“We had an argument this morning. Well, maybe it was a fight?”
“A big relationship-ending fight or one of those you-brew-coffee-wrong ones?” Jessica asked.
“An I-want-you-to-move-in versus I’m-not-ready fight.”
“Ohhh, one of those.” Natalia shook her head in understanding. “Some people get serious way too fast. We call them u-hauls, the ones ready to move in after only a couple of dates.”
“The Colonel wants you to move in?” Gabi asked with a wide smile.
Valerie nodded. “And the idea is simply crazy. My divorce still seems awfully recent.”
“Then you two didn’t really have a fight,” Jessica pronounced. “More like a scheduling conflict.”
“It felt like a fight to me,” Valerie said in a low voice. “He was really unhappy, like I’d rejected him instead of his offer to move in right now.”
And she wouldn’t hurt him for the world, except…the thought of not having her apartment if she needed it was too scary.
“Men can be idiots,” Andrea agreed.
“Chica, that’s sexist.” Natalia shook her head. “Dominants can be idiots.”
“There’s the truth,” Zuri said, and agreement ran around the table.
Linda turned to Valerie. “Which one of you walked out on the other one?”
“Me. I did. And I’ve been feeling like a sulky teenager all day, actually.”
“You left.” Gabi gave her a serious look. “According to the Unwritten Book of Relationships, the one who stomps out is the one who has to crawl back and start the apology session.” She polled those around the table. “Am I right?”
The vote was unanimous. So were the comments.
“You did him wrong, girl. You’ll have to go back first.”
“Sorry, Valerie, it’s up to you.”
“It’s going to burn, but woman-up.”
Valerie’s grumping, “You all suck” only got laughter.
Her eyes narrowed. If she had to suffer, so would they. She leaned forward, her voice rising, “I’m going to tell your Masters y’all compared their dicks to gummy worms, baby carrots, and triple-A batteries.”
Sally spewed her drink across the table.
Hands over her mouth, Zuri was giggling.
Beside Valerie, Linda choked. She was looking at the table of tourists. “I think they’re shocked stupid,” she whispered.
Valerie felt her face turning red. “Um…oops?”
A fresh outbreak of laughter went around the table, even from Jessica who was completely sober.
“You know what’s even worse?” Linda’s question brought mostly silence. “Remember how Gabi whines about handprints going with makeup sex?”
Valerie eyed her warily. “Yes?”
“Her Master Marcus isn’t a sadist.” Linda patted Valerie’s shoulder in overt sympathy. “Ghost is.”
Oh…spit. “I think I need another drink.”
Sunsets in Florida were far more spectacular than in the Pacific Northwest, Ghost decided. In the screened pool enclosure, he sat on a bench while Olivia installed a new security camera she wanted him to test.
Overhead, reds and oranges streaked the sky. A brief afternoon shower had left behind scattered clouds to reflect the colors of the setting sun. First the disturbance, then the beauty. Sounded like a recipe for life.
He could only hope the disturbance this morning would conclude so well.
Earlier, he’d worked awhile in the Shadowlands office. But Valerie had planned to help him dig through Wrecker’s disastrous bookkeeping…and he kept missing her.
She hadn’t returned.
After switching to his amphibious prosthesis—one he could get wet—he swam laps for a while, then tossed the inflatable double lounge into the pool to float on.
When Olivia showed up a while ago, he’d pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and let her in.
Ghost reined in his thoughts and studied the woman. “You’re looking good. Happier.”
Her tech focus interrupted, she eyed him. “I was miserable without Natalia. I still can’t believe I was such a bloody idiot.”
“The picture was damning.”
After screwing the last bracket in place, Olivia sat on the opposite bench to pack up her bag of electronics. “I knew she wouldn’t cheat, and still, after my previous lovers, I didn’t think anyone would be faithful. Ugly past experiences, you know?”
Ghost frowned. “Past experiences…” If the past could derail a confident woman like Olivia, how much worse would they affect a sensitive person like Valerie?
Glancing around, Olivia said carefully, “From the rumors in the club, I’d expected to see Valerie here.”
He winced. “Good aim, Olivia.”
“My comment wasn’t intended to be painful, Ghost. I like the two of you together. You fit well.”
“We do—and there’s the problem.” He rubbed his neck. “I wanted her to move in and pushed too hard.”
“Yes, you did,” Natalia said as she came around the screening shrubbery and entered the screened pool enclosure. She dropped down beside her Mistress, then glared at Ghost. “You made her feel really bad, Colonel.”