Chapter 1 #2
“You don’t think it was a little…shameful?” Of course he doesn’t, he’s a guy.
“Nope. Not in the least. A few drinks. Some slow dancing. Weddings are aphrodisiacs. We’re two healthy, sexually active adults and what happened was just a natural outcome.”
Sexually active? She closed her mouth over the denial that threatened to spew forth. She hadn’t been sexually anything since her divorce. And even before that. In hindsight, she now knew Dean had been too busy being “sexually active” with Malibu Barbie.
“…should talk about this,” Colt was saying.
Oh, great. Leave it to her to have an indiscretion with the one guy in the world who wanted to talk afterward. “I’m not sure there’s anything to discuss. What happened won’t be happening again.”
His eyebrows shot up. “No?”
She shook her head. It was better to end it now before she lost her head over the sexy rescue pilot.
Her head? More like her heart. She wasn’t going to dedicate herself to someone else until Cheerleader Barbie came along and caught his eye.
And, because Colt was a friend of her new brother-in-law, she would have to watch him parade her replacement around on his arm.
She’d moved to Sandy Shores after the divorce because it had been too painful to run into Dean and the new Mrs. Dean of the blinding white teeth and perky breasts.
She wasn’t going to be chased out of Sandy Shores, especially now that her sister Cassie and niece Amelia lived here.
“May I ask why?” Colt asked, crossing his arms across that rock-hard chest.
So much for feeling safe from lust by keeping her gaze above the waist. She groped for an explanation, something simple.
Something she could put into words and still salvage her pride.
Not such an easy task when it took all her concentration to keep memories of last night from replaying like some porno flick in her head. “Because…because…”
* * *
“Didn’t you enjoy yourself?” Colt’s fist curled around the scrap of lace in his fist, hating the needy tone of his question.
And he was still cursing himself for assuming her name was Andrea. Damn. Could he have made a more insulting mistake? He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d cleaned his clock for it. “I really am sorry for not knowing your correct full name.”
She shook her head, seeming to deflate in front of him. Too bad. Anger had color flooding her cheeks. Anger made those sky-blue eyes sparkle. Now, she looked pale and defeated. Oh yeah, he preferred the anger. Even if it was directed at him.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.
“What question?” Her gaze went to the motel door as if calculating distance and speed.
Think fast, Armstrong. He didn’t relish parading around Sandy Shores in his skivvies. He could lose her in the time it took him to pull on some clothes.
“Didn’t you enjoy…” He tilted his head toward the rumpled bed.
Her gaze followed his prompt. “Uh…”
He stepped between her and the door. “We could try again if there was something that didn’t…meet your expectations.”
“Yes… I mean no… I mean…” she said, closing her eyes and swallowing.
“I guess that about covers it.” He’d thought last night had been pretty spectacular. Multiple times in one night for a guy in his forties was pretty good.
“I mean I didn’t have any expectations,” she admitted.
“How is that possible?” He took another step closer, wanting to hold her she looked so miserable.
Her eyes flew open. “I mean I don’t hook up with strangers.”
“Andie, we’re hardly strangers. We’ve met numerous times before. We have friends in common.”
“You didn’t know my real name,” she said, sounding miserable.
Damn, why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut? “Again, I apologize, but last night was awesome. Spectacular. I would hope that would count for something in my favor. No? Oh God, if you start using words like nice—”
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
“No what?”
“It…it…” She cleared her throat. “It was those adjectives you said even if they are hyperbole.”
“So we’re in agreement? We had transcendental sex last night.”
“No.”
He frowned. “But—”
“I said it was those first superlatives you used.”
“Okay. Forget transcendental. We’ll work on that for next time,” he said in a hopeful tone.
“There won’t be a next time.”
“You sound pretty sure of that. May I ask why?”
“Because you’re…you’re…”
He leaned forward. “I’m?”
“A hottie. Just look at you.” She motioned up and down with her hand.
“Isn’t that good?” He would have thought so.
“Good for you, but that just means you’ll be attracting all sorts of Barbies and I don’t want to compete.”
What the? “I turned her down. Remember? And I thought you said her name was Brittany.”
“Barbie. Brittany. They’re all the same. Throwing themselves at you because guys like you get hotter with age.”
“Well, until they do, how about you and I…?” Armstrong, when are you going to learn to shut your damn mouth?
“No. I’ve been down that road before and I’m not going down it again.”
Okay. That had been an asinine thing to say. He wasn’t sure what she meant with her rambling on about someone named Barbie. He truly liked Andie, had for some time, and couldn’t believe his luck last night when she’d finally noticed him as more than just a friend of her sister’s new husband.
He recalled Cassie mentioning her sister had gone through a bitter divorce. “He must’ve done a number on you.”
“I’m over it,” she said with a stubborn set of her jaw.
She hadn’t even asked him who or what he was talking about. Yeah, not as over it as she pretended, but he was patient. He could bide his time. “Okay.”
“So we’re agreed this was a onetime thing?”
He exhaled. Now was not the time to argue with her. “If you’ll wait for me to get dressed, I’ll take you back to your car.”
“I’d like that. Thanks.”
Twenty minutes later, he dropped her off at her Subaru in the parking lot of the venue where the wedding reception had been held.
“Thanks again,” she said as she scrambled out of his truck.
He sat staring as she drove out of the parking lot. Sighing, he pulled out his phone to call Braden to ask exactly what Andie’s story was but realized his friend was on his honeymoon. He pocketed the phone. He could wait.
Andie—Andromeda Billings was worth waiting for. He’d thought so before, and after last night he was convinced of it.
Copyright ? 2026 by Carol Opalinski