Reckless Hearts by Melody Grace

about getting in my car and driving
over to his place: just showing up on his doorstep in my skimpy
lingerie—and nothing else. He said to come find him, and I know
where he lives, but still, something’s holding me back.
    When
you’re ready for a real man  . . . 
    His
words turn over in the back of my brain, tempting me. There’s
no doubt he’s all man, but the real question is, am I ready for
him? I’ve told him straight-up that I’m not interested in
a relationship, but something tells me he’s not a guy who’ll
settle for anything less.
    With
him, it would be all or nothing. Sink or swim. I can already tell the
fall would be incredible.
    But
what if I find myself drowning in the end?
    “I
know Kit’s pre-school gossip isn’t exactly red-hot news,
you could at least pretend to be listening to me.”
    I
look up. Lottie is sitting on the park bench with me, snatching a
lunch break while Kit plays nearby. “Sorry.” I give an
apologetic smile. “Just thinking about . . . work
stuff.”
    “Sure.”
She smirks.
    “Things are really busy at
the office,” I insist. “Thanks to Fran’s tips, I
managed to land a couple of new clients this week, and I have a
meeting with Marcie this afternoon.”
    “So
the hot, rich craftsman has nothing to do with it?”
    My
head whips around. “I never said that—”
    “Relax,”
she interrupts, grinning. “I got all the gossip from Sawyer.
So, Will was a big-shot Wall Street guy, huh? I wonder what made him
pack it in.”
    “I
don’t know, he never said. But he’s been around?” I
ask, zoning in on the important details. “Sawyer didn’t
tell me they were hanging out. Did Will . . . say
anything about me?” I add, trying to sound casual.
    “Why,
do you want him to?” Lottie shoots back.
    I
pause. Do I? I’m still no closer to figuring out how I feel
about him, or what I want. But still, his presence itches at me,
tantalizing, and just out of reach.
    “Anyway,
you don’t have to worry,” Lottie continues, slurping on a
juice-box. “I haven’t heard anything. The man doesn’t
kiss and tell. But, you do,” she adds, fixing me with a
quizzical stare. “And I’ve heard exactly nothing about
this date of yours. What gives?”
    I
shrug, picking at my sandwich. “There was no kissing to tell.”
    Lottie
snorts in disbelief.
    “I’m
serious!” I protest. Her eyes widen,
    “So
you must really like him then!”
    “No!”
I yelp. “What? No. Why?”
    She
gives me a sidelong look. “C’mon, Dee. This is you we’re
talking about. He’s hot, single, and willing. If you didn’t
care, you would have broken off a piece of that man candy and taken a
bite by now.” Lottie makes a suggestive face.
    “Stop!
I do have some self-control.” I laugh and playfully push her. “Maybe
nothing happened because I don’t feel anything for him, and
we’re just going to be friends.”
    “Sure.
Maybe.” Lottie smirks, but I can tell she doesn’t believe
me—and the problem is, neither do I.
    “Want
to come fishing this afternoon?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Sawyer and I are heading out on the creek.”
    Lottie
wrinkles her nose. “I still don’t get why you like it.
You just sit around in a rowboat for hours, trying to murder poor
smelly fish.”
    I
laugh. “Because the sitting around is relaxing. And you know
Sawyer, he can’t stand to hurt anything. We wind up throwing
most of it back.”
    “Gee,
sounds great, but I’ll pass.” Lottie grins. “But
come over tomorrow? We could do pizza and a movie.”
    Her
smile slips a little, and I remember, those were her regular Saturday
night plans with Eva, when she was in town. However much I’m
missing my BFF, Lottie is missing her sister just as much. “Sure,”
I say, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “Count me in.” I
check my phone, then wolf down the rest of my lunch. “I better
get back. Marcie promised me five minutes before she heads out for
the weekend, and I want to tell her all about