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Tilly
“I didn’t think you’d show up,” Kate says when I arrive at her store. “I’ve asked you to help me sort through deliveries how many times?”
At least a half dozen since we met.
It’s become a running joke between us.
She’ll tell me that she’s expecting a delivery and could use a hand in exchange for pizza and sodas and I’ll tell her that I just ate.
“I’m here because I don’t want to be a liar,” I blurt out.
Her eyes widen. “You’re going to need to explain that. What’s going on?”
I close the space between us with a few steps. “I was having breakfast with Sebastian and needed some air. I told him I had to come here to help you.”
“Breakfast with Sebastian?” Her hands reach out to grab my shoulders. “Are we talking about a morning after breakfast, Tilly?”
I inch up my brows.
Her gaze darts around the store and the customers who are perusing the dresses. She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Did you two fuck last night?”
“Yes,” I say quietly.
She slides one of her hands into mine, tugging me forward. “This way. We’re going to my office. I want all the details.”
I follow closely behind her as she stops to talk to customers on our way to the back of the store.
Once we’re there, she slams the door of her office behind us before she turns to face me. “You’re glowing.”
I run my hand over my forehead. “I’m overheated. I walked here from Crispy Biscuit.”
“That’s twenty blocks.” She pushes me toward the chair behind her desk. “Sit down before you pass out.”
I take a seat in the chair, grateful for the reprieve for my aching muscles.
She settles on the edge of the desk, smoothing the skirt of the pale pink dress she’s wearing. “So tell me how it happened.”
I’m not about to run through every small detail of last night. It’s not just that it will take too long, but I want to cherish those memories as my own. I don’t want them to become tarnished with her opinion of them.
They belong to me.
“He invited me to take a shower with him and I did.”
Her gaze slides over my face. “Was he good to you? You’re not here because he hurt you or upset you, are you?”
The level of compassion in her tone surprises me. I reach for her hand and squeeze it. “He’s a good man. He was so good to me.”
“So good as in one time or five times?” Her concern gives way to curiosity.
I laugh at her question. She’s asking me how many orgasms I had. “Good as in I lost track.”
Her hand darts to the middle of her chest. “At least one of us is having great sex.”
I’m grateful it’s me.
“You said you needed some air, Tilly. Why?”
I rub my neck. I wasn’t expecting her to ask me that and I’m not sure I’m prepared to answer. “We went to Crispy Biscuit for breakfast and Jo was there...”
“I love Jo,” she interrupts.
I pause to nod before I continue, “I was about to introduce her to Sebastian, but they already met years ago.”
“It’s that six degrees of separation thing everyone talks about in this city.”
I look down at my jeans. “Jo said that we were a perfect match. She actually used the words match made in heaven.”
“I’m on team Jo on this one.” She crosses her legs at the ankles. “I saw how perfect you could be together the day I met him.”
I look up. “He’s not looking for anything like that, Kate. He doesn’t want a girlfriend. His job is his priority.”
She slides to her feet. “Did he come right out and tell you that?”
“Yes, “ I say quickly. “It was the day that Wendy showed up at my apartment.”
“I thought they might be just fuck buddies.” She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“They’re not anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Confusion knits her brow. “How do you know that?”
I pause. “Last night when we went for a beer he told me that their arrangement is over.”
Her gaze wanders over her desk before she focuses on me. “It sounds like you were on a date last night.”
I throw my head back into the soft leather of the chair. “You’re impossible. We didn’t go on a date. We fucked last night, had breakfast together today and I bailed because I already feel things.”
“Heart things?” She points at my chest.
I shrug off the question. “Intense things. I want to spend as much time with him as I can. I want to get back into bed with him and stay there.”
“So do those things. You’re in love with the way he fucks.”
“I’m not in love with the way he fucks,” I protest weakly, wondering if that’s a real thing because if it is, I may be guilty of it.
“You haven’t had sex in a long time,” she points out. “You just had incredible sex. It’s understandable that your feelings are going to be a jumbled mess.”
I scrub my hand over my forehead. “They are all jumbled together.”
It’s an understatement. I haven’t been able to think straight since I got into the shower with Sebastian. Jo’s words only added another layer to my confusion.
“Don’t overthink this, Tilly.” Kate crosses her arms over her chest. “Fucking doesn’t have to lead to anything. It can just be mind-blowing sex.”
“Do you really believe that?” I ask with skepticism.
She lowers her voice and leans closer to me. “I believe that you can fuck Sebastian and not let your heart get tangled up in the middle of it.”
“How do I do that?”
“You keep your wits about you.” She looks into my eyes. “Never forget that he’s not looking for more. A man like that isn’t likely to change just because he enjoys the sex.”
“I think I can do that,” I whisper.
“You can,” she assures me. “Don’t miss out on the time of your life because you’re busy planning the rest of your life in your mind. Live in the moment. You won’t regret it.”
I hope she’s right. I want to be in Sebastian’s bed again. I want to taste his lips, feel his body, and listen to him come.
I don’t want my heart to get broken.
I pray that I won’t fall in love with him.
