Burn(127)

            “And?” Bethany demanded. “Come on, don’t leave us hanging! He just looked like he’d be a beast in bed. So dark and brooding. A lot like Jace!”

            “Okay stop,” Mia said with a shudder. “We can talk about hotness all we want, but can we please leave Jace out of it?”

            Josie pulled a face. “You’re no fun, Mia. Can’t you forget he’s your brother just for a little while?”

            Mia shook her head adamantly.

            Brittany laughed and then leaned back in the booth, sighing a dreamy sigh that told Josie she was in deep already. But then who was she to judge? It hadn’t taken any longer for Ash to completely reel her in. She’d been a goner the minute he’d dragged her out of her apartment. If she was completely honest, she’d admit that she’d been a goner that very first day in the park. It had just taken her longer to realize that.

            “It was awesome,” Brittany said. “And yes, total beast in bed. So demanding and possessive.” She shivered, chill bumps breaking out over her skin. Then her expression dimmed and her lips twisted into a grimace. “Nothing at all like my first husband. Ugh. Not even in the same universe!”

            “Forget him,” Josie ordered. “He’s in the past. Move on. Now tell us more.”

            The others burst into laughter again. They were drawing attention from the other tables, but Josie didn’t care. Normally she’d be appalled over being the focus in a public setting, but she already loved these girls and she was having fun.

            “I orgasmed three times,” Brittany said in a loud whisper. “Three times! That’s three more times than I ever came with my husband.”

            “Yay!” Bethany said, a broad smile on her face. “So what now? Was it a one-night thing? Did he get your number? Is he going to call?”

            “One question at a time, Bethany,” Mia scolded. “She can’t keep up! But yes, Brittany, tell us everything.”

            Brittany smiled and Josie saw just how beautiful she was. Her eyes shone and the shadows that had haunted them were gone. She seemed more sure of herself. She seemed . . . happy.

            “Oh, he got my number. Made me program all his numbers into my cell. Wanted to know what I was doing today. Where I was going and with whom. Then he told me that this was not a one-night stand and that I better get it out of my head now if that’s what I was thinking.”

            “Wow,” Mia whispered. “That sounds intense!”

            “He didn’t even ask if I wanted to see him again,” Brittany continued, a goofy grin plastered on her face. “He told me he’d be at my apartment this evening to take me to dinner and that I was staying over in his hotel.”

            Josie frowned. “So he doesn’t have an apartment here?”

            Brittany shook her head. “No. He’s been in Vegas getting the new club ready to open. Now that it is, he’s planning to spend a lot of his time out there, or at least for the first few months. He travels a lot, going between his clubs, so he doesn’t maintain a permanent residence anywhere.”

            “How long will he be here then?” Bethany asked, her lips turning down into a frown that mirrored Josie’s own.

            Brittany shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to take it one day at a time and see what happens. Who knows? Maybe I’m just an itch he wants to scratch while he’s in town. I know better than to read more into the situation. Good way to get my hopes crushed.”

            “He could scratch his itch with me,” Mia muttered.

            Bethany died laughing. “I’m so telling Gabe you said that.”