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“Oh, I’ll likely get into trouble for this call, but I just don’t give a shit. He made me mad, and I want to vent.”
“Tell me everything.” She wipes her mouth with a napkin. “And I do mean everything.”
“He’s mad at me because I got out of the car when we went to the deli to pick up lunch.”
“Why would he get mad?”
“He’s totally overprotective,” I say, getting riled up. “I mean, I know he’s just trying to protect me, but I was out of the car for less than a minute, petting puppies. Puppies, Annika. And he flew off the handle and said I could have been taken out by a sniper.”
She frowns as she chews on some bread. “Do they have a lot of snipers in the mountains?”
“Right? That was my thought. I highly doubt it. But he was pissed off, and that made me mad. So, here we are. I told him I was taking the blowjob back.”
Annika coughs and has to take a drink of her water. “Wait. What? Blowjob? Ivie Jordan, you’re not telling me everything. Stop babbling about snipers and get to the good stuff. You know I’m living vicariously through you.”
“You don’t have to,” I remind her. “Rafe—”
“We’re not talking about Rafe. We’re talking about you and blowjobs. Spill it. Right now.”
“Oh, we’re sleeping together.”
I feel the smile spread slowly over my face.
“Ivie.”
“Okay, so you know we’ve been flirting for months and talking a ton. There’s some serious attraction there. Not just on my part, which is still kind of a mystery to me. I mean, have you seen him? What does he see in me?”
“Ask me that again, and you’ll no longer be my best friend.” She narrows her eyes at me. “There are a million reasons to love you, and I’ll send you an essay on the subject later. Tell me more.”
“Well, the chemistry is off the charts. There has been sex. Like, really good sex. I finally know what all the fuss is about. I mean, I’m not a virgin, but I’m the girl boys had sex with on a dare or because they were drunk. And it’s not like it was a fantastic time for me. But Shane takes his time and pretty much worships every inch of my body.”
“You bitch.”
I laugh, and Annika joins me.
“You know I love you and mean that in the nicest way possible.”
“Of course.” I take a bite and think about the frustrating man in question. “The Martinelli brothers are ridiculously sexy. Like, their gene pool must be made of gold.”
“You’re not kidding. Hotter than hot. And for a long time, my family didn’t mesh well with theirs, but with Nadia and Carmine marrying soon, things have mellowed out. Which makes me happy.”
“I like Carmine for Nadia.”
Nadia is my other best friend. The three of us have been tight for a long time, and I’m so happy for her, that she found love with Carmine—even if he was the last person in the world anyone thought she’d end up with.
“But let’s not talk about them. Let’s talk about you,” Annika suggests. “What else is going on? I miss you. I can’t wait for this whole mess to be resolved so you can come home.”
“Me, too.” I sigh and roll my empty sandwich wrapper into a ball, tossing it into a nearby trash can. “It’s really pretty up here, I have to admit. I can see why Shane likes it. But it’s so far away from everything. So isolated.”
“I assume that was the point of it,” she says.
“A fortress in the mountains. Well, if that’s what he was going for, that’s what he got. The house is really nice. And he has a bunch of other buildings on the property. And a farmhand. Is that what it’s called?”
Annika giggles. “Is the farmhand hot?”
“Actually, yeah. Kinda. He’s the strong, silent type. Doesn’t say much, but he’s nice.”
“Maybe I should make a trip to the ranch,” Annika says, waggling her eyebrows.
“You have no idea how much I would love that.”
“Ivie,” Shane calls through the door. “Who are you talking to?”
I roll my eyes and move to the door, then unlock it to open it just a crack. “None of your business.”
“Are you on your cell phone?” He stares at me like I’ve lost all my marbles.
“Of course, I am. I’m talking to Annika, and—”
“Not anymore, you’re not. Sorry, Annika, I’m hanging up on you.”
He ends the FaceTime call and rounds on me.
“I know you did not just hang up on my best friend.”
“Why would you call her in the first place?”
“Because she’s my best friend, and you’re being a dick, and I needed to vent about you!” I shout in his face. “That’s what girls do, Shane. We vent when the guy we’re sleeping with is being a douche canoe.”
