She shrugged his excuse off. “New is good. New is exciting. So where did you take her for your date?”

“Just to dinner. She’s great, Mom,” Jon said softly, a hint of sadness seeping into his voice.

His mother’s tone softened to match his. “If you picked her, then I know she is.”

“I’m worried I’ll mess it all up,” he croaked. He swallowed past the growing lump in his throat.

“Oh, honey, as long as you don’t stand in the way of your own happiness, you won’t.”

The problem with that was that Jon had no idea how to step out of his own way. He wasn’t sure he even deserved to.

Clearing her throat, his mother switched gears. “You should bring her with you,” she chirped.

“What, to the dinner?” Jon asked, his brows pinching as he tried to keep up with her.

“Sure, that too! But I meant to the yard sale. Bring her along. Your dad and I would love to meet her.”

Jon let loose a boisterous laugh. “Um, no. I have enough problems holding onto the women in my life as it is. The last thing I need is to have her frightened away by my family before I get to know her myself.”

“You’re so dramatic,” his mother accused. “It’s not as if we’d do anything to embarrass you.”

“Not on purpose, no,” Jon agreed.

“Fine, I’m throwing my hands up,” his mother said in exasperation. “At least promise me you’ll consider it.”

Jon rolled his eyes. “Okay, I promise I’ll consider it.”

“Good, I’ll see you two then. Love you, sweetie, bye!”

Jon’s mouth gaped open. “That little trickster,” he muttered. No matter what, his mother always found a way to get what she wanted, and she’d just locked him into not only bringing Patricia along to a family gathering, but to a block sale that was bound to be nothing short of eventful.

10

Patti laughed so hard she choked on her soda.

“You okay there? You’re not going to die on me are ya?” Jules reached across the table and pounded her on the back.

“I’m good,” Patti wheezed, raising her hand to ward off the beating. “I’m okay.”

Jules sat back in the chair and picked at her cinnamon raisin bagel. “As I was saying, I just don’t know why any guy would ever wear a bra. I don’t care if they are for men or not, it’s just not acceptable attire for a man.”

“Maybe he has moobs,” Patti offered, trying to keep a straight face.

“Oh, he had moobs alright,” Jules said with wide eyes. She looked down as she cupped her breasts. “Put these puppies to shame.”

Patti reached out and placed a comforting hand on Jules’ arm. “Aw, sweetie, are you jealous?”

“That my date filled out his bra better than I do?” Jules screeched. “Hell yes I’m jealous!” She muttered a few choice words as she picked apart her bagel, placing the raisins in a pile on her napkin.

“Why do you buy those if you don’t like the raisins?” Patti asked her.

“Because I like the cinnamon, duh.” Jules rolled her eyes as though the question were absurd. “So you never said…how did your date with that guy turn out?”

Patti felt her face flame as she thought about what they’d done right out in the open on her front porch. “It went ‘well’?”

Jules sat up and hunched over the table. “How well is ‘well’?”

Patti sucked in a breath, considering how much was too much to tell. Screw it. Girls didn’t hold out on their friends. “Well enough to need a bucket of aloe vera for my back the next day.”

Jules slapped her arm, hard. “Shut the front door! You two had sex?”

Patti’s eyes darted around the noisy café. “Shhh!” she hissed, shoving her away while at the same time leaning closer. Their heads met in the center of the table so they could speak without being overheard. “No, we didn’t have sex, but we might as well have.”

“Then how did your back get all messed up?” Jules asked, her gaze sliding to the space beyond her shoulder, as if she might be able to catch a glimpse of the damage through her clothing if she stared hard enough.

“Let’s just say that when a guy pins you against a wall of wood covered in chipped paint, you’re bound to feel it in the morning.”

“Shut up! You fooled around on the front porch?” Jules hissed, both shocked and intrigued by the concept. She slumped back in her chair. “I swear you are just as bad as Piper.

Patti pointed an offended finger at her. “Hey, at least it was dark out, and it wasn’t like I had my skirt hiked up around my waist in the middle of the restaurant. Jon was a gentleman,” she sniffed.

Jules snorted. “Name one ‘gentleman’ who would feel up a woman on the first date, in public no less?”

“Mr. Darcy,” she said definitively.

“What?” Jules spluttered. “Mr. Darcy would never do such a thing. He was a gentleman.”

“He was a jerk and—”

“He. Was. A gentleman.” Jules’ wide eyes and dangerous tone had Patti falling over in a fit of giggles.

“You’re too easy,” she panted. Jules had always been a diehard romantic, and her idea of epic romance had been, since the age of thirteen, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

“Ninny,” Jules said petulantly, and stuck out her tongue. Her hollow anger dissolved in an instant and she snatched up Patti’s wrist, bringing it closer for inspection. “Where the hell did you get those bruises?”

Flushing, Patti tugged her hand back and tucked it under the table. “The same place I got the scratches on my back.”

Anger flared in her friend’s eyes. “And that’s okay with you? Jesus, Patti, I know some chicks like it rough, but don’t you think that might be going a little far?”

“He wasn’t trying to hurt me,” Patti defended. “We just got a little carried away.” She dipped her head. “I liked it,” she whispered bashfully.

Jules stared at her for a long time, contemplating her words. Finally, her expression shifted to casual indifference. “Just remember, if this guy ever gets out of line, I’ll kick his ass.”

