“Now that’s what the fuck I’m talkin’ about!” Ridley said, snapping her fingers.
“He’s learned a lot over the years, because the four orgasms he gave me last night were so much better.”
“In one night! Oh, bitch, stop playing around and marry this man,” Ridley said.
“Can I be single for a few months first?” Evie asked. “It’s been a while.”
“Being single isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Ridley said before tipping her head back and emptying her glass in a single gulp.
Evie looked over at Ashanti, who cocked a brow in unspoken agreement.
“Uh, Rid, I know it’s your birthday, and I want to respect that, but don’t you think it’s time you did a little sharing too?” Evie asked.
“I overshare. Isn’t that what you two always tell me?”
“Youusedto,” Ashanti said. “But that all changed around the time Thad and Von held the soft opening for The PX. What happened, Rid?”
Ridley’s face immediately clouded. She refilled her champagne flute and dropped three raspberries in it. She shrugged and, with obviously forced nonchalance, said, “What makes you think something happened?”
“We’re not stupid, Ridley,” Ashanti said. “I know you slept with Von.”
She set the flute down with a thump. “Did he tell you that?”
“He didn’t have to! It was obvious the two of you were into each other from the moment I introduced you, but then you jetted off to London within days of meeting him and Von spent the next two months asking about you every single time I came around. Did he do something to you?”
“No,” Ridley said. “Of course not. He just…” She shook her head and let out a deep breath. “I don’t know. He scares me, okay?”
“Was he violent?” Ashanti screeched. “Because if he was, Thad will kick his ass!Iwill kick his ass!
“Not that type of scary,” Ridley deadpanned. She pitched her head back and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why are we talking about this?”
“Because you aren’t acting like yourself.That’swhat’s scary,” Evie said.
“Fine!” Ridley said. “Fine. Look, you both know me when it comes to men. I’m in their beds for a good time, not a long time. But with Von…” Ridley chewed on her bottom lip, then admitted, “I didn’t want to leave his bed.”
Evie’s eyes shot to Ashanti’s. They both stared at each other, mouths agape.
“Months later and it still feels like a fairy tale,” Ridley continued. “We spent two of the most amazing days and nights in bed together. He was so sweet, and so gentle, and so unlike any man I’ve ever been with.”
Evie slapped her palm to her chest. The soft, vulnerable woman sitting across from her on the sofa didn’t even sound like Ridley.
“So why did you leave?” Evie asked.
“Because it scared the living shit out of me,” Ridley said. She held up her hands. “First, let’s get one thing straight. I did not go to London solely to avoid Von. My career comes first. Always. That special project in London was an opportunity to show my bosses that I’m better at this job than every other executive at my level. The opportunity just so happened to drop into my lap exactly when I needed to get the hell out of New Orleans.”
“So, are you done avoiding Von?” Ashanti asked.
“Probably not.” She bit into a strawberry, then waved Ashanti off with the fruit stem. “Enough about me and my sex life, which is as dry as the damn Sahara at the moment,”Ridley said. “That’s the other thing. I spent the last few months surrounded by fine European men and felt nothing. I’m still mad about it.”
“And you had the nerve to call me dick-whipped?” Evie clucked her tongue.
“Whatever,” Ridley said, throwing another cashew at Evie’s head. “Back to you. What are you going to do about your new boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. Oh my God, I sound like a thirteen-year-old,” Evie said.
“Yes, you do,” Ridley said.
“But Bryson isn’t my boyfriend,” Evie said. “At least I hadn’t thought about him in that way.”
