Page 59 of Caught in the Axe
I blushed again. Dammit. I should be used to their teasing by now. “We’re meeting with new lawyers and a land use consultant, and then there’s some big event he’s got to be back for. I’ll have some time to spend in the city while he’s busy with that.”
“Ooh,” Magnolia said. “You should visit U Boston. The campus is gorgeous. This will give you a chance to at least take a tour before you turn them down.”
“No,” Willa protested with a huff. “She’s going to NYU, and we’re all going to live together in New York.”
Magnolia waggled her eyebrows. “What if she wants to be in Boston? With a certain hot, older guy who loves her sexy brain.”
“I don’t.” I rushed to object to keep Willa from blowing a gasket. Our New York plans had helped her through her grueling residency. I could never disappoint her like that. “I may walk around and take a look. But I’m not moving to Boston, especially for a guy. I’ve been down that road, remember? I know better now.”
That reined Mags in. She and Willa both murmured in agreement and sipped on their drinks. They wholeheartedly agreed with my logic on this front. I’d never, ever derail my plans for a man again.
Even as I repeated that promise to myself, my brain, my stupid, weak, terminally horny brain, started to wander.Maybe Icouldgo to school in Boston. And if I did, maybe I could date Owen…
No. Bad. I needed to stay focused.
“You should seduce him on this trip.” Willa was cracking her second Diet Coke. “Get it out of your system. Bang him and then move to New York and live your life. That way, you don’t have to wonder any longer.”
“Are you staying at a hotel? Fancy hotels are so sexy.”
“No. He has a guest room. He offered to put me up at a hotel, but I’m fine staying at his condo. I looked it up on Zillow. It’s like two thousand square feet.”
Magnolia’s drink had disappeared, and she was rubbing her hands together, once again looking like a movie villain. “I’m with the good Doc. Jump his bones. First, you’ll get all hot and bothered talking about accounting…”
“Yes.” Willa laughed. “Maybe create some pivot tables in Excel. That’s when your panties will incinerate.”
“Then he’ll eat you out while you talk about cost analyses.”
“Stop,” I said, putting my hands up. “I give up. You two are lunatics.”
Willa’s answering smile was big and genuine. “We just want what’s best for you, sweets.”
“And what’s best is multiple orgasms,” Magnolia said, her expression nowhere near as innocent as Willa’s.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. God, my friends were nuts.
Or were they?
Boston was nothing like Lovewell. We’d be away from the gossip and the drama and all our baggage for a few days.
And that kiss, it had been something. The start of something.
Would it be so bad to do a tiny bit of follow-up?
I shut the thought down before I went too far down that road. Owen was a colleague and a friend. Sexy make-out session notwithstanding, it was important to keep things between us professional.
I’d have to find some way to deal with this crush that didn’t involve mauling him like a horny feral tiger.
Chapter 20
Lila
Owen’s big GeneSphere meeting on Thursday meant I had some time to explore Boston on my own. I didn’t know much about the project, but based on how tense he’d been on the flight last night, it was important. Once we’d landed, we’d taken a car to his condo, where he’d given me a quick tour before disappearing into his room to work.
The sun was out in full force and the spring air was crisp and refreshing as I made my way to Back Bay, where I toured the Boston Public Library, then strolled down Newbury Street toward the Public Garden.
I took a selfie with the Make Way for Ducklings statue and sent it to my mom. It had been my favorite book as a kid, and the copy in my room was almost falling apart from so many readings.
I’d scheduled a tour of the University of Boston ahead of time, and when I arrived, the dean of the management schooleven welcomed me and chatted with me about their program and the massive nonprofit network in the city.
