Page 57 of Not Part of the Plan
The timer on his phone went off.
“What’s that for?”
“It’s my ‘check on Caleb’ to make sure he’s alive and not ingesting forty pounds of chocolate alarm.”
--------
After Jax’s, Emma convinced Eva to put down her work, and the two headed off to the Snip Shack for some pampering. She was due for a trim and let Claudette, the stylist, work her magic on her curly tresses. Next came facials and the pedis they’d both missed out on due to Fitz’s untimely arrival.
As their feet soaked in the tubs of warm, scented water and the mud on their faces hardened, Emma broached the subject. “So listen, Eva. You know how I said you could stay with me as long as you wanted?”
Eva glanced up over her reading glasses and took a sip of her diet soda. “I’m getting the feeling you’re about to give me bad news.”
“I need you to stay somewhere else tonight.”
“Why? Are you getting the place fumigated?”
“Niko’s coming over for dinner and… dessert.”
Eva straightened, nearly launching the magazine she was reading into the foot water. “Are you serious? Oh, my God! This is the most incredible news! What are you going to wear? What are you going to cook? How are you going to do your hair?”
“So you’re not mad that I’m kicking you out?”
“Ems, I’d go sleep in the forest in the middle of winter if I thought it meant you were happily getting laid by that gorgeous, smoldering piece of hotness.”
“He’s not just eye candy,” Emma said, disapprovingly. “He’s pretty great on the inside, too.”
“That’s quite the change from ‘I know his type. He’s just another womanizing bad boy.’” Eva said, mimicking Emma’s previous stance on Nikolai Vulkov. “Not that I’m complaining that you changed your mind,” she corrected quickly.
“Could have fooled me.”
“I just mean that after you meet him, anyone can see that Niko’s not your standard wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am guy. Sure, he’s super intense, but there’s this genuine interest in there like even if he doesn’t want to sleep with you, he’d still like to know you as a person. Even though he totally wants to sleep with you.”
Emma stared blandly at her sister. “What goes on in your head?”
Eva grinned. “Trust me, Ems, you don’t want to know. Let’s get back to what you’re going to wear.”
--------
By six forty-five, Emma was dressed in a simple yet sexy dress in a fresh, springy green. Its sweetheart neckline was cut low enough to be very interesting while the slim-fitting skirt stopped an appropriate three inches above her knees. Her hair, expertly styled by Claudette, hung in glossy ringlets that begged for a man’s hands. She’d gone for a little bit of drama with smoky eyes and a sexy gloss on her lips.
The meal she’d kept relatively simple with stuffed mushrooms for the appetizer followed by Florentine style cuts of porterhouse and a light prosciutto and pine nut salad. Dessert, if they got that far into the courses, was a decadent tiramisu that she’d picked up from her father’s restaurant.
A bottle of cabernet was breathing on the table, and there was a box of condoms tucked into her nightstand.
They would enjoy wine and appetizers in the kitchen before moving to the table for the meal. Conversation between them had never been a problem before, so Emma wasn’t anticipating any awkward moments there.
She was ready. At least, she should be, given all her preparations. Her legs were shaved, and her sheets were fresh. The brewery staff was under strict instructions to only bother Jax or Carter with any emergencies tonight. Eva was ensconced in their father’s house with Mr. Snuffles while Franklin and Phoebe jetted off on their surprise Bahamas honeymoon, a gift from their kids.
Everything was perfect.
She pressed a hand to her belly where a squadron of butterflies dive-bombed into each other. Was she crazy? Was she literally insane for thinking that she could enjoy a couple of nights of “no strings attached” sex with Niko before they both went on with their separate lives?
Emma plopped down on the couch and closed her eyes, determined to calm her racing heart with one of Gia’s breathing exercises.It was just sex, she reminded herself. Divine, possibly mind-altering sex, if that kiss last night was any indication. But still. Sex was sex. There was nothing to be nervous about. A careful seduction that would lead to a mutually satisfying evening with a man she enjoyed spending time with. She should be glad Niko mattered to her. It should make intimacy with him easier. In the past, she’d often found it difficult to completely open up to men, always holding a few pieces of herself back. It was safer that way.
But Nikolai wasn’t one to settle for part of anything. Though they had no future together, she imagined his demands on her in the present would be total.
Stop thinking, she ordered herself. Focusing on alternate nostril breathing, Emma forced herself to think only of her breath.
