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“I don’t know.” Mia picked up her fork. “Noah and I think—”
“Noah and you? You two have talked about us?”
Mia snorted. “Of course.”
“The hell?”
“What? You two together are, like, the embodiment of foreplay.”
Claire scrunched her nose. “Ew.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Not forus. I mean you two always put off this vibe like...you don’t like each other but at the same time you want to rip each other’s clothes off.”
Claire stilled. Blinked.
Was that true?
Things had gone from zero to sixty pretty damn fast in his room that day. She could see herself getting carried away with him.
“There have been a few times I’ve wondered if you two had hooked up and you just hadn’t told me. Like that time we rented that cabin last year and you shared a room.”
Claire scoffed. “You seriously think I wouldn’t tell you?”
Mia shrugged. “It’s a little different now that we don’t live together. I mean, I hope you’d tell me, but I’d understand if you felt weird about it, since it’s Graham.” She looked up, her dark eyes flashing. “But if you told Reagan before me, I’d be pissed.”
“You’re my best friend no matter where you live. You’re the first and only person I’ve told about the kiss. Promise.”
“Good.” Mia twirled pasta around her fork and, before taking a bite, wagged her eyebrows. “So what happens next?”
Claire took a long, slow sip of wine and pressed her back against the booth. “Nothing? He wanted to keep it going, but I already told him I didn’t want that kind of an arrangement right now.”
“But you liked kissing him.”
“So? There’s a lot of things I’d probably like but won’t do. Like spend my savings on a loaded luxury car or eat ice cream three meals a day—” Claire held up a hand when Mia opened her mouth. “That day sophomore year doesn’t count. I was hungover and you know it. Sometimes we don’t do things out of self-preservation.”
Mia allowed that, but tilted her head a little. “Why is not kissing Graham a form of self-preservation? Are you worried you’ll develop feelings for him?”
“No. I just figure if I’ve got someone to take care of the physical stuff, I won’t be as motivated to go out and meet new people. What if I miss an opportunity with a great guy—maybe even my future husband—because I stayed in to get with my commitment-phobe roommate?”
“I guess that’s true. But it could also take some of the pressure off. Maybe you’d be a little more relaxed when it came to the dating scene, and wouldn’t waste your time on guys you didn’t really like. Plus, it’s not every day a hot man offers to be a woman’s plaything. Seems like a waste to not at least give it a try.”
Claire’s eyes went wide. “Who are you and what did you do with my modest best friend?”
“She got married and discovered what it’s like to have a hot-man plaything.” Her cheeks flushed. “I highly recommend it.”
“I bet you do.”
Mia laughed, fanning herself. “You could join an online dating site and have a good time with Graham until the program matches you with your future husband. Just think about it, okay?”
“Why?”
“Because you could use a little fun and something tells me Graham is the perfect person to give it to you.”
When Claire got home that night, she found Graham and Reagan in the living room watchingThe Officereruns.
“Hey, Ms. Sparkles,” Graham greeted.
“Shut up.”
