Page 30 of Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts

Charlie pats his hand where it rests on his knee. “I’ll explain later.”

Storm ambles over, interrupting varying degrees of awkward expressions, to take Charlie and Lauren’s order. Lauren waves him off, but Charlie gives the menu a cursory glance and says, “Something warm.”

“It’s a winery. None of it’s warm,” I chide.

Storm hooks a thumb over his shoulder. “There’s hot cocoa mix in the kitchen.”

Charlie flicks her white-blonde hair back and places a hand over her heart. “My hero.”

Storm’s responding smile is nothing short of giddy. Harrison, meanwhile, looks like he’s developed a sudden allergy to even the idea of hot chocolate. Lauren sighs and snaps her fingers, drawing everyone’s attention to where she’s now seated. “Charlie, you picked a good time to collect your order for the shop. We’re here to discuss Cora’s sexcapades with Adam.”

Now Harrison’s really looking nauseous. “No, we are not.”

“Not the sex part, anyway,” I add, shaking my head. “More the what-do-I-do-now part.”

“Ah, yes. The most thrilling detail of sleeping with a coworker.” Charlie rolls her eyes. “Logistics.”

“Do I really have to be here for this?” Harrison whines.

Lauren raises a brow at him. “Would you rather hang out with Storm?”

That shuts him up. He sinks into his chair, crosses his arms, and mutters, “I’m going to need a refill.”

“Before you bore us with your feelings on the matter, how big was he?” Charlie asks, a wicked grin pulling at her mauve-painted lips. She’s dressed for a night at work, with a paint-splotched smock over cuffed jeans all covered by her duster coat. The studio stocks Alcott Family wines at a steep discount, which certainly helps her margins. No wonder she’s my biggest donor.

Speaking of big. “Harrison, avert your eyes.” Once he does, I give Lauren and Charlie a crass measurement with my hands that will never do Adam justice, and my cheeks immediately heat as his naked body pops into my memory.

What the hell is happening to me? One night with Adam, and I’ve reverted to old teenage antics.

Lauren’s mouth forms a perfect O. Charlie lets out a high-pitch shriek and claps her mitten-covered hands together. Storm deposits her hot cocoa in front of her, and it’s nearly knocked off the table by her enthusiasm.

“But that’s not the problem.”

“Well, duh. That’s the complete opposite of a problem,” Lauren says. “That’s a fucking blessing.”

A groan sounds from my brother’s general direction. Charlie laughs maniacally.

“The problem is that I don’t know how to face him now. We had a meeting with the council today to give a preliminary report on what we learned at the conference, and he wouldn’t even look me in the eye. I can’t work like that!” I unzip my jacket and fan myself, suddenly engulfed in heat. “We’re grown-ups. He needs to start acting like one.”

Lauren crosses her legs and folds her hands on her knee, face pinched in concentration. “What did he say after you two woke up?”

“Naked,” Charlie adds. At this point, Harrison’s staring out the window at the snow-coated ground and trying his best not to hear us.

“Not much. We… we just got ready for the conference. And on the way home, we agreed it would be best if it were a one-time thing so as not to complicate our work relationship.”

“Are you sure ‘we’ agreed? Or did you say it and he merely went along with it?” Lauren asks.

I glance between her and Charlie, brow furrowed. “What’s the difference?”

Lauren shakes her head, sending her dark waves swaying. “One means you both had the idea individually, then talked about it. The other means you let your Enneagram One take over, and he agreed to it because he, too, knows that there’s no fighting when Cora Bennet thinks she’s doing what is right.”

Charlie takes a sip of cocoa, wiping the resulting foamy mustache off with the back of her mitten. “My money’s on the latter.”

Indignant heat flares in my chest. That’s not what happened. Adam and I were in complete agreement that it was for the best that we put our night together behind us. Our perfect, sensual, amazing night together. One time was good enough. Especially when any more means taking a stab at a real relationship, which we both know would be a disaster.

Right?

“She’s getting there,” Charlie says, scanning my face.