Page 51 of Four Dates and A Forever
Whatwaswrong with more?
Right. More led to feelings which led to possibilities which led to heartache. Elsie had lived that cycle too many times to count. It had been a wash, rinse, and repeat variety of heartache and she liked to think that she’d learned her lesson.
“I’m not looking for more. I have enough on my plate without addingmore.” But an orgasm here and there wouldn’t be so bad. “I’m in the middle of a renovation.”
Carla’s sharp gaze landed on her. “Work is no excuse.”
“I just got out of a marriage.”
“You’ve been separated for more than a year,” Carla countered. “Which means you are way overdue for a some man-made woulds.”
“Then there’s the fact that my mom and friends keep setting me up on random dates and sucking up any free time I have.”
“Keith!” Carla shouted over the patrons. “Sorry, buddy, she’s potentially in a ‘benefits’kind of way.”
“Can you not announce to the entire bar my current dating status.”
“Ah, so you admit you’re dating.”
If she’d said yes to Rhett, was that what they’d be? Dating? He did say he was a date first kind of guy and the thought of a dinner with him had all those hormones shouting at her to go for it.
“Thinking about it.”
Carla studied her for a heartbeat, then grinned. “You like him.”
“No. Maybe.” Elsie plopped her elbows on the bar top and let her head hang. “I do. More than I should for a temporary, can’t-go-anywhere fling. Every time I’m around him my clothes practically melt off my body. And then there’s the way he kisses.”
Carla lifted a brow. “So you’ve kissed.”
Oh, they kissed, all right. They’d nearly blown the roof right off the car. And more.
She grimaced. There was thatmoreagain. “We kissed, then he asked me out on a date, and I panicked, then ran like a big fat chicken.”
Carla flapped her arms like a bird. “Cluck. Cluck.”
“Now, I’m avoiding him, which is harder than it sounds since we’re practically living on top of each other.”
Carla gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “It’s the new homeowner! You are totally going to boink the new owner.”
“Again, with the blasting my dating status.”
“Sorry, it’s just all so exciting. Who is he?”
Elsie went mum.
“Fine, what does he do? And please don’t tell me he’s another musician. Remember, you’re allergic to them.”
Elsie mimed zipping her lips and tossing away the key.
Carla sighed. “What’s with all the secrecy? And since when do we keep secrets from each other?”
Elsie allowed herself five seconds to think about how she’d bring up Rhett without mentioning his name. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her friend, they’ve shared everything over the years. But she felt protective of Rhett’s privacy. Also, she wanted things to stay between the two of them. The last thing Elsie needed was to agree and then have things go sideways, only to have to face all the pitying looks from her friends wanting to know all the details.
“I don’t want to say anything until I know I’m going to say yes.”
“You’re going to say yes.”
“How do you know?”
