Page 112 of Elevator Pitch

Cee-Cee chuckles. “Girl, you’re more than a sleeping buddy.”

I sigh, flipping the rolled utensils. “He called me his girlfriend.”

“He what?” She repeats louder, glancing around the room.

I reach across the table to grip her wrist because if I know Cassandra, and I do know her, she’s about to blurt to this entire room that I’m Ross Davis’s girlfriend.

“Would you keep your voice down?” My eyes warn her to also keep her thoughts to herself.

She lowers her head and her voice. “Vee, you’re dating Ross Davis. Sexiest silver fox baseball coach, and most eligible bachelor.”

“Since when is he the most eligible bachelor?” What a title.

“Since he ditched the streaming service queen.”

“That’s just it.” I lower my head and retract my hand. “He told me he hasn’t called anyone else his girlfriend. Ever. Since his wife passed.”

I feel Cassandra’s eyes on me.

“Anyway . . . don’t you think meeting his sister is too soon. I mean, what do I say when I meet her? Hi, I met your brother in an elevator, and he decided I was a superstition whisperer, so we’ve been sleeping together, only now we’re having sex, too. And now I’m his girlfriend after only a few months.”

“Well, when you put it like that?” Cee-Cee chortles. “But let’s back up. You’re having sex with him again?”

I roll my lips, knowing I’ve opened the proverbial can of worms, and now I’m going to squirm.

“Yesterday, after his game.”

Cassandra watches me for another long moment. “You slept with him before. Did the second time not measure up to the first?” She wrinkles her nose, lifts her pinky, and then bends it like it’s wilting.

A strangled chuckle escapes me. “No, it was good.”

“Sounds like it.” Sarcasm drips from her voice as she reaches for her Bloody Mary again.

“No. It was . . . life-altering.” The things he said. Whole. Home. The way he masters my body and moves his. The things he does to me, taking me over the edge not once but twice before he thinks of himself. What they say about women in their forties is true. Our libido comes back swinging and doesn’t want to rest.

But Ross also makes me feel things. Things that frighten me, like I could love him. That I could trust him with my heart.

“Oh?” Cassandra lifts a brow before setting her elbow on the table and placing her chin in her hand. “Do tell.”

“I’m not kissing and telling.” I laugh a little harder.

“I’m asking you to fuck and share with a friend.” She winks.

“Cee-Cee,” I groan.

“Okay. Fine.” She lowers her hand and waves dismissively. “So you had sex. He called you his girlfriend, and he wants you to meet his sister. Sounds pretty awesome to me.”

“But don’t you think it’s unconventional. I mean, he’s Ross Davis.” I glance around me, hopeful that the couple seated at the nearest table, which is two tables away, doesn’t hear us.

“First off, don’t speak about him like that. Like he’s some kind of god and not just a man. Maybe he’s famous. Maybe he makes a lot of money. But at the end of the day, he’s a guy with a job that involves playing a game.”

I don’t think Ross would appreciate his career being reduced to something so simplistic, but I understand what Cee-Cee means. He’s a man. His talent or skill, fame or financial status, doesn’t make him better than me.

“Plus, you’re successful in your own right, Vee. You’re V. C. Hux, author of numerous books about love and romance.”

“Doesn’t that simply make me a woman with a laptop and a wicked imagination?”

For research purposes whispers through my head.