Afterward, sated, wrecked, lying in his arms, she finally heard him speak.

“I’m taking you to the movies tomorrow night.”

She roused herself enough to wonder if the sex had killed his brain cells. “Huh?”

“The movies. You know, a date. Dinner, too. Okay?”

Her throat tightened. “Okay,” she whispered. She knew it was his way of showing her what she meant to him. His gift, and a reminder he wasn’t her ex, and refused to keep her locked up in his bedroom because it made things less messy. A complete contradiction to the mind-blowing sex they’d just engaged in.

“But none of those chick flicks. I hate them. Something with guns. Okay?”

She thanked the dark for masking the tears that stung her eyes.

“Okay.”

Arilyn smiled and cuddled close. She’d take what she could. It was enough. For now.

eighteen

I’M IN TROUBLE, Kennedy.”

Her friend arched a brow and studied her from the doorway. Arilyn had just finished a counseling session in the purple room and couldn’t focus. Every thought and action kept going back to Stone and their incredible night together. Maybe if she talked it over with her friend she’d be able to work out the tangled emotions wrecking her system.

“What type of trouble?”

Arilyn sighed. “Man trouble.”

“The worst kind. Wait here.” Kennedy disappeared, and then came back with her cell phone. “Hang tight.”

“What are you doing?”

“FaceTiming with Kate.”

“No! She’s on her honeymoon! Oh my God, do not call and bother her!”

“Too late. It’s connecting. Hey, babe, how’s the sun, sand, and sex?”

Arilyn squeezed her eyes shut.

Kate’s voice drifted from the phone. “Fabulous. Is something wrong? Is Robert okay? Kinnections?”

“Take a chill pill, things are fine. Except we have a crisis with Arilyn, and since she never comes to us with boy trouble, I knew you’d be pissed if I didn’t bring you into the conference call.”

“Damn right. Turn me around so I can see her.”

Caught between laughter and a groan, Arilyn opened her eyes. “Hi, Kate. I’m sorry about this.”

Her friend looked tan, well rested, and deliriously happy. She was in a black bikini and floppy-brimmed hat, and held a cocktail with a purple paper umbrella sticking out of it. “Don’t be sorry. I’ve been dying to have this convo with you for a long time. Thank God you dumped Yoga Man. Now, tell us all the details.”

Kennedy squeezed into the circle so they could all see each other.

Arilyn decided to go with the unvarnished truth. “I’m in love with Stone Petty.”

Kate gaped. Kennedy gasped. Silence settled over the room for a few moments.

“Damn, girlfriend, you didn’t even give us a warm-up. Hard-core,” Kennedy said.

Kate squealed. “I’m so happy for you! This is the best news ever! Isn’t it? Wait a minute, why don’t you look happy?”

“Are we ever happy when we realize we’ve fallen for a man?” Kennedy quipped. “Most of them are not as smart as us and fight it to the end.”

“Except Nate,” Kate said. “He said you were worse than any man.”

Kennedy beamed. “Well, I gotta make him work for it, don’t I?”

“Guys, I don’t know what to do. When we started this thing, we agreed it would be about sex. Then we moved it a bit into companionship, and you convinced me to invite him to the wedding.”

“Which went famously well, I thought,” Kate said. “He was a big hit. Slade loved him.”

“So did Nate.”

“I know, but now he did something terrible and ruined the whole affair thing.”

“What?” Kate demanded.

“He fostered Pinky for me. And fell in love with her. And he hates dogs, because he got bit by a pit bull years ago, but he took in Pinky as a favor and now he carries her around with him because he refuses to leave her alone, and he has this great big heart, and he wrung, like, a million orgasms from me that night with the ice, and I fell in love with him. And if I tell him, he’ll run and refuse to look back, because he doesn’t think he can be in a relationship because of all these excuses he believes are true.”

Kennedy let out a breath. “Dudette, this is crazy. How many orgasms? Did you like the ice?”

“Focus!” Kate snapped. “We can’t talk about the sex now.”

“Sorry. Umm, okay, most men run at the idea of the word love being thrown around. Maybe he needs some time to get used to the idea.”

“You think?” Arilyn murmured. “He’s been divorced so he’s bitter, and he says he’s a workaholic, and I know we’re opposites, but there’s something about us that just fits.”

“Slade was divorced,” Kate said. “We had a lot of ups and downs, but eventually he came to realize just because it didn’t work with his ex doesn’t mean it never works at all.”

“I think he’s using excuses to keep him from admitting the truth,” Arilyn said softly. “I know it’s only been a little while, but I swear he has all these emotions inside to give. There’s a connection between us. The way he looks at me, touches me. He just hates talking about feelings.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Men like to work out their emotions in bed. It’s the simpler way of communicating. I think he calls for a bit of patience. Cops are bristly, hard-core cases.”

Kate chimed in. “I agree. Give him some time to discover it on his own.”

“So I shouldn’t tell him I fell in love with him?”

“No!” they both said together.

“At least, not yet,” Kate clarified. “Slade freaked out. Kennedy did the same. So did Wolfe when Gen finally confessed her love. We don’t want you to go through the same thing. If you give him a bit more space, he’ll figure out he’s madly in love with you and you’ll get your happy ever after.”

“Probably,” Kennedy said.

“Definitely,” Kate said.

Arilyn sighed. Her friends were right. She’d gone from refusing to spend time with him, to liking, to passion, to love. How could the poor man keep up? The knowledge of her feelings ran deep and true. This was no transitional or recovery period. Stone Petty was the man she was meant for, and the last one on earth she’d ever look for.

Fate was a tricky bitch.

“Okay. We’ll finish up the course, and I’ll keep my revelation to myself. See how it goes. Thanks, guys.”

“No problem. I’ll be home soon, but keep me updated with texts,” Kate said.

“I will. Love you.”

The phone clicked off and Kate’s image disappeared. Kennedy patted her shoulder. “I know this is hard, A. But just remember: men are limited. We need to work with them in order to catch them up to speed. Now, I want to hear all about the ice.”

Arilyn laughed. Then told her.

ONE WEEK LATER, STONE wondered what was happening.

His life was usually easy. Mapped out. He worked every spare moment, slept, played pool, worked out, and went drinking with the guys. Sure, there were dates and some sleepovers in the middle, but mostly his freedom was key, and he relished the open road, even taking the bits of loneliness in stride.

Now, things had . . . changed.

He got into the habit of bringing Pinky to Arilyn’s house after work. After the first sleepover night, Pinky stopped howling every time Robert got close. The second night, Arilyn put their food bowls and beds closer together, still keeping a safe distance but forcing Pinky to see Robert in her space. The third night, they ate side by side without communicating. Almost as if Robert knew Pinky was delicate and needed to move things on her own. Oh, they watched each other, and sometimes Robert looked over with pleading need and adoration, wanting to play with a friend, but he kept chill. Stone fell hard for the pit bull, with his smarts and gentle soul. He even learned how to hook up his scooter and helped Arilyn take care of him when Patrick couldn’t get over there in the afternoon.