Smart Girls Think Twice by Cathie Linz Page A

arts.”
    “And a center for female empowerment. Your sister Leena is responsible for that. She’s a web celeb now. Her blog has really taken off. Of course, being recommended on Oprah’s website didn’t hurt. But you already know all that.”
    “Actually with the wedding preparations and everything, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and interview Leena yet. I mean, I know about her blog of course and how successful it’s been, but I haven’t had a chance to discuss details about how it came to be. She’s been busy getting ready for her wedding.”
    “I can’t believe both your sisters are getting married within two weeks of each other. I told them both they should elope like Nathan and I did. We saved all that money that would have been wasted on a wedding ceremony. Instead we took off for the Smokies and got married in a little chapel near the edge of the national park and then spent the next week holed up in a log cabin.”
    Skye smiled. “There’s nothing like log-cabin sex.”
    Emma wondered what log-cabin sex would be like with Jake. She’d already imagined fire-escape sex with him. They’d come very close to it yesterday. She’d spent most of the night consumed with extremely realistic, extremely hot dreams about Jake.
    “Yes, well . . .” Emma tried very hard to stay focused on her work. “Getting back to the theater.
    You’ve done a number of programs here on everything from comic book art to fabric art and weaving.”
    Skye nodded and launched into a long commentary about the importance of creativity and art and music and how local school districts were running out of funds and cutting art programs from the curriculum. Emma knew she should be paying attention, but she was still distracted by the thought of log-cabin sex with Jake.
    The man was dangerous to her peace of mind. He’d be dangerous to most women’s peace of mind. He had that dark and brooding thing going on that aroused her curiosity about the secrets hidden in the depths of those golden brown eyes of his.
    The trouble was that Jake aroused more than her curiosity. He made her think about orgasms and fire-escape sex. These were not topics that Emma normally spent much time considering. Or any time considering. Until Jake.
    “Don’t you agree?” Skye said.
    Emma quickly jerked back to reality and the fact that she’d missed much of what Skye had been saying. “I’m sorry, I got distracted for a moment there.”
    “You were thinking about sex.”
    Emma could feel her cheeks turning cherry red. She’d heard that Skye read auras. Was hers somehow X-rated or something? Was there a neon sign over her head flashing S-E-X in big letters like the displays she’d seen in the red-light district of Amsterdam? Not that she’d actually been there, but she’d seen a special on PBS about it. Or was it the Discovery Channel? She was so flustered she couldn’t think straight. Apparently that was also evident to Skye.
    “Don’t panic,” Skye said. “Sex is a good thing to think about. But I bet you’re like Leena in that you don’t talk about it. Sue Ellen is different.”
    “Yes.” Sue Ellen had always been different. Definitely not the type of person to fit into a category or to draw inside the lines. “She’s, uh . . . flamboyant.”
    “Now there’s a word you don’t hear much anymore.”
    Skye’s comment reminded her of Sue Ellen’s accusation that Emma used big words to prove how smart she was. Not that she considered flamboyant to be that big.
    She needed to regain control of the conversation. “How would you describe the differences in Rock Creek since you opened the theater?”
    “Well, I got married, for one thing. Something I never thought I’d do. I’m not exactly the conservative type, as you may have heard.”
    “I did ascertain . . .” Big words, big words. “Uh, yes, I heard.”
    “That’s why Sue Ellen and I get along so well. We both have our own way of doing things.”
    Emma just nodded.
    “As