her eye because she did not want to ogle her, but then again, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Hannah was beautiful. “It was no big deal. Carry on!” she said like a drill sergeant, and with a yank on Baxter’s collar, she scurried down the sidewalk to her car.
She loaded Baxter in, and as she pulled away from the curb, she waved at her father with far more enthusiasm than he deserved and sped down the street to the main road.
By the time she reached Red Bud Isle Dog Park, she had worked herself up into a full head of steam. Her father had texted her. I’ll call you later, Peach. Don’t be upset.
She wasn’t upset. She was . . . God, she didn’t know what she was. Confused? Unnerved? Drifting in and out of reality because everything was suddenly upside down? She tossed her phone onto the passenger seat. She didn’t understand how to pick up all the pieces that seemed to be flaking off of her life. Maybe her mother was right—she still hadn’t really processed the divorce of her parents, two people who had never spoken to each other in anger in all the years they were married. Carly had been completely blindsided by their split. Maybe she still hadn’t really processed losing a job she was really good at. Maybe it was losing one bad client and on the verge of losing another.
And maybe, just maybe, it was simply that everyone in the world was having sex but her. That did not seem remotely fair.
She got out of her car and released Baxter. He raced away from her before she could snap a leash on him—he’d spotted Max and Hazel. Hazel was barking and straining at the end of her lead, eager to see Baxter. Max was leaning up against his car, one leg crossed casually over the other, his hands in his pockets. He smiled at her across the lot, and Carly felt a swirl of so many emotions that she thought she might swoon.
She was suddenly marching across the parking lot before she knew that she was. What did Megan Monroe say? Be bold. Don’t not ask for something because you’re a woman. Because you are a woman, learn to ask for what you want in life.
Okay, well, there was something she wanted.
Max stood up as she neared him. His smile dazzled her, and this was her sun right now, and she was going to bask in it. But his smile turned a little tentative as she got closer. By the time she reached him, he was frowning. He put a hand on her arm. “Is everything okay? You look like you want to punch me.”
“Yes. Well, not really. But I don’t want to punch you,” she said, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies released into her belly and into her bloodstream.
“What is it?” he asked, concerned.
“Everyone—and I do mean everyone, including both parents, my sister, and even Gross Gordon—Gross Gordon! Everyone but me is having sex, Max. I am playing the spinster in the sitcom of my life, and that is not the part I auditioned for.”
Max appeared startled and maybe even a little alarmed and she thought maybe she’d gone too far. But then his gaze slid down her body and back up, and when his eyes met hers, she saw so much heat in them that she began to tingle.
“What part did you audition for?”
“Seductress. Hot chick number one. Sex goddess.”
His smile turned sultry. “Then you have been horribly miscast, Miss Kennedy, and that’s a problem. I am happy to help, if you think I’m up to it.”
Carly was hoping he would say that. She put her hand on his chest. “Oh, I think you’re up to the challenge, buddy. How soon can you start?”
He pulled her close to him. “We’ll need to work out a few details first,” he said, his gaze on her mouth. “But I think I can start immediately.” He lowered his head. Her arms slid up around his neck, and Max hugged her tightly to him and kissed her.
He didn’t press into her or shove his tongue down her throat like she thought she wanted him to do. His kiss was so easy and ethereal that she had to hang on to his neck lest she melt into a pool at his feet. This was a prelude, a promise of things to come. He casually slipped his tongue into her mouth, like he’d been there