Ember: Part One by Deborah Bladon

Author:Deborah Bladon [Bladon, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deborah Bladon
Published: 2015-04-30T04:00:00+00:00

***

"What do you think Maisy is short for?" I stretch my legs out in front of me. "I've been trying to figure it out for two days and I'm stuck."

"Is this for a crossword puzzle?" Zoe follows my lead and pushes her legs out from underneath her. "You know they always have all the answers to the puzzle in the newspaper the next day."

I turn to look at her. She'd invited me over to her apartment for a spa day as she called it. It's been nothing more than the two of us painting each other's fingernails and drinking cocktails. It's my one day off this week and I couldn't think of anyone I'd want to spend it with more than Zoe. I might have considered Dane if I didn't feel the need to catch my breath.

The man is dangerously addictive and now that I have more understanding about what happened between him and his girlfriend, I realize that he needs time. He may not think he does but I doubt, given my limited experience, that a person can walk away from someone they loved for two years without some lingering feelings.

"It's not a crossword puzzle." I take another sip of my drink. "It's someone's name."

"You know someone named Maisy? Is that like Daisy but with an M?"

"It's like Daisy with an M." I peer at her over the rim of the glass. "Do you think it is short for something?"

"Who do you know with a name like that? Is it someone from the pub?"

This is part of the charm that is Zoe Beck. I ask her a very straightforward question and it turns into something that becomes an hour long interrogation. It happened when I asked her what she thought about hair extensions. I've never gotten them and I owe that to Zoe. She talked me out of it after I asked her if I looked better with or without my hair in a ponytail. The woman knows how to drill down to the heart of the matter. It's no wonder she's studying to be a defense attorney.

"She doesn't work at the pub. She works in finance on Wall Street."

She cranes her neck to the side so she can stare at me directly. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

I don't have an answer for that. "I was just curious. She's a friend of a friend and I was wondering what she's like."

"She's the ex of the stranger who comes to your apartment at night to fuck you, isn't she?"

As a matter of fact, yes she is. "He doesn't come to my apartment at night to fuck me anymore. I mean, it's not just that. We had dinner together the other night."

"That's a good sign." She doesn't glance up from her smartphone. Her perfectly manicured fingernail is tapping something out on it. "Are you two dating now?"

"No," I admit. "We're going to take it slow. Hang out sometimes."

"You're keeping your options open." She pats my knee. "I like that.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.