Susan Mallery - Two of a Kind

He nearly choked. “Thanks for telling me that.” Because he hadn’t been thinking about protection or anything but the feel of her body and how much he wanted to be inside her.

He swore silently. He knew better. Had known since he was a teenager and his father had given him “the talk.” How had she rattled him so much he’d forgotten?

“I wonder if Patience and Justice will have children.” Her voice was wistful. “That would be nice.”

He fought the need to back away. “You looking for a white picket fence?”

“If you mean I want what it represents, then, yes. In reality, I’ve never found that kind of fencing to be efficient. The upkeep alone would be daunting.”

Okay—he didn’t know how she did it. One second he wanted to run, and the next he wanted to pull her close and kiss her senseless. She could look him in the eye and tell him the specifics of her sexual interest and yet be nervous about taking a job because of her emotional connection to the town.

“You didn’t come here for coffee,” she said.

“I didn’t?”

She shook her head. “You’re checking on me. You want to know if I’m okay, which is very sweet considering I’m the one who initiated our sexual encounter.”

“Are you?”

“I’m fine. The physical intimacy was better than I remembered, which is extraordinary. I have an excellent memory. I don’t want you to worry. I don’t feel that I’ve bonded with you as a result of my orgasms, but if it starts to happen, I’ll handle it myself.”

Which should have made her the perfect woman, he thought. But all he could think was that she’d spent so much of her life by herself. Separate from everyone else—never quite fitting in. She must have been lonely.

Emotion stirred inside him. The need to protect. He knew the danger of getting involved and vowed that he wouldn’t, but damn, she was something.

She smiled. “It seems unfair to only discuss my emotions. Are you okay with what happened between us?”

“I’m feeling a little used, but I’ll deal.” He cocked his head. “You show up at my place in the middle of the night and demand sex. What’s a guy to think?”

She laughed. “I think you can handle the pressure.”

He was about to ask when she wanted to pressure him again, but stopped himself. He wasn’t the picket fence kind of guy. Maybe he had been once, but that part of his soul had long since turned to dust.

She reached for something on the counter and picked up a small brightly colored card. “Do you want to—”

The smile faded, and uncertainty filled her big, green eyes.

The battle was clearly visible. Her shoulders drew back as she steeled herself to continue what she’d been about to say.

“My friend Charlie and her fiancé are having a party in a couple of weeks. At the new casino and hotel. It’ll be open by then. She said I could bring a date.” Felicia paused. “I’ve never been on a date before. I’d like to know what it’s like, if you’d like to go with me.”

He would rather she’d shot him. Or immobilized him with a Taser. Or cut out his heart.

No. His answer was no. He didn’t date, didn’t get involved, didn’t...

The card shook slightly in her pale fingers. The woman who had calmly removed her shirt and bra and put his hands on her breasts only a few days ago had never been asked out by a guy? How was he supposed to ignore that? Ignore her? How was he supposed to squash her hopes and dreams?

“I’m not that guy,” he told her. “The forever guy.”

“I assume you’re referring to marriage and not immortality.”

“I am.”

One corner of her mouth twitched in amusement. “It’s a party, Gideon, not an eternal commitment.”

“Yeah, I know. Sure. I’ll go.”

Relief joined amusement. “Thank you. I look forward to it.”

“Me, too.” Which was actually kind of true. He started for the door, then turned back. “Felicia?”

“Yes?”

“Just so you’re clear, it’s a date.”

* * *

“THE NEW OFFICE space is available,” Pia said. “It has been for a while now. I feel kind of guilty for not taking advantage of it, but there was no way I could take on the task of moving, along with everything else.” She motioned to the tiny office, overflowing with filing cabinets and boxes of promotional material. “It’s a mess.”

Felicia glanced around. “You’ve clearly outgrown your space.”

Pia sighed. “Clearly. I feel like such a slacker. I used to be able to stay on top of things.”

“Before you had a husband and three kids?”

Pia nodded. “But other women work with families.”

Felicia had never understood why women took on guilt when they were overwhelmed, but she recognized the symptoms. “Pia, from what I’ve heard, you went from being a single working woman to married with three kids in less than a year. Two of the children were twins.”

And not even biologically hers. When a close friend of Pia’s had died, leaving her custody of embryos, Pia had had the tiny babies implanted. Then she’d fallen in love with Raoul Moreno. Before the twins had even been born, they’d adopted ten-year-old Peter.

“Your expectations are unrealistic,” Felicia continued. “In less than two years, everything about your life changed completely. Yet you’ve carried on with the festivals and created a successful family unit. You should be proud of yourself.”

Tears filled Pia’s eyes. “That’s so nice,” she said, sniffing. “Thank you.” She waved her hands in front of her eyes. “Sorry for the breakdown. I’m hormonal.”

Felicia would guess she was also physically and mentally exhausted. “I hope I can do as good a job as you,” she said, wondering if it was possible.

“You’ll do better,” Pia told her. “I suppose the good news is you can set up the next office however you like it.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. “The address and the key. Seriously, it’s just sitting there. The landlord said to let him know when I was ready and he’d paint the place. I guess I should call.”

“I’ll do it,” Felicia told her. “From now on, you tell me what needs to be done and I’ll take care of it.”

Pia sighed. “Can you do that for me at home, too? It sounds wonderful.”

“I think you’d find me too detail-oriented.”

Pia grinned. “Is that possible? I’m not sure it is.” She glanced at her desk. “Okay, let’s do this. Brace yourself and I’ll begin the info dump.”

She turned and pointed to the dry erase board dominating the largest wall. “That is the master calendar. It’s in computer form, too, but I find this is easier to work with. I can physically see everything happening.”

She went over to the file cabinets. “Starting at this end we have information on previous festivals. Next is vendor info. There’s a whole section on vendor disasters. You’ll want to cross-check that info whenever we have a new application. Permits are in the third cabinet.”

Felicia had been taking notes on her laptop. She glanced up. “Permits are done on paper? By hand?”

Pia winced. “We have a process for filing online, but I never really got into it. We tend to have the same people coming year after year, so I just make a note that the information is the same and let it go. Are you judging me?”

“Of course not,” Felicia said automatically, even as she started a “to do” list. Right under notifying the new landlord was starting a vendor database.

“I want to believe you,” Pia murmured. “Okay, festivals.” She returned to the dry erase board. “We have at least one every month. Most months have two, and December has a million. From mid-November through the Live Nativity, it’s crazy. Fortunately, this office isn’t responsible for the Dance of the Winter King, which is Christmas Eve, so once the animals are back home after the Live Nativity, you’re done for the year.”