“That doesn’t sound like fun.”
“Marriage is hard.”
“You’re not selling me on the dream, Alyssa. No orgasms. Grumpy hubby. Sounds fabulous.”
“Don’t listen to me. Everything is great otherwise. I mean, there’re worse things than your man trying to pleasure you every second of the day. Now, that’s enough about me. Let’s get back to Wylder. Are you going to see him again?”
“Sunday afternoon.”
She looks at me funny. “An afternoon date?”
“It’s not a date. He’s taking his daughters downtown for a day of shopping, and he invited me along.”
“Ooh,” she sings, “That’s technically a date—and a pretty big deal that he wants you around his kids.”
“It’s not like I haven’t met them before, and the man is clueless about shopping.”
“Most men are,” she reminds me, even though I don’t need it. “At least straight ones.”
“His wardrobe didn’t scream fashionista yesterday.”
She waves me off as she swallows down the last of her wine. “It was screaming something else, and all of it involves a good time.”
“Please tell me I’m fucking up and not to get ahead of myself,” I beg her, knowing I’m going to be let down again. But this time is worse because there’re kids involved. Things could get complicated in a hurry.
“Maybe you two could be friends.”
“I can’t be friends with a man who makes my toes curl in my boots when he kisses me.”
She taps the side of her wineglass and tilts her head. “That good of a kisser, huh?”
I nod and drop my head into my hands. “This is bad, Alyssa. Really bad.”
“Stop with the doom and gloom. A hot dad isn’t the worst type of guy to date.”
I peer up at her as my stomach twists at the thought of all the ways this could go wrong. “It makes things a hell of a lot more complicated, though.”
“The mom could be a problem.”
“She’s washed her hands of them and moved out of state with her new guy.”
Alyssa’s mouth falls open in horror. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“What kind of trash human does that?”
“Her, obviously.”
“Those poor girls.”
“I know,” I whisper, hating how rejected they must feel. I’m sure they’ve gone over everything a million times, trying to figure out what they could’ve done differently to make her stay. It’s always so easy to blame ourselves for other people’s problems and mistakes.
“Well, at least you won’t have to deal with her on a daily basis.”
“She hasn’t been here to visit in a year.”
Alyssa shakes her head, making a guttural noise in the back of her throat. “If she were here, I’d punch the bitch.”
