Page 39 of Ten Day Affair

"So let me get this straight. You had dinner with the billionaire beach house guy, but you let it end there?"

"It wasn't like that."

"You were at Seaside Terrace. That place can turn a platonic friendship into a hot roll in the hay in half a cocktail."

"It's just a restaurant."

"Hmm. If you say so. I'm just saying that took effort."

I sigh. "And your point is?"

"My point is, why the hell didn’t you jump him?"

I blink. "Arden."

She shrugs, totally unapologetic. "He’s hot, clearly into you, and only in town for a week and change. That’s a limited-time offer, babe. What do you have to lose?"

"I didn’t want to make it weird. Somehow, our conversation went deep. It just didn't feel right."

"You live next door to the transient guy, not in a shared studio apartment. If it gets awkward, you can just wave politely from your driveway until he disappears back to New York. Getting into deep conversation is the best foreplay."

"Good point. He said he’s flipping the house, actually, so it’s temporary. And I was definitely attracted to him."

"Even better. No complications. Just a little off-the-books cardio."

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea. There are so many red flags. Maybe we both just keep that one crazy night we had and let sleeping dogs lie.”

Her grin turns devilish. "What's happening here, Sammy? You catching feelings or something? Red flags? He's not going to be your boyfriend, just some recreational sex."

The question hits harder than it should. My stomach tightens.

I don't answer.

Arden sits back. "Oh shit. You are. You like him."

"I don't." The denial sounds thin, even to me.

She slurps on her coffee and looks up over her mug, teasing.

"Arden, he’s on the board of the hospital where I work, and it’s under pressure. He’s my neighbor. And whatever might happen between us would be a dirty little secret at best. There are just too many things screaming at me to walk away.”

"What about the whole manna from heaven shit you gave me?"

I force a laugh and stir my already-mixed steamed milk and coffee. "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that."

Weekend brunch-goers fill the tables around us. A young couple shares bites of avocado toast. Two older women compare photos on their phones.

Arden's grin fades just slightly. “Okay, but real talk now. What's the word on this hospital vote? Do you still need me to try to PR-fix this?"

"I haven't heard anything more. I wouldn't even know how to tell you what to fix. Cole explained a little why, money, profit, margins, blah, blah, blah."

"Did he tell you when?"

"Next week sometime. That's why he's here. He said he has several meetings this week and next before the big board meeting."

"You can’t go into it blind.”

I glance at her. “What do you mean?”