bottle of sunscreen. The sun was already strong. She squirted a glob of lotion into the palm of her hand and started to lather up. “He’s ridiculously hot.”
I frowned. “I know.”
“Seems smart, too.”
“He is.”
“Has a good sense of humor.”
“That’s actually what first attracted me to him when he messaged me on Match.com. He’s witty and made me laugh about the entire prospect of dating.”
Eve finished one arm and started on the other. “Do you remember when we were ten, and I crashed my bicycle into a car that was backing out of a driveway? I steered right into it and chipped my front tooth.”
“How could I forget? You flipped over the handlebars and landed sprawled out on the concrete. You were out cold, and I thought you were dead.”
“Do you remember how terrified I was of riding a bicycle after that?”
I knew where she was going with her bike ride down memory lane. “You couldn’t be more subtle if you tried. I get what you’re trying to say, and sure—of course I’m scared to get back out there. But it’s more than that. I’m just not ready.”
“There are some things we never feel fully ready for. Did you feel ready to have a baby?”
“Of course not. But I was eighteen years old and still a baby myself.”
“Did you feel ready to get married?”
“I was also a kid.”
“Alright. Well, did you feel ready to go back to college at thirty-four? Or ready to get a divorce? Or ready for your son to move away?”
I slouched into my chair. “No.”
“We’re rarely ready for the big things in life, no matter how much we prepare. Sometimes as ready as I’ll ever be has to be enough.”
God, I hated when she was right. I chewed my bottom lip. “Last night he suggested we have a summer fling—no strings attached—since I don’t want a relationship.”
Eve held out both hands. “That’s perfect!”
I’d spent half the night tossing and turning, trying to come up with an argument against his suggestion. Unfortunately, all I’d gotten out of my soul searching was dark circles under my eyes.
I sighed. “He’s twenty-five….”
“My husband is fifty-five. Wanna trade?”
She was teasing, of course. Eve adored Tom. Besides, when the only thing “wrong” with your husband to make fun of was his age, you count your lucky stars.
Eve brought her mug to her lips and stopped before sipping. “Holy shit.”
“What?”
One finger lowered her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose. Her mouth literally hung open as she stared over my shoulder down the beach. Following her line of sight, I turned around and found Ford a few houses away—shirtless and jogging along the water’s edge. Even from fifty or sixty feet, we could see the flex of every muscle in his abs as he moved.
He waved while the two of us gawked like idiots.
“Seriously…” Eve fanned herself. “…if you don’t take a ride on that stallion, I think you need your head examined.”
Ford jogged up the beach toward the house. Eve pushed her sunglasses up. I chuckled, knowing she was hiding her eyes so she could keep ogling when he got closer.
“Morning, ladies.” Ford stood with his hands on his hips, looking up at us from the sand. He wasn’t even winded.
“Good morning!” Eve called down. “We were just talking about you.”
I shot my best friend and her ginormous mouth the evil eye.
Ford grinned. “Oh yeah? All good, I hope.”
Eve smiled broadly. “I’d say so. Our discussion was about your proposal for a few months of sex.”
“Eve!” I looked around. I seriously wanted to kill her right now.
Ford, on the other hand, seemed amused. His brows shot up. “Good to know. How’s it looking for me so far?”
Eve turned and gave me the onceover, tilting her head as if she were assessing me, then looked back down to Ford. “I’d say about fifty-fifty right now. I need a little more time to tilt the odds in your favor.”
He chuckled. “Well, then, let me get out of your hair.”
Ford turned to walk toward the stairs that led to his deck, and Eve called after him. “Hey, boy-toy?”
He shook his head and chuckled. “Yeah?”
“We’re going to spend the day on the beach. Why don’t you join us?”
His dimples appeared. “I’d love to. I have to work for a few hours, but I’ll meet you down there later.”
“Sounds good!”
I waited until after Ford was inside his house to lay into her. “What the hell?”
She smiled as if she hadn’t just broken girl code. “You can thank me