Eccentric with a capital E.
“A sexy name for a hot as sin man.” Why not throw her a cookie? Even in her acts of protectiveness, she’d tried very hard to fix me up with the right man. Too bad her tastes were just as eccentric as her quirky personality and taste in clothing.
“No way. It’s no fair when idiots are given the handsome gene.”
“Oh, stop,” I tossed out. “He did everything he could to make up for what happened. He paid for the veterinary bill.”
“Which he should have. Duh.”
“He took me to their office in his muscle car. At my insistence.”
“Good for you.” She was drumming her fingers on the table.
“He even brought me coffee the next morning, sitting with me on the floor until Indiana was released. Then he took us home since I didn’t have a car. Well, I don’t know if he brought me coffee, but he didn’t mind when I stole it from him.”
The way her eyes were narrowing again was a clear indication I’d said just enough to spark her overactive imagination. “Okay. What in the hell did he want, divine forgiveness?”
“Maybe. I was a little hard on him.” And boy, was he hard with me. I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling. The last thing I wanted to do was to have her continue picking. While I could lie with the best of them, she always knew when I was fibbing about any details.
One. Just one. She had a radar that was undeniable.
Likely a product of what she did in her real job. Not that I hadn’t appreciated her playing barista after she’d received her certification as a paralegal, her promotion immediatelyfollowing. However, she’d used me as a sounding board, even terrifying me with details of horrific cases she’d worked on.
Not what I’d needed, but she was entertaining.
“Get this,” I said, trying to act as if it was no big deal. “I received a delivery this morning.”
“Flowers for forgiveness?”
“No,” I chastised. “A box of dog toys. Can you believe that? He easily spent a couple hundred bucks. You should have seen Indiana’s reaction. Just adorable.”
“Did he send a card?”
“Well, no, but I knew who they were from.”
“A return address?”
“Why are you grilling me? Yes, the incident was horrible, but he redeemed himself.” A trickle of white-hot heat ripped through me like a bolt of lightning.
“Wow. Just wow.” After studying me with dissection in mind, she sat back in her chair. “Oh. My. God. You fucked him.”
Another mouthful of wine spewed from my mouth like a volcano. This time hitting the bullseye.
While I groaned, she laughed while grabbing her cocktail napkin. “You did.”
“I know the music is loud, but try and keep your voice down. Please?”
“Honey, I don’t think anyone in this town is the least bit concerned about your sex life. This is the most sinful city on Earth.”
“I thought that was Las Vegas.”
“You know what I mean. Anything goes here. And I do mean anything.” She fanned her face in yet another dramatic representation of her personality. “I am concerned about you. That’s not typical behavior for you.”
“Said from personal experience?” I avoided being hit by the balled-up wet napkin. “And you’re right, it’s not typical, but I’m soon to be twenty-nine years old and all I do is work. Which I love, but still.”
She shook her head. “I get it. I do. All kidding and horniness aside, did you grill this man before you did the hokey pokey?”
“Hokey pokey? How the hell old are you and how was I supposed to grill this man?”
