Friday I'm in Love by Mari Carr Page B

morning. What do you say we try to break it? Right now. Before I break your nose.”
    She’d trudged up the stairs to Tristan’s old bedroom after Ewan issued his demand and she’d spent half the night tossing and turning, trying to figure out what the hell she was doing. She’d only been in Baltimore three days and she was practically throwing herself at Ewan every other minute. He claimed their physical interactions were just part of the game they were playing, but she wasn’t so sure. Sometimes when he looked at her…
    Ewan, as usual, ignored her threat and kissed her forehead. Her stomach always did flip-flops whenever he pressed one of his platonic kisses to her face. She loved his little pecks on her nose, her cheeks, her brow, as much as his full-on, open-mouthed, extravaganza-style kisses. “Time is money. I’ve brought your uniform up here. Thought you might want to try it on first.”
    “Uniform?”
    “Well, actually it’s just a Sunday’s Side polo shirt. I brought you a ladies medium.
    Figured you might need a little extra room to contain the girls.”
    He followed his dirty joke with a quick leer at her breasts and she fought to restrain her laughter. It wouldn’t do to encourage his bad behavior.
    “Although in hindsight, I wouldn’t have minded watching your pretty tits strain against a shirt that was just a bit too small all day either.”
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    She held up her hand to ward off any more of his comments. “Okay, number one, ew . And number two, my girls are none of your concern and I suggest you focus your attention of what’s residing above my neckline or you might find yourself with a crotch full of my knee. Got it?”
    His mischievous grin proved he wasn’t about to change his ways.
    She gave him a dirty look. “Why would I want to wear a Sunday’s Side shirt?”
    “All the waitresses wear them with khaki pants.” He suddenly looked concerned.
    “Do you have khaki pants in your luggage?”
    “I think so, but I’m not a waitress.”
    “You are today,” he replied.
    “Ewan, what the hell are you talking about?”
    He stood up and put his hands on his hips. “It’s today’s lesson.”
    “Waitressing?”
    “No. Attitude adjustment.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “And just whose attitude are we adjusting?”
    “Nat. You were complaining that you didn’t have anyone to celebrate special events with. You keep making those silly comments about being a bitch and not having a lot of friends.”
    “Well, maybe I like being a bitch. I sort of think it’s my one true talent.”
    He ruffled her hair. “I think sometimes you worry about the way people perceive you more than you care to admit. I thought maybe today you could learn how to practice restraint. Besides, it’s Keira’s day off and we’re always busting our asses during the lunch shift.”
    She ignored that he needed her help, changing the subject back to the one that was bothering her most of all. “You think I need to learn restraint?” She sat up, trying to figure out why the idea of Ewan trying to change her personality hurt so badly. She had sort of signed up for this.
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    Friday I’m in Love
    Ewan held up his finger to ward off the pain he must have seen building on her face. “Don’t say a word. Just hear me out. Personally, I fucking love your personality. I think you’re funny as shit and that caustic wit of yours is top-notch. You don’t offend me, you don’t scare me and, truth be told, listening to you eviscerate someone is probably on my list of top five turn-ons. However, you seemed to be concerned that you push people away with your comments and I thought this might be a good way for you to practice thinking before you speak. I thought this was what you wanted.”
    She took a deep breath and tried to formulate a coherent thought. “I sort of stopped listening at I fucking love your personality ,” she finally said. “No one’s ever said those words to me.”
    Ewan laughed. “Hard to