“Oh, I want details. My love life’s shit right now, so you’re going to spill them,” she said.
“No, I’m not. You know I don’t kiss and tell.”
“You usually don’t kiss, period. Come on, give me something. How many times did you cum?”
“Emma, come on,” I said.
“Answer the question and I’ll get off it.”
I sighed and held up the number ‘two’ and Emma began to squeal. She clapped her hands and wiggled around in her seat like someone had just told her the secret to living a perfect life. I rolled my eyes and sipped on my drink, leaving my sandwich untouched. I wasn’t hungry, even though I knew I should’ve been.
“So, how does it feel?” Emma asked.
“How does what feel?” I asked.
“To do something scandalous?”
“It didn’t feel scandalous. He initiated it and I… wanted it.”
“Such a dirty girl. Do you like him?”
“Of course I like him. He’s a decent guy,” I said.
“No. I mean, do you like him. As in, are you catching feelings for him? Because I know you. You get attached.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. He’s been under a lot of stress at his company and while I love his kids, they’ve been wearing me out.”
“I think you like him.”
“I think you’re reading into this more than you should,” I said.
“I know you better than you know you, Nat. You might not like him now, but you’ve crossed a line neither of you can come back from. Things’ll get steamier and another encounter might happen-”
“I’m not sleeping with him again.”
“Oh. Okay. You’ll cut off nice sex just like that with a sexy ass millionaire, because we can all do that.”
“If you’re going to keep calling him that, then at least get it right. Carter Marshall has a multibillion-dollar company. Not million.”
“Oh… sorry,” Emma said mockingly.
I rolled my eyes as I picked up half of my sandwich. The last thing I needed to tell Emma was that I was harboring feelings for Carter. Things with us felt natural. This past month and a half with watching his children felt more like a family dynamic than a work one. He was kind, and we had spent many nights talking over wine after he helped me bed down the kids. They were lovely and always kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed the time I spent with them.
All of them.
It reminded me of the family I wanted to have someday.
But I wasn’t sure where to go from here. Did I tell Carter how I was feeling? Was last night a one-time deal? Surely he didn’t expect to keep things going. He was a busy man with three children who had lost a wife. He probably wasn’t expecting to get into a relationship ever again. Not after that kind of tragedy. And I got it. I really did. I slept with nightmares every night because of what happened in Africa. And I sure as hell wasn’t about to indulge him in that to try and cultivate a relationship with him.
Except last night.
I didn’t have nightmares last night.
“How are you liking your new apartment?” Emma asked.
“Huh?”
Her voice ripped me from my trance and I found her grinning.