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Hadn’t she just been thinking about sleeping with Cale? But not alone. She wanted Tony there too. He was an essential element of the plan.
Marcia tucked her hair behind her ear, noticing Tony hadn’t attempted to speak. He was waiting for her. “Okay. There is something. But it’s mostly for research.”
“I’m listening,” he said, his voice even. “You know I’d do anything to make you happy, Marsh.”
He would too. Tony was great. Funny, relaxed.Open-minded.
But this…thiswas asking a lot. Tony was a traditionalist, deep down. He believed in home and hearth and had confessed his desire to have a family one day. Was this asking for too much? She hated hiding something this huge from him. Betraying him in her mind by not being honest was almost as bad as doing it in reality.
Being with Cale would be fun. She cared about him a lot but Tony was the real deal, the man she wanted a future with. God, she wanted them—both—so badly.
If she hadn’t come up with her book idea this morning, would she ever have had the nerve to voice her needs aloud? And if that were really the case, who the hell was she to advise other women?
Bolstered by the thought, she took a deep breath. The answer to this question could make or break her book—and her relationship.
“I want to go to Kink.”
2
Tony shoved another box against the wall behind the ornate cherry desk that would serve as All About The Story’s checkout counter. Normally he took care when he was sorting through the various things Kelly Crossman, one of the owners of the bookstore, picked up on her flea market junkets. She’d been told to wait until they had the basic design of the store laid out before she started doing her girly design thing but she wouldn’t listen.
Her enthusiasm was hard not to appreciate. The woman was clearly in love with her business.
He could relate. At least to the love part—or serious like—just not with work.
“Hey, hey.” Kelly toed the box he’d just rammed into the baseboard. “Try not to break my stuff.”
“Sorry.” He mopped his brow with the bandanna he’d tucked in his waistband. Late May and Ely, Maryland, was already beginning to broil. “Guess my head’s not in the game today.”
“That’s okay. You know we appreciate all your help.” She sat on the desk, swinging her long bare legs like a kid. She wore cutoff shorts and a snug tank top, completely oblivious to how naturally sexy she was. “So what’s the deal? You sick of working for Diana the bitch yet?”
Tony dragged over a box of rare books Kelly had unearthed at an estate sale and sat down, a grin crossing his face in spite of himself. “You and Marsh sing the same damn tune. Diana’s not half bad.”
“She try to get in your pants yet?”
“Not wearing pants.” He glanced down at his shorts and then back up at her as she rolled her eyes. “No, Kel, she hasn’t. She hasn’t even looked at me sideways. Maybe I’m not her type.”
“Just you wait.”
“Are you sure she’s really that way? She strikes me as a nice woman, maybe a little lonely. She mostly keeps to herself. You women always rip each other new assholes.”
“Trust me, I’m sure. You don’t believe your girlfriend either? She’s told you Diana’s poison.”
“Maybe if she told me why, I’d be more inclined to agree.”
She compressed her lips into a thin line. “Not my secret to tell.”
“Yep.” He ran a hand over his buzz cut. Perspiration clung to the back of his neck despite the air conditioning. Then again, that could’ve been due to nerves, something he had plenty of. “Same tune, different singer.”
“I don’t break confidences. But I’d watch out for her. She likes younger men. I think she trolls for them.”
He flung his head back and laughed. “I’ll make sure my belt’s tightly notched whenever she’s around.”
“Seriously, Tony. She must know you prefer older women so I bet you’re in her sights already.” She tugged a candy out of her pocket and popped it into her mouth. The scent of cinnamon filled the air.
“I don’tpreferolder women. I prefer Marcia. It wouldn’t matter to me if she were twenty or fifty.”
“That’s sweet.” She pitched her wrapper into the trash can in the center of the room.
