place?”
“Interesting,” she replied, thinking Connie really needed her husband back in town. Gary had spent the past few weeks overseas for work, and Connie was clearly at loose ends without him if she was up this early. Normally she was a late sleeper and Reese was the one calling to wake
her
up.
It took Connie no more than two seconds to pick up on the nerves in her voice. “Interesting how? What happened?”
Clutching the phone against her ear, Reese sat up and pressed her back against the bare wall she’d pushed her mattress against. “Well, some kids that had been partying on the beach threw a bottle at my French doors, shattering the glass.”
“Those immature jerks! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Um, Ben Hudson, who lives next door, came over and . . . Wait, did you know he was my new landlord?”
Connie’s tone went from worried to amused. “Of course I knew. Now go on.”
“Oh. Well, Ben heard the glass breaking and came over to check on me. He, um, didn’t want to leave me alone with a broken door, so he’s, uh, sleeping on my sofa.”
There was silence for all of five seconds, and then a rapid burst of words. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that big ol’ bad Ben Hudson, sex god extraordinaire, is sleeping over? Oh-my-freaking-god! You little hussy!” Connie squealed, laughing with delight.
Reese frowned. “Calm down, you lunatic. He’s sleeping on the sofa, not in my bed.”
“Well, did you offer it to him?”
She spluttered for a moment, trying to get her words out. “Are you crazy? I only just . . . we don’t even . . . God, Connie. Of course I didn’t offer! You’re nuts!” she hissed, hoping like hell that Connie didn’t ask if anything had happened between them. Reese wasn’t sure she could pull off a convincing denial when she was already so keyed up on adrenaline.
“Hmm,” Connie murmured, sounding suspiciously thoughtful. “You know, on second thought, honey, maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t fall right into bed with him. I mean, it’s such a shame about his . . . well, you know.”
She blinked, clutching the phone even closer to her ear. “What are you talking about?” she asked, a thousand awful scenarios running through her head. Did he have some horrible STD . . . or some life-threatening condition, like a faulty heart? “What’s wrong with him?”
“Haven’t you heard? Ben suffers from PDD.”
Her mind raced, trying to place the acronym. “PDD? What’s that? What does it stand for?”
“It’s short for Panty Dropping Disease,” Connie proclaimed in a bubbly voice. “The instant women set eyes on him, they drop their drawers. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of it.”
Reese drew in a deep, shuddering breath, then exploded in another quiet hiss. “You jerk! I thought you were being serious!”
Connie snickered. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. You’re still so easy to tease, Reese.”
“Glad you find me so amusing,” she muttered.
“Hey, you know I love you. I want you to be happy and have some fun, which is why I’m thrilled that Ben’s smart enough to be paying you attention. Just . . . just watch yourself around him, okay?” Something in Connie’s tone had changed. “Guys like Ben can be a blast, as long as you know what to expect.”
“Trust me, I know the score.” Which was why she doubted anything could come from his surprising flirtation. She was so unbelievably tempted, but couldn’t help seeing it as a potentially massive catastrophe. No matter how badly she wished otherwise, she wasn’t programmed for a gritty sexual fling. And that’s definitely what he’d been putting on the table with his shocking sex talk. Smoothing her hand over the top of the light blanket she’d used to fight off the chill of the air conditioner, she added, “I still can’t believe Mom rented this place from him. What was she thinking?”
“Well, once Ben heard you were moving down, he wouldn’t take no
“Interesting,” she replied, thinking Connie really needed her husband back in town. Gary had spent the past few weeks overseas for work, and Connie was clearly at loose ends without him if she was up this early. Normally she was a late sleeper and Reese was the one calling to wake
her
up.
It took Connie no more than two seconds to pick up on the nerves in her voice. “Interesting how? What happened?”
Clutching the phone against her ear, Reese sat up and pressed her back against the bare wall she’d pushed her mattress against. “Well, some kids that had been partying on the beach threw a bottle at my French doors, shattering the glass.”
“Those immature jerks! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Um, Ben Hudson, who lives next door, came over and . . . Wait, did you know he was my new landlord?”
Connie’s tone went from worried to amused. “Of course I knew. Now go on.”
“Oh. Well, Ben heard the glass breaking and came over to check on me. He, um, didn’t want to leave me alone with a broken door, so he’s, uh, sleeping on my sofa.”
There was silence for all of five seconds, and then a rapid burst of words. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that big ol’ bad Ben Hudson, sex god extraordinaire, is sleeping over? Oh-my-freaking-god! You little hussy!” Connie squealed, laughing with delight.
Reese frowned. “Calm down, you lunatic. He’s sleeping on the sofa, not in my bed.”
“Well, did you offer it to him?”
She spluttered for a moment, trying to get her words out. “Are you crazy? I only just . . . we don’t even . . . God, Connie. Of course I didn’t offer! You’re nuts!” she hissed, hoping like hell that Connie didn’t ask if anything had happened between them. Reese wasn’t sure she could pull off a convincing denial when she was already so keyed up on adrenaline.
“Hmm,” Connie murmured, sounding suspiciously thoughtful. “You know, on second thought, honey, maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t fall right into bed with him. I mean, it’s such a shame about his . . . well, you know.”
She blinked, clutching the phone even closer to her ear. “What are you talking about?” she asked, a thousand awful scenarios running through her head. Did he have some horrible STD . . . or some life-threatening condition, like a faulty heart? “What’s wrong with him?”
“Haven’t you heard? Ben suffers from PDD.”
Her mind raced, trying to place the acronym. “PDD? What’s that? What does it stand for?”
“It’s short for Panty Dropping Disease,” Connie proclaimed in a bubbly voice. “The instant women set eyes on him, they drop their drawers. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of it.”
Reese drew in a deep, shuddering breath, then exploded in another quiet hiss. “You jerk! I thought you were being serious!”
Connie snickered. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. You’re still so easy to tease, Reese.”
“Glad you find me so amusing,” she muttered.
“Hey, you know I love you. I want you to be happy and have some fun, which is why I’m thrilled that Ben’s smart enough to be paying you attention. Just . . . just watch yourself around him, okay?” Something in Connie’s tone had changed. “Guys like Ben can be a blast, as long as you know what to expect.”
“Trust me, I know the score.” Which was why she doubted anything could come from his surprising flirtation. She was so unbelievably tempted, but couldn’t help seeing it as a potentially massive catastrophe. No matter how badly she wished otherwise, she wasn’t programmed for a gritty sexual fling. And that’s definitely what he’d been putting on the table with his shocking sex talk. Smoothing her hand over the top of the light blanket she’d used to fight off the chill of the air conditioner, she added, “I still can’t believe Mom rented this place from him. What was she thinking?”
“Well, once Ben heard you were moving down, he wouldn’t take no
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