honestly, I’m thrilled for you. I was beginning to worry.” Simone inspected her flawless manicure, and Alisha resisted the urge to sit on her own hands to hide her raggedy cuticles. “Meg hasn’t been doing her job.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I counted on her to be my inside man. I was about to cut ties with that giantess if her performance kept plummeting.” Simone delivered this perplexing news while leaning sideways halfway out of the booth, her eyes on a group of men seated near the front window. Talk about thirsty.
The waitress reappeared and cleared her throat, sending Simone upright in a rush. She set down two frothy lattes, and Alisha detected notes of hazelnut.Mmm.“When did you order these?”
“While you were drooling over your phone.” Simone tore open a packet of Splenda and tapped it into her mug.
Alisha blew on the foam and took a tentative sip. “What’s this about Meg? Who, by the way, is only like a half inch taller than you.”
Stirring her latte with a bent wrist, Simone tapped the spoon and wiped it dry on a napkin. Ugh, so dainty. “You haven’t noticed Meg steadily ramping up her efforts to fix you up?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. That was you?” Alisha slurped down another mouthful of espresso.
She nodded. “Yup. But clearly she sucks at it. Wish I was closer so I could take the reins myself.”
“Take the reins ofmylife?”
“Since you’ve had your foot on the brakes for ... I dunno,ten years? Yeah.” Alisha winced at the accuracy of her sister’s assessment. “Who knows what would’ve happened if this prehistoric creature hadn’t dumped the perfect guy in your lap.”
Why did everyone think she was incapable of finding a man? She’d made achoiceto stay single. A reasonable, well-thought-out, not-at-all-cowardly choice. But Simone rattled on.
“Jokes aside, you deserve a man in your life, Al, even if it’s only for the summer. I may have just found out about him, and I’ll reserve full judgment until I meet him, but I know you.” Simone took a sip and let her head loll back in pleasure, then put her mug down. “You guard your heart so hard I’m surprised it hasn’t turned to coal. But instead it sounds like you found a guy who sees you for the diamond you are. And whether you realize it or not, you’re worth it. You deserve happiness, on your own terms.”
Alisha sat back, mouth agape. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Because you’ve never been able to take a compliment, you ogre.” But Simone smiled. “You’re the best person I know, sis. And sooner or later, someone else was going to find out.”
The best person she knew?What would Simone think when she found out the truth? Would it break her heart to know her sister had been lying all these years? Or would she see Alisha’s intentions were pure?
Their food arrived, and talk turned to Simone’s new coworker, who’d invited her out for mani-pedis and smuggled in a flask of bourbon to the high-end salon.
At the end of the meal, Alisha covered the check to assuage her conscience, and they walked out into the midday glare. Simone offered to drive her to the museum, but no way. Not until she’d prepared herself for the fallout of her sister getting a chance to see them together and draw conclusions.
