Page 80 of Perfect Pairing
Or she was ignoring it.
Probably the latter.
“So what’s going on, Bee?”
“I hooked up with Ezra.”
My sisters made various sounds of annoyance, and Chloe went so far as to chuck a pillow at my head.
“We know that, you goof.”
“No…I mean, more than once.”
The room stilled, going so quiet, I could’ve heard a pin drop before the four of them erupted.
Delia: “What the fuck?”
Amara: “You little minx.”
Chloe: “I need all the tea. Maybe I’ll put this in my next book.”
Ella: “How many times is more than once?”
“Chill out!” I shouted above the din, and they all went silent. I looked at Ella. “To answer your question, more than once means exactly twice. Although…we had phone sex pretty regularly for like four months.”
“What the fuck?” Delia exclaimed again, and I chuckled.
I walked them through everything. How I’d called him that first time in a panic over what to cook for my dinner party. How I returned the favor the following month by helping him bake for Hansen’s preschool. How those two innocent calls had morphed into constant texts that had become nightly calls that eventuallyculminated in seeking our pleasure together through FaceTime.
I’d shared so much with him, and I truly had been mourning the loss of that friendship, perhaps more than anything else, all these years.
“But that summer when I moved home? Right before I opened the bakery?” They all nodded in understanding. “I invited him down there to sample my menu items. I…trust his opinion when it comes to that stuff more than anyone, even if he isn’t a pastry chef, and I wanted honest feedback. One thing led to another, and…”
“And you fucked,” Amara said bluntly.
“Yes,” I replied, willing my blush away. There wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about, not with my sisters, but I’d never been good at talking about this stuff, mainly because I didn’t have as much experience to draw on as Amara and Delia, nor had I ever been in long-term committed relationships like Chloe and Ella. “We had sex, and it was honestly the best night of my life.”
“How big is his cock?” Delia asked.
“DELIA!” I shrieked.
My older sister tipped her head back and laughed. “God, don’t be such a prude.” She smirked and added, “I bet he’s huge, though. He gives Big Dick Energy.”
I shook my head, unable to stifle my laughter at my sister’s ridiculousness.
“So why are you telling us now?” Chloe asked.
“Because…I mean, we’re not together, so I think it’s obvious that things didnotpan out the way I’d hoped. I was really hurt, but I understood why he did what he did. He has Hansen to worry about, first and foremost. Plus, Daddy was running thingsat the winery at the time. You know his rule about staying away from us.”
“The rule you and Brad are responsible for,” Delia quipped.
“Which is why Amara and Cal didn’t get together until after he’d signed the company over,” Ella reminded us.
We all nodded in agreement, even Amara.
“Precisely. And unlike Amara, I don’t even work for the company. The bakery may be a company asset,” I said, holding up a hand to stop Amara before she could offer up that little argument, “but I pay all the bills myself and operate outside of the winery grounds. It’s not the same.”
“So you want to give things another shot?” Delia asked.
