Free Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) by Rebecca Lynn Page B

New Year’s Eve party.”
    “What I mean is you haven’t necessarily encouraged him every time you’ve been with him,” Ryann pointed out.
    “How can his ego be wounded?  He’s such a confident guy.  He’s a surgeon.  Is it even possible for a surgeon not to be confident?” Tiffany asked.
    All of the girls murmured, but Ryann was the one who kept speaking.  “I didn’t say he wasn’t confident.  I said maybe his ego is wounded.  You avoided him for practically two months after New Year’s.  There’s only so much rejection a guy can take.  And he is a guy.  Sometimes you’ve got to spell it out for them.”
    “Ain’t that the truth,” Janie snorted, then looked at Tiffany.  “I had to practically dance naked in front of your brother before he knew I was interested in him, remember?”
    Tiffany groaned at the imagery and swigged her wine, then closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the pillow.  Her thoughts tumbled around in her head.
    “You said you were gonna tell him, Tiff,” Emily said pointedly.  Tiffany’s eyes popped open to meet Emily’s direct gaze.
    “I did, I thought,” Tiffany said quietly.  “Maybe I wasn’t as specific as I should’ve been.”
    “Then maybe you should be,” Ayanna said.
    “I don’t want to be that woman who wrecks a relationship.  If he’s happy with Katrina, I don’t want to be that other woman.”
    “Of course you don’t, especially given the fact that you know what it’s like since it’s been done to you.  But what if he’s still interested?” Ayanna asked.
    “He’s still interested.  You don’t stop being interested that quickly,” Emily added.
    “When we talked earlier, he said he was glad nothing happened because he would’ve hated if he had forced me into something I wasn’t ready for, which may have, in turn, damaged our friendship.”  Tiffany blew out a frustrated sound between her lips.  “He said he values our friendship and was glad that we were still friends.”
    “Then it’s decided,” Ayanna said, finishing off her wine.  “You don’t have to throw yourself at him, but if you want him, you need to let him know.”
    “I’m not going to cheat with him,” she murmured.
    “Shit, Tiff.  I’m not saying cheat with him.  And if he does want to cheat, then he’s not the man we all think he is,” Ayanna said.
    “He won’t cheat,” Janie said. 
    “Listen, none of us is a saint,” Emily said.  “None of us would ever want to think any of us or our guys would cheat.  So that’s why it’s so important to be honest and upfront from the get go.” 
    They all looked at Emily surprised.  She’d had such a hard time being honest about her feelings with Mike, and with all of them when they’d started to get to know each other. 
    Emily smirked at their faces and she added dryly, “I know I’ve come a long way with that, and I owe it to Mike for forcing the truth out of me.  I look back now, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.  No relationship is perfect, but if you’re honest at least you always know where the other stands.  Then you make things better before it ever gets to the really bad stuff.”  She looked at Tiffany.  “Even though as humans we’re all tempted at one time or another, I think there are people who would never cheat.  I don’t think any of us would because we respect our significant others too much, and I think the same about our guys, including Drew.  If you want something to happen with him, you tell him you’re interested but in a classy way.  You can do that because you’re the epitome of class, Tiff.  You’ll figure out what to say.”
    Tiffany cocked her head and looked sweetly at her.  “Thanks.”
    “This Love Fest needs more wine,” Ayanna barked. 
    Janie chuckled, “I’ll get it,” and got up to pop another bottle open. 
    “And what’s going on with this Todd guy?” Ayanna continued.  “What happened last night after the