Unlike yesterday, Eve was gone.
20
If you have plans tonight after work, cancel them. I’m taking you on a real date.
Eve stared at the text from Josie. Then she set the phone on her desk, returning to the email she’d been composing before the interruption. For some reason, the polite but firm rejection that should have been her automatic response—that wasalwaysher response to an invitation from someone she’d already slept with—failed her. The words wouldn’t come.
Instead, she found herself mentally running through her closet, imagining what dress, what heels, what lingerie Josie might like best. Which was ludicrous. She and Josie had already had their night together. Two nights, in fact.
Since Eve left her apartment yesterday morning, she hadn’t spoken to Josie and had done a pretty damn good job at not thinking about her either. But now, with Josie’s invitation lingering at her fingertips, she wasallEve could think about.
Maybe they deserved to go on a real date and spend an entire night together. Maybe that was the reason Eve was shifting restlessly in her office chair, imagining all the things she and Josie hadn’t yet explored with each other. It was Monday, and Dragonfly was closed. This was her one chance to go out with Josie, something Josie herself had obviously already figured out. Eve picked up her phone.
Awfully presumptuous of you, she replied.
I’m very presumptuous where you’re concerned.
That should have pissed her off. Instead, it turned her on. She crossed one leg over the other, spinning in her chair to face the window.When and where?
Bohéme at 7.
See you there.
Eve put down her phone, drew in a deep breath, and got back to work. She successfully managed not to think about Josie for the rest of her workday. In fact, she didn’t let herself think about their upcoming date until she was on the subway headed home.
What would Josie wear tonight? Somehow, Eve couldn’t picture her in anything but jeans. Would her hair still be purple? Probably. It had only been a day since they’d seen each other, after all.
Eve walked into her apartment, pausing before she switched on the light to absorb the darkness, letting it sink into her pores. Sometimes, she preferred the dark so she didn’t have to see the emptiness that surrounded her. For a very long time, she hadn’t wanted anything—or anyone—in her life. She was married to her career now. Wasn’t that what people said?
She’d always had big career ambitions. Owning her own marketing business had been her dream since college. And then, barely out of grad school, she’d fallen head over heels in love, and everything had changed. She’d taken a detour, and she would have continued happily on that course if fate hadn’t intervened. But it had. Losing Lisa had nearly broken her. She could never go through anything that painful again.
She flipped on the light, exhaling slowly as she adjusted to its glare. She had about an hour before she needed to leave to meet Josie. Her back had been bothering her all day. Too much activity, and too little sleep. She did a few stretching exercises and then went into her bedroom to get the heating pad, the same one she’d used to warm up the kittens that first night. She plugged it in and stretched out flat on her bed, letting warmth seep into her body, soothing her sore spots. Eyes closed, she melted into the comforter beneath her.
Twenty minutes later, she hauled herself upright before she fell asleep and stayed there all night. While it was tempting to do just that—to back out of their date and seal herself in the seclusion of her apartment—she needed this. She needed an entire night with Josie, time to fully explore the chemistry between them and get it out of her system.
Heat rolled over her skin as she thought of the night ahead.Yes.God, she needed it.
She went into the closet, pushing past the selection of dresses she wore to the office to the “night out” dresses she wore far less often. Even these were usually worn to client dinners and business events. In fact, it had been years since she’d gone on a real date, even longer since she’d felt anything like the anticipation humming through her veins as she pulled a slinky, plum-colored dress off its hanger and carried it to the bed.
She dressed, brushed out her hair, freshened her makeup, and added a dab of perfume behind her ears. In deference to her back, she put on strappy black flats. And then, deciding she didn’t have patience for the subway right now, she called an Uber. Fifteen minutes later, she arrived at the restaurant.
Josie stood just inside the entrance, wearing a snug black top with a shiny silver-and-purple pattern woven into the fabric and black pants that highlighted her curves. It was perfectly Josie’s style and also really,reallyhot.
She looked up, breaking into one of those grins that brought out the dimples in her cheeks, stepping forward to lace her fingers through Eve’s as she drew her in for a quick kiss. “You look hot,” she whispered.
“Funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
“You have the best clothes. Seriously.” Josie looked her up and down, gold flecks in her eyes dancing beneath the restaurant’s lighting.
“It’s important to look the part for my job,” she said, then smiled. “And also, I like shopping.”
“And you’re obviously good at it.” Josie gave her another kiss. “Ready?”
Eve nodded, not objecting when Josie kept her fingers threaded with Eve’s as they walked to the hostess desk. They were seated at a small table along the wall. Eve pushed the drink menu in Josie’s direction. “This is your area of expertise.”
“What are you in the mood for tonight? Wine? Cocktails?” Josie picked it up, scanning the list.
“Wine sounds good.”
