Free Flirting With Forever by Kim Boykin

today. And I won’t come between you and your itinerary.”
    “Have you been talking to Erin?”
    “Not saying.”
    “Women. Think you know everything.” He drained his coffee cup. I could feel him fighting off the urge to pick up his phone. “You like baseball?”
    “Hate it. Why?”
    “I thought we might catch a Braves game tonight.”
    “Are they your favorite team?”
    “Well, they were the Milwaukee Braves to begin with, but no. I’m a Red Sox fan.”
    “That must be hard for you, living in New York.”
    “Bite me,” he said, and I couldn’t help thinking how very nice that might be.
    We entered a sterile-looking lobby and the guy at the information desk made a call to announce we were there. “Fifth floor. Suite two,” he said and went back to his computer screen.
    “So, you’ve known Lou for a while?”
    “Yep.”
    When we entered the suite, a gorgeous woman about my age floated toward us, decked out in designer clothes and a blond hair cut in a style that required too much maintenance for my taste. She kissed Jake on the side of the face, and he returned her kiss. “Tara, this is Lou.”
    “Hi, Tara. Jake’s told me all about you.” I wondered just how much Jake had told her and hoped he hadn’t filled her in on my life since my breakdown last night. Smiling, she looked me over. “Well, I can see we have a lot of work to do. Let’s get started.” She grabbed Jake’s hand and led him toward a conference room.
    A lot of work? We’ll see about that.
    The mock audience lobbed up questions and comments from the book, and I slapped the answers back with the force of a Venus Williams’ backhand. Lou halted the action whenever she saw a teachable moment, and while part of me took in every word she said, the cavewoman side of my brain hated the way she said Jake’s name, like he belonged to her. Hated the way she stood behind him while she coached me, sometimes with her hands on his shoulders. Once she slid her palm down until it rested on his chest.
    After six hours with barely a lunch break, Jake shrugged at Lou. “I think she’s got it.”
    Lou looked at Jake like he was a gorgeous but silly boy. “Honey, you know this isn’t something you can learn overnight. You need every moment you can spare with me, and even then I’m not so sure she’ll be ready. Especially if her husband shows up.”
    “Jake?” My heart stopped, then kicked into overdrive. “You told her?”
    “We need to be ready for anything, Tara.”
    “There is no we, Jake. It’s me, just me. I’m the one putting myself out there.” I’m the one who has to make this work.”
    “You should be thanking me, Tara. I’m trying to help you and so is Jake.” Lou put her hand on his damn shoulders again. “Get your head out of your ass and be realistic for five minutes. You wrote a ridiculous book that made your husband angry enough to leave you. I can promise you at some point he’ll come back and try to make you pay dearly for it.”
    “I’m done here.” I grabbed my purse and started for the door.
    “Tara, wait.”
    “Let her go.”
    “Shut up, Lou,” Jake barked.
    I ran to the elevator, and I hate elevators because they are never there when you want them to swallow you up and take you away. “Tara, we are in this together, but you’re right about being ready.”
    Finally the doors opened. I stepped in and stabbed the button. Who did that snide bitch think she was? She didn’t know me and she sure as hell didn’t know Jim. Unfortunately, it appeared that she had known Jake, and quite well. I watched the numbers count down, ready to sprint for the street.
    The door opened and I took off, losing one flip flop and then the other. I sprinted down the Peachtree Street sidewalk. The hotel was in sight and the crossing light was flashing, I started off the curb when Jake pulled me back. “Damn it, Tara, stop.”
    The light changed and I pulled away, charged across the street and into the hotel lobby. If I