“Oh no, Mr. Wyatt. No more hanky-panky until I have my clean panties. And we need an activity.”
“That is an activity.”
“Such a man,” she muttered. “How about a movie? Museum? Walk in the park?”
“I want to play Monopoly,” he blurted out, looking completely surprised by his own admission.
Sophie couldn’t help her laugh. “You own Monopoly?”
“Well…no. But we could buy it. They still sell it, right?”
“Yeah, pretty sure they still sell Monopoly,” she said gently. And if possible, she fell just a little more in love. She was willing to bet that this man’s opportunities for board games had been few and far between.
Picking up their plates, Sophie cleaned up, and turned back to find him watching her with an odd expression, which she ignored. They had to keep this light or the entire weekend would explode in their faces.
“Shall we?” she asked brightly. “A panty and Monopoly expedition?”
Ten minutes later, they were in Gray’s car, engaged in a heated argument over the radio station, both wearing slightly goofy smiles. Please don’t let this weekend end, Sophie thought.
“I get to be the banker,” Gray was saying. “I’m good at it.”
“You drive like a grandpa. I think that bicyclist just passed us.”
“I’m safe,” he replied.
“Yes, that’s very shocking to everyone who knows you. I’m driving home.”
“No. No way,” he said, turning on his blinker a full five minutes before the turn toward the mall.
“Fine, then. I think Victoria’s Secret has a sale on white, full-coverage cotton diapers.”
Gray groaned. “You kill me. What the hell am I supposed to do with you?”
But Sophie couldn’t bring herself to respond. The answer in her heart hurt too much.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Can I take you out again?”
Brynn looked up at the handsome man standing on her front porch and wondered why she didn’t feel more than an indifferent hum.
Evan McCain was perfect for her. Handsome, successful, conventional. A lawyer. Stable. But the first date, which was perfect on paper, had been merely pleasant. All of her usual criteria were fulfilled, but she couldn’t seem to muster any excitement about a future date.
She studied his classically attractive face, and assessed. Her parents would love him—he was the ultimate son-in-law material. Her friends would approve. He’d fit in perfectly at Trish’s elaborate dinner parties.
Sophie would be the only one less than impressed. She’d write him off as “too perfect,” which had never made sense to Brynn. What was better than perfect? Brynn had never understood why Sophie craved unpredictability, passion, and change. It was so messy.
But for the first time in her adult life, Brynn was beginning to wonder if her sister might be onto something. Perhaps Brynn was missing out on some crucial factor by only dating men who fulfilled her carefully configured checklist of required qualities.
She thought briefly of Will, but immediately pushed him away. Talk about a man who had none of her required qualities. Well, except for the looks, of course. Will was definitely handsome, if you liked the obvious, male-model thing.
Brynn hadn’t seen him since the depraved scene on his kitchen floor a month before. He’d called a couple of times, but she hadn’t picked up. He was probably calling to gloat that he’d found her underwear, which they’d been unable to locate during the awkward morning after. Brynn wasn’t adept at spontaneous sexual encounters, and she certainly had no idea how to handle the aftermath of that particular mistake.
She’d was ashamed to admit that she’d even lied to her family about having to work on Sunday nights in order to avoid seeing Will at dinner.
“Brynn? Have I lost you?” Evan asked with a gentle smile. “How about next weekend?”
Oh, what the hell. The guy may be as exciting as Wonder Bread, but she was sick of being single.