Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Mia stared at me for a long time and then abruptly stood. “January first.”
“What about it?”
“That’s the day you make the decision. It gives you a few months to enjoy the man and give it thought. But January first, we’ll sit down at this table and not get up until you’ve made a decision you can live with.”
I forced a smile. “That’s a good plan.” Though, in my heart, I knew it was stupid. Chances were four more months would only make me fall harder for Grant Lexington, especially the side of him he’d been showing me the last few weeks. But my head was pretty damn good at convincing my heart it was in control. So I went with the plan.
“Come on. No more talk about this subject,” I told Mia. “Let’s go finish sorting your stuff so your hubby can drop the donations off. I want to throw some things in from my closet, too.”
“Okay. What do you say we double-date tonight? Have dinner at that new Italian place downtown?”
“I’ll text Grant. He’s working today, but he planned to come over later. I’m sure he’d be up for it.”
I stood to get started, and Mia reached out and squeezed my arm. “One more thing and then no more talking on the subject, I promise.”
“Okay…”
“Take it slow. I know you care about him, but go slow. Don’t give your heart so fully away that you won’t be able to take it back.”
I nodded. Except I was pretty sure I already had.
***
I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. Mia kept all of us amused with stories about the odd things that happened at her spa.
“Another woman came in and asked if her husband could watch her Brazilian wax. Aside from the fact that treatment rooms are small, we don’t generally allow people to watch while we do procedures with someone’s legs wide open on a table when they’re naked. So I asked if he wanted to watch because he was interested in getting waxed himself and offered to do a sample strip on his back or leg. The woman, with a complete straight face, said he wanted to watch because he was a masochist, and it gets him aroused to see her in pain. Uh…no thanks. I think I’ll pass on helping you get your husband’s rocks off today.”
Grant was definitely the most shocked of the group. Not only was he not used to Mia’s dark humor, he had no idea what half the services she offered were for.
“The beauty of owning my own spa is that now I never have to see an ass that looks like a rainforest propped up on a waxing table again.” Mia looked at Grant with a straight face and said. “Do you wax your balls or shave?”
He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, which was amusing as hell since he rarely looked rattled. He actually started to answer her, and I had to let him off the hook.
“She’s teasing you.” Mia and I laughed so hard tears streamed down my face.
The waiter came over to offer more wine, and everyone but Mia declined because the rest of us were driving. Grant had gotten stuck at the office late and met me at the restaurant, so we had two cars. One small glass of wine at the start of a two-hour dinner was my limit.
“So…” Mia picked up her glass and brought it to her lips. She looked across at Grant. “What would you think about going to Maui for the week between Christmas and New Year’s? The four of us. I mean, not me and you—I’m a married woman now.”
Grant chuckled and looked at me. He reached for my hand under the table and squeezed it. “What do you think? A week in Hawaii?”
My heart raced. Making long-term plans warmed my heart. Lord knew giving most of my exes a dry cleaning ticket to pick up two days later would have freaked them out.
I smiled. “I’d love that.”
After we got up from the table, the four of us stood around talking out front for another half hour. I overheard Christian invite Grant to a baseball game, and Mia winked at me with a huge grin. We never got to do things together as couples, and it felt so good to enjoy time with them together.
When it started to mist, it was time to finally go. I hugged Mia and Christian goodbye, and Grant walked me to my car. “It’s late. You want to just leave your car here, and we can swing back tomorrow and pick it up?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m actually going to stop back at my apartment and pick up some work I need to do in the morning. I meant to bring it, but I forgot it on the kitchen table. So I’ll just meet you at the boat.”