Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Delia
“You’ve been back for a week and all I know about the cruise is that you met a magician and his loincloth wearing friend.”
I glance at Nikita as she arranges chocolate bars on a stand on the front counter of her candy store.
Wolf Candy is a staple in Manhattan, and I’m a tried and true regular customer.
The issue with that is Nikita won’t take my money. Whenever I pluck a candy bar off the display or approach the check out counter with a clear bag filled with cinnamon hearts, she shoos away any attempt I make to pay.
Today, I’ve got a large piece of red licorice in my fist. I’ve been munching on it since I arrived here twenty minutes ago.
It’s barely eight a.m. so even though the store isn’t open yet, I’m inside of it.
That’s because I stopped by with two coffees in my hands.
“Who said there’s more to tell than that?”
“Anyone who knows you.” She shrugs, sending her long black hair sailing over her shoulder. “You must have had some fun on the trip. Did the magician and the loincloth guy double team you?”
“Eww?”
“Were they not hot?”
I think about that for a split second. “Both were hot, but not my type.”
“Since when is hot not your type?” she questions, her blue eyes twinkling as she teases me. “Something is going on that you’re not telling me.”
Since I’ve confided in her for years, I’m not surprised that she can sense I’m holding back. The only reason I’m doing that is that I’m unsure how to tell my best friend that I fucked my brother’s boss over and over again as we sailed around the Caribbean.
Her hands land on the counter with a sharp thud. “Okay, let’s play three questions.”
Since we’ve never been able to come up with twenty solid questions for one another, we amended that to a three question game.
“Okay,” I agree before I take a sip of my now lukewarm coffee.
She does the same with the cup in front of her. “Did you meet a man?”
“Several,” I answer.
“Did you meet an attractive man other than the magician and the loincloth guy?” she presses.
“Yes,” I answer succinctly.
She leans forward to look directly into my eyes. “Did that guy fuck you?”
The smile that slides over my lips gives the answer away before I do. “So many times I lost track of the number.”
That sends her back a full step. “So it was good?”
“That’s four questions,” I point out.
“Answer!”
I do because I know Kita and she won’t stop until I answer. “It was the best sex of my life.”
“Delia.” Her voice softens. “You’ve needed this. I’m happy for you. I’m so freaking happy that you went on that cruise.”
“Me too.” I nod. “Seeing him there was completely unexpected and then I hurt my toe and he carried me almost the entire length of the ship to the doctor.”
“Wait. What?” She laughs. “You got hurt? Are you all right? He carried you?”
“Yes. Yes, and yes.”
She smiles brightly. “Why was seeing him on the cruise unexpected? What does that mean? Tell me it’s someone famous.”
Many women in this city would consider Donovan Hunt famous since he has so many followers on social media, but from a big picture point of view, he’s not a household name by any means.
I frame all of that in a way that I hope satisfies her curiosity enough that we can move onto another topic. “He’s not famous in the traditional sense although a lot of people in this city know him.”
“In this city?” She points at the floor. “Are you saying he lives here, Delia? Your cruise fuck is here in Manhattan?”
“Yes,” I say meekly.
“Who is it?” The question tumbles out of her wrapped in a giggle. “Do I know him?”
She probably does since her sister-in-law Tilly works for him.
“You can’t tell anyone,” I say even though I’m not a proponent for holding onto secrets. “It’s complicated.”
“So, I do know him?” She taps her hand on top of the counter. “Spit it out, Delia. Who the fuck did you fuck?”
“Donovan Hunt.”
Her hands jump to her mouth. “What?”
I bow my head. “He was there on the ship, and we recognized each other from social media.”
“You hadn’t met him before that?” she questions. “Your brother works for him.”
“Your sister-in-law works for him,” I counter. “Have you met him?”
She nods. “A couple of times. He was at Jacob’s first birthday party and when I stopped by Tilly’s house one day to bring her a bunch of goodies, he was there helping Sebastian build a fence.”
Of course he was.
Donovan is that guy that everyone depends on to help with everything.
“I can’t believe you got naked with him.” She narrows her eyes. “And it was the best sex you’ve ever had?”
“By far,” I add.
“I won’t tell anyone,” she promises.” But, you need to get more of that. Please tell me that you’re going to keep sleeping with him. One of us needs to be having sex more than once every few months.”
Nikita’s dating life has mirrored mine for years. We’ve both had lovers but none of those relationships have worked out. We’ve repeatedly laughed about the fact that all of the great men in this city are already taken by people we know.
“We can’t.” I shake my head. “With Matthew working for him, it’s messy.”
“How is that messy?” she asks with a sigh. “Your brother’s working relationship with him has nothing to do with your bedroom relationship with him.”
I smile. “It has everything to do with it.”
I glance toward the bank of windows at the front of the store that overlook the sidewalk. The regular stream of morning pedestrian traffic is picking up. In just under an hour, two of her staff will arrive to help her handle the rush of customers that fill the store every day.
“You deserve to have fun, Delia,” she stresses my name. “You can keep this uncomplicated and still have mind-blowing orgasms.”
“I can’t.”
“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” Her gaze drops to where her phone is sitting on the counter as the screen lights up. “Dammit.”
I crane my neck to try and read the text message that has popped up on the screen, but I can’t. “What’s wrong?”
“Keely is fighting a bug.” She blows out a heavy exhale. “She’s in bed sick, so it’s just me and Mary today.”
“I’m free,” I offer since I’ve taken on shifts here in the past.
Her face brightens instantly. “Are you sure? You don’t have a paper due or another course to register for?”
My love of learning has become a source of constant teasing from her. I know that at its foundation it’s based in admiration since Nikita has told me she’s proud of how I’ve never ventured off the path I’m on to find a career that works for me.
Although I haven’t told her, or anyone else for that matter, that I’ve reached a crossroads on that path. I need to make a decision about my future soon.
“It’s summer break,” I remind her. “Do you have an extra T-shirt in the back for me?”
She tugs on the bottom hem of the black T-shirt she’s wearing. It’s branded in front with the Wolf Candy logo she designed. “You’ll find a bunch in my office. By the way, I love those jeans you’re wearing.”
I glance down at the faded ripped jeans I put on before I left home this morning. I didn’t put any thought into my outfit choice. That’s evident in the fact that I’m wearing a white sleeveless blouse with a tiny coffee stain on it and a pair of red sneakers I found in the back of my closet.
“These are your jeans,” I point out.
“I know.” She laughs. “You borrowed them months ago, but I haven’t said anything because…”
“Because the jeans you’re wearing right now are mine,” I finish her sentence.
She nods. “What the hell would we do for clothes if we weren’t the same size?”
“We’ll never find out, will we?” I laugh as I round the counter and head back toward her office.