need some hard, hot monkey sex. It’s been a while.”
Andrea tore the paper from her icepop and headed for the glass doors. “Listen, Liv, if you want it, go for it. Have a summer fling and enjoy.
It’d take your mind off money. If it leads to more, great, if not, what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is he lives next door. What if things end badly? Then what?”
“Then you put up a privacy fence and we egg his house. Just because you’re in the market for a minivan doesn’t mean you can’t test drive a hotrod.” Andrea stopped with her hand on the door handle. “And if the engine purrs the right way, take several trips around the block.”
Night fell and couples paired off to blankets and chairs, snuggling and waiting for the show. A few single friends congregated around the picnic table. John folded into a chair beside Tow and Inez Kelley
39
Andrea, never turning his head toward the kitchen.
One of Andrea’s nursing buddies strolled over to him, her flirting evident even from a distance.
Livvy bristled. She waited. John said something that made the woman laugh but he made no move to open the small circle to her and she wandered away. He didn’t watch her leave.
The cool grass licked at her ankles as Livvy walked to the Adirondack chairs, skirting one couple’s blanket and outstretched legs. On top of the closed cooler, citronella candles illuminated the night and beat back mosquitoes. The pale yellow flickering highlighted one side of John but the other side lapsed in the night.
“Fireworks are scheduled to start anytime,”
Andrea offered. Livvy pulled a folding lawn chair beside the candle glow.
In the distance, the sounds of children
screeching and muffled bangs from purchased fireworks drowned out the crickets. Livvy shifted in her seat. Her skin prickled and she knew John was watching her, but she refused to look in his direction. The chair’s woven nylon bit into her thighs and she kicked off her sandals, bracing her toes on the cooler to prevent having waffle-ass when she stood up.
Andrea tossed her pager onto the cooler with a dull clatter. “I’m on call.”
40
Sweet as Sin
“As what?” John’s deep voice stroked the night as he had her skin.
“I’m an RN down at St. Bartholomew’s ER. If I can make it to midnight without getting called in, then I’m off for three glorious days.” She jabbed the air with her fist, making everyone smile. She wiggled her eyebrows and blew a kiss to Tow.
“And you don’t have court for two days so prepare to be completely molested.”
“Can’t molest the willing.” Tow chuckled and settled Andrea’s feet on his thigh, stroking her ankle absently. The move was intimate, instinctual, personal. Livvy’s heart leaped and she dared a glance at John. He hurriedly drew his attention away from the tender act. Some things, some actions, although not sexual, were private.
The sky exploded with a dazzling bloom of pink and a deafening crackle. Everyone’s
concentration shot up toward the flashing fireworks when Livvy made her subtle move. She propped her feet on the side edge of John’s chair, beside his leg. He glanced down at her painted toes then looked at her questioningly. Her lips tilted upward and she lowered her lashes shyly then raised them and caught his gaze. Slowly, she slid her feet onto his thigh.
Understanding shone on his face and the corner of his mouth lifted in acceptance. Deliberately, he covered her instep with a firm hand.
Chapter Two
The green-eyed monster and his master can bite my ass.
Livvy glared through her window at the
beautiful dark-haired woman on John’s deck. Her hair reflected the afternoon sun as she laughed, her face turned up to him. He smiled, tweaked her nose and leaned in to kiss her cheek. The closeness was evident.
Fingers white-knuckled on the counter, Livvy ground her teeth. No promises and no heartache, he’d said. He’d made no mention of other women, but then she’d never asked.