either, if that was your next question."
By the dissatisfied frown on Corryn's face, it was. Shrugging, she said, "Well, so what? You look even better now, too."
"Oh, does 'better' have more than one meaning?"
"I'm serious. You're so pretty, and that hair color is perfect on you. Besides, you know my motto: If he's hot, he's probably a cocky asshole, and who needs the aggravation?"
Oh, that motto. Definitely not one you'd needlepoint on a pillow, but Billy supposed there was a certain logic to it. Especially from Corryn's perspective after Kane Bentley, the cookie-cutter-handsome, super-cunning lawyer had broken her heart.
Still, life and love weren't always that simple or predictable. In fact, Billy was willing to take hot guys on a case-by-case basis. For instance, Seth Lannigan might be handsome, but she still believed he had a good heart. And Mark Warner was not only cute, but kind and affable, too.
But Billy generally looked for the good more than her sister, who was a hard case like their mom. Corryn and Adrienne viewed the world in black and white; they also viewed each other that way, which was probably why they didn't get along.
"By the way, how's Mark?" Corryn asked now. "Have you guys gotten busy yet, or what?"
"No, I'm still waiting for the right time," Billy said deprecatingly. "I just hope it comes in this century." Corryn grinned, and then Billy giggled, because she knew it was just her savage hormones talking. "The thing is, I want to be intimate with him, but I want us to work up to that. We just haven't spent enough time together to work up to it yet. I definitely don't want to jump into bed with him. I want us to be closer. I want to know him on a deeper level."
That was the way she'd always been; she had sex on her mind as much as anyone, but when it came to the actual act, it was too intimate and special for her to take lightly. Of course, that was why she was twenty-seven years old and had slept with only one man—her ex-boyfriend, Ryan, whom she had dated after Seth. Looking back, she'd always wished it had been Seth.
Thinking of him now rekindled memories of this afternoon. Yet again. Billy shivered as her body stirred, reliving the sensations of Seth wrapping his arms around her and breathing against her ear. She'd always sensed a powerful kind of sexuality about him. It was in the hungry way he used to move his hands on her—the feral, almost pained expression on his face when he was aroused.
A flush of heat washed over her skin and snaked between her legs, where she was damp and wanting. Aching...
Meanwhile, her sister was saying something. "Wait, what?" Billy said, confused.
"I asked what time you're going to Mom and Dad's on Friday night."
"Oh. Around seven, I guess. What about you?"
"Seven's okay. Assuming I can make it."
"You can make it," Billy warned.
"You're right," Corryn scoffed. "It's a Friday night—of course I can make it."
"That's not what I mean. I mean you can't leave me there all by myself."
"Why not? Mom likes you."
"To a point," Billy said glibly.
"Look, Mom's great; I love her; she gave me life and all that. But I'm tired of her backhanded comments," Corryn said. "I'm tired of hearing that I'm thirty-four years old and that I need to get 'out there' again. It got kind of stale around the four hundredth time."
Nodding, Billy said, "You know, I think you two are in this holding pattern of passive-aggressive comments. You just need to break the cycle. Next time Mom says something that annoys you, tell her straight out."
"Fine, but I just can't understand how she's not annoying herself," Corryn muttered, and Billy had to laugh.
"Well, I wouldn't wait for that to happen."
"Anything else, ladies?" the bartender asked as he cleared away their empty glasses. He wiped a towel along the bar and barely looked up.
"Yeah, two more," Corryn said, "and put some vodka in this time."
That got his attention; he looked up and quirked a smile at her. She almost smiled
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