Mandy had never imagined sex could be like that, and for those few hours, she’d surrendered to a side of her she’d never believed existed. She’d been bold, sassy, and sexy. It was like having a different personality drawn out by her equally daring lover. You couldn’t stay meek and repressed around Ethan. Not with the way she loved making him groan; seeing his gorgeous face crease with ceaseless lust. It made her body sing whenever he was hard and ready for her, eager to sheathe his rampaging steel pipe in her smoldering core.
To avoid facing Marcus for now, she’d come here rather than go back to her place, where he could very well be waiting since he had a key. She’d checked his missed calls, messages, and voicemail. I’m back, darling. Missed you too much and business was a drag. Hoping we could spend the weekend together. Where are you and why aren’t you picking up? Are you angry with me over the unexpected trip? I’m sorry.
Mandy closed her eyes with a grimace. She was the one who should be sorry. She’d done what she’d said she’d never do: she’d betrayed Marcus’ trust and had given into Ethan’s demands. But she had no one to blame for her decisions; it had been her choice to make and she wouldn’t think back on the right and wrong of it. She’d simply face Marcus with the truth and see how he took it. But only when she was ready.
Just then, her younger sister, Melanie, who was two years older than Tiffany, burst into her room.
Mandy sat up in surprise. “What is it?” she asked, worried.
“Did you and Marcus have a fight or something?” Melanie asked almost breathlessly.
Mandy frowned. “No…” Her tone and expression were undeniably confused.
“Come on,” Melanie said, dragging Mandy out of the room by the arm. By the time Melanie led her to the foyer, Mandy was gasping, stopping short at the sight before her.
There was a vast amount of flower bouquets littering the floor and the surfaces of tables and counters. Different varieties and colors, they filled the small space of the hallway with heavenly smells and blooming color. Mandy stared at the view in disbelief, almost unconscious of Melanie standing next to her and putting a card in her hand. “This came with them when they were delivered just now,” Melanie said with a wide smile.
Blinking, Mandy cleared her head and stared down at the fancy card, not sure what to expect. She’d been so deep in her daydreams of Ethan that she hadn’t even heard the doorbell ring from her bedroom.
Now she stared at the handwriting that filled the inside of the card, the large, half-legible print of the words done in dark black ink that seemed to leap at her from the page.
Mandy didn’t even have to guess who it could be.
Still thinking about you, babe. Every second, so don’t worry your pretty head about anything. Just think of the great times that are still yet to come. Together. See you at 7 pm.
Mandy smiled to herself, almost foolishly glad to know Ethan was still thinking of her. And that somehow, he’d had the intuition to know she’d be thinking about the night they’d spent together and worrying about it. She’d had all kinds of second thoughts, especially in the bright light of day. She’d spent several hours of the night before and the morning of today in Ethan Tyler’s arms. And he still wanted to see her again. He still wanted more between them. Mandy felt like screaming with joy as it finally dawned on her what had happened. She was Ethan’s girl. Mandy Sloane was dating a rock star. Whoa.
Mandy finally broke out of her reverie to find not just Melanie but her other sister Tiffany and her parents standing there staring at her.
“Well? Are you going to tell us who’s responsible for this blooming bombardment?” her father said with his deep, humorous tone. Her mother was staring wide-eyed at the display, probably wondering if she had enough vases in the house to load up the mass of flowers. Facing her family, she heaved a deep sigh and readied herself to break the news she felt sure she couldn’t keep under wraps for long anyway…
* * *
Mandy hadn’t expected her family to take it so well. They had all liked Marcus, her father especially. And hearing that Mandy now had some kind of ‘thing’ with a famous, rich-as-hell rock star was news they took well in their stride. Her sisters, for one, almost went into fits. Being huge The Strum fans, this was very much a big deal to them. They adored Ethan, and Tiffany was almost wringing Mandy’s arm to get to meet him in person.
“Well, he’ll be picking me up to take me out to dinner tonight…”
“Nonsense,” her mother said firmly. “Ethan Tyler would do well to join us here for dinner instead. It will give us a chance to get to know him better.”