When We Met. Сьюзен Мэллери

      “That would be weird,” Isabel admitted.

      “You get used to it,” Taryn told her.

      Noelle looked at Larissa. “Yeah, for you, it’s no big deal. You’re a professional.”

      Larissa shook her head. “I’m not licensed, if that’s what you mean. I took the classes, but I never bothered with the exam. I don’t work with the public. I work on Sam, Kenny and Jack and sometimes Taryn.”

      Jo appeared with their drinks. When she left, Taryn reached for her iced tea. “I notice no one wants to talk about the thrill of seeing me naked.”

      “I’m sure you look great,” Noelle said absently as she continued to talk to Larissa. “Is it weird to see them that way, then around the office?”

      Isabel rolled her eyes. “Let’s cut to the real question. Who has slept with whom?”

      Dellina choked on her drink. “That’s direct,” she murmured when she could speak.

      Noelle looked at her. “A genuine ‘it went down the wrong way’ or are you keeping secrets?”

      Dellina held up a hand. “It went down the wrong way. Although the body talk is fun.”

      Taryn was less sure. The great bodies were nice, but in her opinion it was what a man could do with that body that was more appealing.

      “They’re sweet guys,” Larissa told her. “But we’re like a family. We don’t get involved like that. The guys are always bringing around girls.”

      “Not Sam,” Taryn said.

      Larissa nodded. “That’s right. Sam is more careful. Of course he has the worst luck with women.”

      Dellina, who had just taken another sip of her soda, started coughing again. “Allergies,” she managed, when she could talk. “What are you talking about? What worst luck?”

      Larissa sighed. “It’s kind of sad, when you think about it.”

      “And funny,” Taryn added.

      “Okay, funny. But not in a mean way.” Larissa drew a breath. “Sam seems to find the one woman in the room who’s going to be a disaster. His ex-wife wrote a tell-all about their marriage.”

      Noelle winced. “Seriously?”

      “Uh-huh. There have been stalkers and, oh, do you remember the girl who pretended to be pregnant?”

      Taryn nodded.

      “I feel bad for him,” Larissa admitted. “He’s a great guy, but he’s been burned a bunch of times. Now he refuses to get involved at all. His family doesn’t help.”

      “They’re not into boundaries,” Taryn said simply, thinking it was time to change the subject. “So, what’s new in town? Any hot gossip?”

      Jo appeared with chips and salsa, along with a bowl of guacamole. “On the house,” she said with a smile. “Because of the new girl.”

      Larissa blinked at her. “Thank you. That’s so nice.”

      “Yeah, I’m a nice person. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

      Taryn eyed the chips and felt her stomach growl. Fine. She would add fifteen minutes to her workout that afternoon. Fifteen ugly minutes of gross sweating would be worth it if she could indulge a little.

      “Gossip,” Isabel said as she grabbed a chip. “Mayor Marsha’s assistant is leaving, so she’ll be hiring a new one. That is going to be so weird. Marjorie has worked for the mayor for years. Since maybe high school or something.”

      “I wonder who the new assistant will be,” Dellina said, then chuckled. “I’ll tell Fayrene. She’s the sister with the temp agency. I’m sure she’ll offer to fill in during the interview process.”

      “I need her number,” Taryn said. “We sometimes need help with big projects at Score.”

      “I have a card right here,” Dellina told her, and reached into her bag.

      “Mayor Marsha is going on vacation,” Noelle said, scooping up guacamole. “She was in the other day and bought a couple of things for—”

      Both Isabel and Dellina stared at her.

      “What?” Noelle asked, visibly shrinking in her seat. “What did I say?”

      “The mayor’s going on vacation?” Dellina demanded.

      “She never goes on vacation,” Isabel added. “I mean never.”

      Taryn didn’t get the problem. “Isn’t she allowed? From what I’ve seen, she works pretty hard for the town. Going away might do her good.”

      Dellina and Isabel exchanged a look. “Maybe,” Isabel admitted. “But it’s weird. Like she might never come back.”

      Larissa looked as confused as Taryn felt. “Does she have a husband?”

      “She’s a widow.”

      Taryn reached for another chip. “Maybe she has a mysterious, handsome man she travels with,” she teased.

      Isabel’s eyes widened. “Mayor Marsha with a secret lover?”

      Noelle shook her head. “Okay, I’m kind of with you on that one. While I want her to be happy, it’s kind of strange to think about.”

      “We should all be so lucky when we’re her age,” Taryn said firmly. “I vote for the secret lover story. The mayor has earned it.”

      “Troublemaker,” Dellina grumbled.

      “You know it.”

      * * *

      TARYN WAS NAKED. Angel stared at her and felt the breath leave his body. Good thing because that made room for more hot blood to fill his groin. She was tall and leggy and totally naked, with her long hair covering her breasts and hard nipples playing peekaboo with him. And speaking of hard—

      “Get up.”

      “I am up,” he mumbled only to realize the slightly crabby voice wasn’t coming from the vision in front of him but was instead at the periphery of his consciousness. Nor was the voice in question talking about up in the sense that he meant it.

      He sat up instantly. But even in his newly awake state, he had the sense to make sure the sheets were covering his now painful erection.

      Consuelo stood in the doorway of his bedroom. The hall light was on and she was already dressed. He glanced at the clock and saw it was a few minutes to six.

      “Why are you awake so early?” he asked.

      “We have to be somewhere.”

      “Where?”

      “A basketball game. At Score. It’s the PR agency with the football—”

      “I know what it is,” he said, willing his penis to calm down. There was no way he could stand with Consuelo in the room. She wasn’t the type to pretend to ignore it, and he didn’t want to take the ribbing.

      “You’re crabby,” she told him. “We’re leaving in five minutes. Be ready.”

      “Yeah, yeah.”

      He waited until she walked out of the room and closed the door before standing. He pulled on sweats and a T-shirt and then got socks and athletic shoes. Five minutes later, he was presentable in all ways possible and headed out the door.

      It was still dark outside, but first rays of light were visible over the mountains. Consuelo stood by her truck, her keys dangling from her fingers. He noticed she’d removed her engagement ring.

      “Hey,” he said, pausing by the passenger door. “You two set the date yet?”

      “Do