said, coming to his feet. “We should probably call it a night.”
“I think that’s a really good idea.”
Just then the server appeared with the bill. Sunshine let Steven take care of it and made her way to her car. Twenty minutes later she was sitting on a molded plastic chair at her local Taco Bell, her dinner on a tray. As she unwrapped her crunchy taco supreme, a teenage guy approached.
“Hey, beautiful,” he began, as he offered her a smile.
“I’m married and he’s a Marine.”
His eyes widened. “For real?”
“Yup. He could squish you like a bug.”
He sighed and walked away. She finished her dinner, took her soda with her and headed home. When she walked into the house, she went directly to Declan’s office.
He was focused on his computer and didn’t notice her at first. He looked as good as always, she thought wistfully, liking how his worn T-shirt stretched a little at the shoulders. She could hear the TV in the family room and guessed Connor was watching a movie.
If she wanted, she could close the door behind her, walk over to Declan and... And what? Kiss him? Offer him sex? Hadn’t there been enough of that for one night?
Truthfully, she didn’t even want sex. Okay, she did want sex, but not just sex. She wanted more. She wanted love and a commitment and the promise of years with someone. She wanted forever, not just one night, and while she might see potential in Declan, she had a feeling what he saw was what Steven had seen. Boobs and an ass and nothing else.
“Hey,” she said.
Declan looked up. “Hey, yourself. What are you doing back? I thought you and Phoebe had a night planned.”
She waved her Taco Bell cup. “Not exactly. She lied. It was a setup for a double date.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
She tried to figure out what he was thinking, only she couldn’t. His expression was carefully neutral, damn him.
“You didn’t like the other guy?” he asked.
“I didn’t like being lied to and no, I didn’t like Steven. However, Phoebe went home with her gentleman friend. I would say she’s completely over you, so you can let that one go.”
“Thank you for clarifying.”
“Tell me you wore a condom.”
He flushed. “What? Why would you ask—” He grimaced. “I see your point. Phoebe seems to be, ah, friendly with many men.”
“Exactly. She was with you and Marcus in the past couple of weeks. If we extrapolate from that, it’s a heady number.”
“I wore a condom, which I hadn’t done in years. It was more complicated than I remembered.”
“Everything is easy at seventeen,” she teased. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that she has recovered from your breaking up with her.”
“I appreciate the information.”
They looked at each other. She once again thought about closing and locking the door, but while the next step was really clear, the step after that wasn’t. She’d promised herself not to be that girl anymore. She’d promised herself she was growing and changing. Giving in would mean she’d been lying this whole time. Worse, it would mean she wasn’t capable of changing.
“I’m going to go study,” she said. “There is the slightest of chances I’m beginning to master algebra and I don’t want to take that for granted.”
“Good luck.”
“Thank you.”
She offered him a quick smile, then made her escape before she could say or do something that would be amazing in the moment, but disastrous in the long term.
* * *
Alec perused the shelves of the upscale wine shop. While he had plenty of wine at home, Margot was cooking coq au vin for dinner and he wanted to get something...unexpected to pair with the meal. He generally favored California and Washington wines, but perhaps a French-inspired dish deserved a French wine. Maybe a nice red Bordeaux.
As he studied the tasting notes from the staff, he thought about how much he was enjoying Margot’s company. Being with her was easy—something he wouldn’t have thought was possible. In the past, relationships had always been difficult and awkward. Once the sex was over, there wasn’t all that much to talk about. At the end of the evening, he’d always been eager to be alone. But with Margot it was different. He found himself missing her when she wasn’t there. In the morning, he wanted to stand and talk with her while she got ready for work. He looked forward to spending time with her, regardless of how much of the day they’d already spent together.
“Curiouser and curiouser,” he