Free Fall for Me by Sydney Landon Page A

since she was already almost crimson with embarrassment. Ella had confided in her that she was still a virgin and Beth knew that she was easily embarrassed, especially over anything concerning sex. She patted her on the hand and whispered, “Sorry, Ella.”
    Ella gave her a shy smile in return and said, “Are you kidding? This is like watching a live taping of
Days of our Lives
or
Desperate Housewives
.”
    Everyone around the table laughed and kept it light while they finished eating. When they were waiting for their bill, Claire looked at Beth with what could only be called an evil smile. “So, Beth, I have an idea. You say that Nick will cut and run when things get tough. I’ve got the perfect way to give him a little test.” Beth wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but she let Claire continue. “You know Mom and Tom are on their honeymoon, and Louise and her sister have gone to Florida for a few weeks. Jason and I would really love a date night, and we wouldn’t trust just anyone with Chrissy.”
    Suzy looked at her friend in admiration. “Ohhhh, I like where you’re going here. Hey! If you need a babysitter, why haven’t you asked me? Gray and I are perfectly capable of babysitting.”
    Claire threw an arm around her friend’s shoulders and laughed. “The last time I was at your house you set my diaper bag and purse on the sidewalk when Chrissy started crying.”
    “Hey, I couldn’t see you pop your boob out one more time. The kid’s going to choke on that thing, or something. Those babies are never going airborne again after the workout she’s giving them.”
    Ella looked even more mortified if that was possible. Beth quickly asked Claire, “You would actually trust us to babysit for you? You know we don’t actually have much baby experience.”
    “I trust you completely, Beth. You were an elementary schoolteacher for years. We can go over all of the details and I’ll run you through her routine. She goes to bed early so you guys wouldn’t be on duty the whole time. If you want to see how Nick is around a baby, this is a perfect chance.”
    “Hmmm, okay. Why not? I might as well start getting some practice in, and Nick needs to know what he is trying to get himself into. How about Saturday night?”
    Claire smiled. “That sounds great. Jason will be so excited. It will be nice to go to a restaurant to eat without spit-up all over us. I don’t think we’ve had a conversation since the baby was born that didn’t involve the contents of her diaper. Maybe we should just use our date time to catch up on our sleep in the car.”
    Suzy snickered. “That’s just sad. It must be depressing to have a stallion that you never have the energy to ride.”
    Ella almost fainted when Claire smiled and said, “Oh, honey, my stallion is never in the stable. I’m never too tired to give him a good workout.”
    Beth grabbed Ella’s elbow and pulled her out of her chair. “Let’s go before you’re ruined forever.”
    She was surprised when Ella said, “Oh, man, I just love them. I didn’t know that Claire had a horse, though.”
    Beth’s mouth dropped open in shock. Surely, Ella wasn’t
that
naive. When Ella doubled over in laughter and said, “Got ya,” Beth had to admit that her shy little friend had certainly come a long, long way.

Chapter Ten
    Beth was relieved to see that Nick wasn’t at her apartment when she arrived home. She didn’t know who she thought she was fooling by insisting that they didn’t live together because he was always here, and she didn’t even question it anymore.
    She quickly showered and pulled on a black jersey dress that landed just above her knees. It was sleeveless with a daring neckline. She pulled on some black sandals that added inches to her height. A pair of simple silver hoops and a matching necklace completed the look. She was supposed to meet Seth at one of her favorite seafood restaurants in half an hour. She grabbed her purse and gave a prayer of thanks