Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,20

sex. Look at Willow and Zane and Bridgette and Bodhi.”

“Well, I want hot, wild sex with my man, but I want more than that,” Aurelia insisted. “I want romantic nights—”

“Like the night you and Ben watched the sun set over Sugar Lake when you were celebrating his big investment last fall?” Willow asked. “And when he had my mom make you Mexican wedding soup when you were sick, because it was your favorite?”

“I puked it all up,” Aurelia reminded her.

Willow’s gaze went soft, and she said, “Still, it was a romantic gesture, and he held your hair back.”

“Hey, he called you when he sprained his ankle playing basketball. That’s not romantic, but come on,” Piper said. “He could have called any of us.”

Aurelia’s head fell back, and she sighed. “What are you saying? That I should jump in the sack with your brother and maybe it’ll lead to more?” A little thrill ran through her at the prospect, even if she knew she wouldn’t do it.

“Yes!” Willow said at the same time Piper said, “Gross.”

“You know what? This is crazy.” Aurelia bit into her croissant, and with her mouth full of deliciousness, she said, “I’m not having this conversation.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you this because I have been secretly pulling for you and Ben, and I know if he finds out he’ll stop using it,” Willow said, “but I think my mom has been infusing the body wash she makes him with one of her love potions.”

Their mother, Roxie, made lotions, soaps, fragrances, and a host of other products, which she sold locally and online, and she made special brands for those she deemed in need of a little matchmaking help. Her love potions had become folklore around Sweetwater. People swore by them, and so did all her daughters—except Piper. But according to Talia, Willow, and Bridgette, Piper’s belief would change once Roxie created one for her.

“What?” Aurelia’s eyes flew open so wide they burned. She didn’t know if she wholeheartedly believed in Roxie’s love potions, but she definitely wouldn’t discount them. Their mother seemed to have a sixth sense about who belonged together before the couples even did.

“You can’t tell Ben,” Willow said conspiratorially. “He’d be pissed.”

“You could have warned me. You know I stay over there a lot. I’ve used his body wash dozens of times.” She probably shouldn’t be so mad, since she’d loved him even before she’d started showering at his house. But she was, because maybe that potion made her love him even more. Maybe that was why she couldn’t stop accepting his every request to hang out. Oh no. Did that also mean the potion didn’t work on Ben? Because he wasn’t exactly pawing at her.

Piper laughed.

“Sorry,” Willow said, but her smile told Aurelia she wasn’t really sorry. “What kind of project are you working on with Ben? He hasn’t said anything to Zane about a big project other than that hotel takeover. Although Zane’s going running with him later this morning, after he drops Louie off at school, so maybe he’ll tell him about it then.”

Shit. She pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Ben. 911! Zane is coming over to run with you after taking Louie to school. You’d better call him unless you want him to see B!

Skipping right over Willow’s question about the project, she said, “Ben’s probably too tired to go running.”

Willow began putting ingredients into a bowl. “They’re always tired when they start. He’ll wake up.”

Aurelia’s phone vibrated with Ben’s response. Shit. Thanks. I’ll call him and cancel. When are you coming back? She typed, Soon. As she sent the message, she thought about what Willow had said about Ben’s romantic gestures. He’d brought her a peanut-M&M-covered cupcake on her birthday morning every year for the past . . . well . . . since she went away to college. Whoa. That is romantic. He’d also let her cry on his shoulder countless times, sent her texts when he knew she was having a rough day, and stayed with her for three nights after her grandfather passed away. And he bought me M&M’s yesterday when I desperately needed them. He thought about me even though he was frazzled over finding B.

Maybe she was on his mind as more than only a friend.

Or maybe he just wanted his good friend to help him with Project Baby B.

Her stomach knotted. She knew B wasn’t a project for either of them. She’d seen the way Ben had protected her