Free Sex, Lies, and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson Page B

And he looked good in a pair of tights. Large codpiece, if you get my meaning.”
    “Oh.”
    “Well then.”
    Maddie picked at her chicken burrito and pushed the tortilla to the side with the rice. “Are we talking ‘come to momma,’ big? Or ‘I ain’t birthing no babies,’ big?” Maddie held up one finger. “Because there is a difference, ladies. More than nine inches is—”
    “Gee, Maddie,” Clare interrupted as she glanced about. “Time and place.”
    “What? No one can hear me.”
    Lucy laughed and changed the subject again. “Are you still doing Atkins?” she asked Maddie.
    “Yeah,” she sighed. “And it’s a bitch. I’m getting really tired of eating steak with a side of pork chops and a pound of butter for dessert.”
    “That doesn’t sound healthy.” Adele reached for the pepper and came close to dipping one large breast into her salad. “What does Mr. hardluvnman look like?” she asked Lucy.
    Lucy cut into her chicken chimichanga. “He’s tall, dark, and very good looking.” And he could kiss all rational thought right out of her head. “He likes to bird hunt with his dog, and he watches Cold Case Files. His family lives here in town, and his father died a few years ago.” He could put sex into his voice and take her breath away. “His wife died last year, and he’s lonely.”
    “Uh-oh.” Adele replaced the pepper and sat back.
    “What uh-oh?” Lucy asked, although she knew the answer.
    “You’re going to try and rescue him just like all the others.”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “You always say that,” Clare reminded her. “And you always get your heart broken.” She cut into her enchilada and shook her head. “If you get involved with him, you make sure he treats you right. Like Lonny. He’s the love of my life.”
    While Clare looked down at her lunch, the other three gave each other meaningful glances. Clare’s boyfriend, Lonny, was a nice guy, and he did treat her well. He remembered birthdays and holidays and wasn’t jealous or possessive. He would have been the perfect boyfriend if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was gay. Everyone knew it. Everyone, it seemed, but Clare. Either she wasn’t as smart as all of her degrees suggested, or she was in deep denial. Lucy and the others tended to believe the latter. Clare was a great person and a wonderful friend, but it was like she had a force field in front of her face and anything unpleasant bounced off. They were all secretly afraid of what might happen when she found out “the love of her life” was out loving men at the Balcony Bar behind her back.
    “You’re all wrong. I’m not attracted to Quinn because I feel sorry for him. Or because he needs to be rescued. I’m attracted to him because…” She thought of his intense brown eyes and long lashes. His square jaw covered in five o’clock shadow and the sensual curve of his mouth. “Because when he looks at me, he’s looking at me. When he asks me about my life, I feel like he really wants to know. That he’s not asking just so he can spend the rest of the time talking about himself. When I’m with him, he makes me feel like he’s really into me.” She took a bite of her lunch and looked at the stunned faces of her friends. “What?”
    “You sound like you’re falling for him,” Maddie pointed out.
    “Yep,” Adele added.
    Clare nodded. “That’s what it sounds like.”
    “No, it doesn’t. I have a book to write. I don’t have time to squander on a man.” Lucy reached for her drink. “And besides, I don’t know him well enough to be falling for him. Half the time I don’t know whether to be flattered by his attention or scared.”
    A crease appeared between Maddie’s dark brows. “Why are you scared? Is he crazy? What did he do?”
    “Nothing. Maybe scared is too strong a word.” Lucy paused and tilted her head to one side. “Puzzled might be better.”
    “Why are you puzzled?”
    “Because he wants to see more of me. He wants