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Ashley turned over her phone and placed it on the kitchen table. Not that there was anything untoward going on. Dex had just sent her a dog-going-nuts video he found amusing, that was all.
She returned to chopping carrots and smiled at Vera, who’d asked that pointed question. “Just toiling away doing the cooking no one wants to.”
“You volunteered.”
“If I didn’t, we’d only eat takeout.”
Vera smiled serenely. “Your point?”
Maeve came in and grabbed a wine glass. “Just heard from Jenny Gulliksen. Bob’s been boning his PA.”
Vera rolled her eyes at Ashley. “Made your day, has it?”
“No! It’s merely another data point.”
“It’s a good thing I’m only using them for sex. Like Ashley.”
Ashley froze, then carefully started chopping again. “Not sure what that means.”
Maeve’s phone rang so Vera’s observation didn’t penetrate. She stabbed at the screen and answered with a resounding “Yeah, I heard! That bastard.” Out she went with a glass of wine in a swish of indignation.
“Hard to get laid with that attitude.” Vera picked up a carrot piece and popped it in her mouth. “So how was lunch?”
“Lunch?”
“Yeah, I stopped by the shelter about two, but Toby said you had went out to run errands on your lunch hour, though your shift only started at one.”
“Y’know. This and that.”
She leaned in. “Let me rephrase. How was he?”
“Who?”
“You think I can’t tell when my baby sister is getting wham-bammed, thank you, Mr. O’Malley?”
Ashley shook her head. She couldn’t lie.
“It was just a one-off.”
“No good?”
“Too good. Good enough. Not something I need to repeat because now I’ve … cleared the pipes, as they say.”
Vera hooted. “Are you telling me you wouldn’t go in for seconds if he asked?” She narrowed her eyes. “You like him, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t sleep with someone I didn’t like.”
“I would. Sometimes the sex is better that way. But Ashley, you and Dex O’Malley?—”
“Shush! I don’t need the whole world knowing.”
“Why? I’d be shouting that one from the rooftops. The guy is fit!” She grinned. “I’m very pleased for you. I hope it was all you wished for.”
“He’s very … forthright.”
“Oh yeah? Dirty talker?”
Yes, but more than that. An honest talker. At least, that’s what it felt like. He was clear about how much he enjoyed her body. How much it turned him on.
