as she thought long and hard about it. “No, no. It should be no more than two words. Like Rumpelstiltskin.”
“Rumpelstiltskin?”
She nodded vehemently, “Just say that, and I’ll know to have him thrown out on his backside. Ricardo will do it in a heartbeat.”
That was a fact. One of our best friends was Sylvia Garcia; she had been a steadfast friend and early member of our ‘gang’. Two years after we graduated she fell in love with, and married, Ricardo. He’d taken it upon himself to become the big brother of the group. He was fiercely loyal and had very set ideas on how women should be treated. He’d watched over all of us single ladies. If I needed it, Ricardo would gladly step in and rescue me.
Tonight’s little fete was our once a month get-together for international food and drink. Jennie and I were hosting this month with a Brazilian theme. Jennie had gone all out, even redecorating the house. Besides Jennie, Sylvia, and Ricardo, there would be Jennie’s friend from work, Heather, and her girlfriend Sharon. And of course, Jake.
I still wasn’t sure if inviting him was a brilliant ploy to move on, or sheer stupidity.
“Did you taste the chimichurri sauce?” she asked.
Had I tasted it? Yes. Had I thought about drinking it? Quite possibly. “I put a bowl aside with my name on it. Touch it and die.”
Jennie laughed. “Shall we reward ourselves for all of this hard work with a toast?”
“Here, here!” I agreed. The drink of the night was Caipirinha , a Brazilian rum cocktail we usually made for our weekend boating trips. It was delicious, cool, and could knock you on your ass if you didn’t watch how much you were drinking. We’d made them weaker that usual for tonight since it was the middle of the week and we all had to be up for work in the morning.
“I’ve got a date tomorrow night…” Jennie drawled as she clunked her glass against mine.
“Really? Who is the lucky guy?”
I could tell by the flash in her eyes and the flirty way she was flitting about that Jennie was excited. “His name is Andrew. I ran into him at lunch today and he asked me out.”
“What does Andrew do?”
She grinned, “He’s a lawyer. Criminal defense. And he’s hot. ”
Which for Jennie meant lean and extremely clean-cut. She and I could not be more opposite in that department. We both liked them tall and dark, but where I liked them rugged and down to earth, Jennie liked them well-groomed and high-class. I wanted a guy who would spend the day on my boat. Jennie wanted a guy to take her to dinner and dancing.
A lawyer sounded just right.
“Where is he taking you?”
She beamed, “Mis en Place.”
Crap, he would probably last a month, tops. If he was starting off at one of the nicest restaurants in town, he was trying way too hard. He was peaking too early. It wasn’t love at first sight; it was extreme compatibility at first sight.
At least she’d have fun while it lasted.
The door opened and all our guests started pouring in.
Jake trickled in last.
He looked a little shy at first, getting the lay of the land. I watched him from the comfort of my corner. He was dressed in a white linen button down with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and dark jeans. His dark hair was wet and brushed back like he’d just taken a shower. He was just sexy. That was all there was to it.
Jennie flitted over to him, taking the bottle of red wine he offered and kissing him on the cheek. They whispered a few things to each other, Jake’s face serious while Jennie smiled.
Jennie said something else and Jake finally smiled, his dimple appearing. I was instantly transported back to the night I first realized I was in love with him.
It had been a night like this, in this room, actually. It looked different back then, pre-renovation. We had a giant old square coffee table and a ratty old couch, a crappy rug on the floor. It was game night. Three different games were going on and all our friends were lounging
“Rumpelstiltskin?”
She nodded vehemently, “Just say that, and I’ll know to have him thrown out on his backside. Ricardo will do it in a heartbeat.”
That was a fact. One of our best friends was Sylvia Garcia; she had been a steadfast friend and early member of our ‘gang’. Two years after we graduated she fell in love with, and married, Ricardo. He’d taken it upon himself to become the big brother of the group. He was fiercely loyal and had very set ideas on how women should be treated. He’d watched over all of us single ladies. If I needed it, Ricardo would gladly step in and rescue me.
Tonight’s little fete was our once a month get-together for international food and drink. Jennie and I were hosting this month with a Brazilian theme. Jennie had gone all out, even redecorating the house. Besides Jennie, Sylvia, and Ricardo, there would be Jennie’s friend from work, Heather, and her girlfriend Sharon. And of course, Jake.
I still wasn’t sure if inviting him was a brilliant ploy to move on, or sheer stupidity.
“Did you taste the chimichurri sauce?” she asked.
Had I tasted it? Yes. Had I thought about drinking it? Quite possibly. “I put a bowl aside with my name on it. Touch it and die.”
Jennie laughed. “Shall we reward ourselves for all of this hard work with a toast?”
“Here, here!” I agreed. The drink of the night was Caipirinha , a Brazilian rum cocktail we usually made for our weekend boating trips. It was delicious, cool, and could knock you on your ass if you didn’t watch how much you were drinking. We’d made them weaker that usual for tonight since it was the middle of the week and we all had to be up for work in the morning.
“I’ve got a date tomorrow night…” Jennie drawled as she clunked her glass against mine.
“Really? Who is the lucky guy?”
I could tell by the flash in her eyes and the flirty way she was flitting about that Jennie was excited. “His name is Andrew. I ran into him at lunch today and he asked me out.”
“What does Andrew do?”
She grinned, “He’s a lawyer. Criminal defense. And he’s hot. ”
Which for Jennie meant lean and extremely clean-cut. She and I could not be more opposite in that department. We both liked them tall and dark, but where I liked them rugged and down to earth, Jennie liked them well-groomed and high-class. I wanted a guy who would spend the day on my boat. Jennie wanted a guy to take her to dinner and dancing.
A lawyer sounded just right.
“Where is he taking you?”
She beamed, “Mis en Place.”
Crap, he would probably last a month, tops. If he was starting off at one of the nicest restaurants in town, he was trying way too hard. He was peaking too early. It wasn’t love at first sight; it was extreme compatibility at first sight.
At least she’d have fun while it lasted.
The door opened and all our guests started pouring in.
Jake trickled in last.
He looked a little shy at first, getting the lay of the land. I watched him from the comfort of my corner. He was dressed in a white linen button down with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and dark jeans. His dark hair was wet and brushed back like he’d just taken a shower. He was just sexy. That was all there was to it.
Jennie flitted over to him, taking the bottle of red wine he offered and kissing him on the cheek. They whispered a few things to each other, Jake’s face serious while Jennie smiled.
Jennie said something else and Jake finally smiled, his dimple appearing. I was instantly transported back to the night I first realized I was in love with him.
It had been a night like this, in this room, actually. It looked different back then, pre-renovation. We had a giant old square coffee table and a ratty old couch, a crappy rug on the floor. It was game night. Three different games were going on and all our friends were lounging
Similar Books