What Patti loved most about Jules was that, not only had they been best friends since grade school, which ensured that they argued like sisters, was that she knew the woman always had her back. She knew beyond a doubt that if anyone ever dared to hurt her, Jules wouldn’t hesitate to take them out at the kneecaps. It was no less than what she would do for her if the situation were reversed.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” she told her, sending her friend a warm smile. “So,” she continued, brightening up. “I’m taking Jon out on Saturday. I have big plans. I can’t wait to see his reaction.” She grew more animated as her thoughts carried forward. “I just finished the detail work on the GTO. I finally finished banging out the dent in the bumper, so all I have left to do now is buff out the scratches and repaint.”

Jules popped a piece of raisin-less bread in her mouth. “Honestly, you and your cars.” She shrugged. “I’m sure whatever you have planned, Jon will enjoy.”

Patti was hopeful. She couldn’t wait to introduce Jon to her version of fun.

After Patti and Jules parted ways, Patti climbed into her Toyota and headed for home with a smile etched into her face so deep, she didn’t think she’d ever frown again.

* * *

Saturday couldn’t come fast enough. Patti drove to Jon’s house bright and early with knots in her stomach. She hadn’t seen him since their date over a week ago, and he had left a big impression. She was both nervous and excited to see him again. Nervous because she wasn’t sure what to expect, and excited because she was about to let him glimpse a part of her world, not to mention that she had an idea of how she’d like their date to end.

Patti roared into a parking spot positioned directly in front of the address he’d given her. “Okay, Patti,” she murmured to herself, “you can do this. Your heart won’t explode—it just feels like it will.” With shaking hands, she let herself out of the car and made her way up the short walkway.

Jon lived in one of those ultra-modern single-level condos that were joined to several more just like it. His sat on the outside edge, giving it the unique feature of having windows on three of its four sides. There was nothing in the way of landscaping and the front yard was an unimpressive square of bright green grass that was too small even for someone of her height to stretch out on. It was nothing special, yet it probably cost him an absolute fortune.

The door swung open before Patti could knock. “Hey,” she said, her fist still poised in the air. She lowered it to her side and folded her hands in front of her.

Jon stood in the doorway smiling down at her. He presented a gorgeous picture of the perfect male specimen in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a striped polo. His hair was gelled into soft spikes, creating a faux Mohawk that made him look far less than the wealthy businessman she was accustomed to, and much more like a regular guy.

“Hey, yourself,” Jon said brightly. “You’re early.”

“Expecting me to be late were you?”

Jon let his gaze roam over her, giving her chills. “I don’t know what I was expecting exactly,” he said, distracted. “You wore shorts.”

The shortest pair she owned, in fact. Powder blue, they rode low on her waist and ended just below the crease of her butt. Jon said he wanted her legs at his disposal, so she gave him as much leg as she could short of showing up in her underwear. She looked down. “It seems I have,” she said, returning a teasing smile.

Without warning, Jon took her hand in his and bent down, placing a chaste kiss to her lips. “You look stunning.”

“They’re just shorts,” Patti said, attempting to catch her breath. Jon had a way of stealing it from her.

“They’re incredible shorts,” Jon amended. “Come inside. I just have to grab my wallet and phone and we can head out.”

Patti allowed Jon to pull her inside and marveled at what she saw. The condo was done in an open concept design, and from her position, she could see everything it had to offer. Off to her left sat a spacious living room with white walls and lush white carpet. The furniture was also white, punctuated by colorful throw pillows in red, blue, and green satins. A few pieces of artwork hung on the walls that she was willing to bet cost more than an entire year of her salary. The dining room sat adjacent to the living room, complete with a large glass top table surrounded by black metal chairs. Beautiful pale stone floors extended into the kitchen, which was outfitted by white cabinets and shining black countertops, and beyond that, she could see the beginning of a hallway, which she assumed led to the bedrooms.

“Wow, nice place,” she said, soaking it all in.

“Thank you,” Jon said as he pocketed his phone and wallet.

“I take it you like white?”

Jon glanced up at her and studied her face. “Are you being smart?”

“Not at all,” Patti said innocently. “It’s just a lot of white.”

Reaching out to her, Jon pulled Patti into his arms. “White represents purity, a blank slate. White presents the opportunity to color your future any way you want. I like white.”

“I can see that you do,” Patti said, looking up into eyes that burned.

“Would you like a tour?” Jon asked her, staring at her mouth as if he would devour it any second. “I just redecorated the master bedroom. We could start there.”

Boy did she ever! Patti sighed with regret. “As fun as that sounds, we can’t, unless you want to miss out on what I have planned for us.”

“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot. You have a surprise for me.” Dropping a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, Jon swatted her on the butt and set her away from him. “I guess we’ll have to save the tour for another time.”

Patti couldn’t deny that she was a tad disappointed, but she sucked it up like a big girl and preceded him out the door.

“Holy shit,” Jon gasped, pulling up short.

Patti spun around to see what was wrong. She found Jon rooted to the sidewalk, his mouth agape. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t realize you had your car repaired,” he said, taking a cautious step toward it.

Patti moved aside so he could get a closer look. “Actually, I did it myself,” she said, lifting her chin. She was proud of her accomplishment. Not many women took the time to learn the ins and outs of how their car ran, let alone got their hands dirty repairing it. It was what she’d often heard it referred to as a man’s job. It was total bullshit if you asked her. Still, Jon didn’t seem to be put off by her abilities in the least.