energetic. She could always brighten Annie's day. Annie had met Cherise the first week she'd moved to Seaside. Cherise had knocked on her door with a pizza in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other, and they'd been best friends ever since.
Without waiting for Annie to answer, Cherise settled the pizza on the coffee table and headed to the kitchen to pour the soda into a glass. "So, who was that gorgeous hunk of man I saw you with a few minutes ago?" Cherise asked as she walked back to the sofa with the soda and a handful of napkins she'd swiped from the kitchen counter. "You didn't tell me you were going out with anyone."
Annie sat down on the sofa beside Cherise, passing on the piece of pizza offered to her. "I already ate dinner, and I'm stuffed," Annie said. When Cherise's brows rose in question, Annie smiled. "And no, I'm not dating that man you saw me with. He's a client. I'm taking photos of the homes he designs for a magazine I'm working for."
Cherise shook her head. "Well, that's a damn shame. He's gorgeous. Probably married, huh? All the good ones are."
Annie smiled. Cherise was always waiting for Mr. Right to come into her coffeehouse and sweep her off her feet. Cherise was thirty-two and still single, which apparently was considered a crime to her mother, who was always on her about finding a man. With Cherise's creamy caramel skin, big, beautiful, brown eyes, and trim, long-legged body, it wasn't her looks that kept her from finding the right man. It was more than likely the fact that Cherise was overly particular about whom she dated. That, and the fact that she worked long hours at the coffeehouse, Cottage Coffee, she half-owned with her parents. Unlike many of the businesses in Seaside that were only open seasonally, Cherise's place was open year-round and did a robust business. Her parents left for Arizona in the winter and came back each summer to help her when the tourist season was in full swing. But being open from early morning to late in the evening every day, seven days a week, put a damper on any relationship Cherise tried to nurture.
"No, he's not married," Annie answered with a sigh. "He was, though. His wife died a few years ago."
"Oh." Cherise stopped in mid chew. "Well, that's a shame. Sorry to hear that." After a minute of respectable silence, Cherise asked, "So, do you think you'll see him again?"
Annie shrugged. After how their evening had ended, she doubted it very much. "Probably not. I suppose that would be for the best. I'm not sure he's over losing his wife yet."
"Well, you never know. A catch like you? He'd be a fool if he passed on seeing you again," Cherise told her friend as she claimed another slice of pizza from the box. Annie only smiled, but secretly she hoped her friend was right.
Sandy lay sprawled in the cab of a Ford S10 pickup as the radio played softly on the dashboard. Heaven by the Dashboard Lights , the old Meatloaf song came to mind and she almost giggled out loud, but she held back the urge. Yes, it felt nice to be wanted so passionately by the man lying on top of her. It was exciting to hear his heavy breathing in her ear and feel the pulse of his urgent need against her thigh. It was a little scary and exciting, wondering if they’d be caught on the dark side-road along the strip of beach. But it wasn’t heaven.
She repositioned herself beneath him to sooth the cramp in her leg. She was trying to concentrate on him, trying hard to get lost in the moment, but her mind was a whirl of thoughts that just kept getting in the way. It wasn’t her partner’s fault that she was distracted. He was doing his best to turn her on to only him. It was her mind, her thoughts that distracted her.
How many times had she lain this exact way as her thoughts wandered? They were so numerous she didn’t feel like counting them. Ever since that first time when she was sixteen, in the backseat of her boyfriend’s tricked out ’69 Camero. It had only been a few
Without waiting for Annie to answer, Cherise settled the pizza on the coffee table and headed to the kitchen to pour the soda into a glass. "So, who was that gorgeous hunk of man I saw you with a few minutes ago?" Cherise asked as she walked back to the sofa with the soda and a handful of napkins she'd swiped from the kitchen counter. "You didn't tell me you were going out with anyone."
Annie sat down on the sofa beside Cherise, passing on the piece of pizza offered to her. "I already ate dinner, and I'm stuffed," Annie said. When Cherise's brows rose in question, Annie smiled. "And no, I'm not dating that man you saw me with. He's a client. I'm taking photos of the homes he designs for a magazine I'm working for."
Cherise shook her head. "Well, that's a damn shame. He's gorgeous. Probably married, huh? All the good ones are."
Annie smiled. Cherise was always waiting for Mr. Right to come into her coffeehouse and sweep her off her feet. Cherise was thirty-two and still single, which apparently was considered a crime to her mother, who was always on her about finding a man. With Cherise's creamy caramel skin, big, beautiful, brown eyes, and trim, long-legged body, it wasn't her looks that kept her from finding the right man. It was more than likely the fact that Cherise was overly particular about whom she dated. That, and the fact that she worked long hours at the coffeehouse, Cottage Coffee, she half-owned with her parents. Unlike many of the businesses in Seaside that were only open seasonally, Cherise's place was open year-round and did a robust business. Her parents left for Arizona in the winter and came back each summer to help her when the tourist season was in full swing. But being open from early morning to late in the evening every day, seven days a week, put a damper on any relationship Cherise tried to nurture.
"No, he's not married," Annie answered with a sigh. "He was, though. His wife died a few years ago."
"Oh." Cherise stopped in mid chew. "Well, that's a shame. Sorry to hear that." After a minute of respectable silence, Cherise asked, "So, do you think you'll see him again?"
Annie shrugged. After how their evening had ended, she doubted it very much. "Probably not. I suppose that would be for the best. I'm not sure he's over losing his wife yet."
"Well, you never know. A catch like you? He'd be a fool if he passed on seeing you again," Cherise told her friend as she claimed another slice of pizza from the box. Annie only smiled, but secretly she hoped her friend was right.
Sandy lay sprawled in the cab of a Ford S10 pickup as the radio played softly on the dashboard. Heaven by the Dashboard Lights , the old Meatloaf song came to mind and she almost giggled out loud, but she held back the urge. Yes, it felt nice to be wanted so passionately by the man lying on top of her. It was exciting to hear his heavy breathing in her ear and feel the pulse of his urgent need against her thigh. It was a little scary and exciting, wondering if they’d be caught on the dark side-road along the strip of beach. But it wasn’t heaven.
She repositioned herself beneath him to sooth the cramp in her leg. She was trying to concentrate on him, trying hard to get lost in the moment, but her mind was a whirl of thoughts that just kept getting in the way. It wasn’t her partner’s fault that she was distracted. He was doing his best to turn her on to only him. It was her mind, her thoughts that distracted her.
How many times had she lain this exact way as her thoughts wandered? They were so numerous she didn’t feel like counting them. Ever since that first time when she was sixteen, in the backseat of her boyfriend’s tricked out ’69 Camero. It had only been a few
Similar Books
