Read Online What's Life Without the Sprinkles? by Misty Simon - Free Book Online

because they weren’t the only one or even two.” She wiped the back of her hand over her forehead to move some hair that had fallen forward. “Then I go into Uncle Al’s office thinking I’m going to see my favorite guy, and instead come face to face with a serious hunk o’ male who is totally drool worthy. I’m spinning fantasies—until I hear his name and realize it’s the flower dog.”
    Claudia tried hard not to laugh. This wasn’t funny, except that many things came easy to Zoe, and a little shake-up wasn’t going to be the end of the world for her. “How can you know for sure it was him?”
    Zoe slapped a hand into the water and grabbed more silverware to wash. “I can’t wait to see you fall, and I mean seriously fall, for Nate. I am so going to enjoy the ride. And the reason I know is that no one else in town has a name like Dexter Zegray.”
    “That is true, I guess. Hmmm, Zoe Zegray. Has a nice ring to it.”
    Zoe slapped the water again, but this time she hit Claudia in the chest with the warm soapy water and the fight was on.
    Later that night, though, Claudia couldn’t help thinking about whether “Claudia West” also had a nice ring to it. She’d known Nate forever and yet had never written his and her names inside a heart in a notebook at school. Never wrote “Mrs. Claudia West” with a heart dotting the I. Never put their initials with the plus sign between. Never even considered him a real male. He had always just been her best friend. Why did she have to go and get all hormonal and lusty? What if she ruined everything?
    Indecision was riding her back like a nasty monkey. Sure, she’d doubted herself time and again about what she was doing, if she was raising Justin right, what to wear to dinner. But she hadn’t had this male/female indecision in a very long time. The old Claudia would have just gone for it, but she found this Claudia was more gun shy than she’d thought.
    Finally, she fell asleep, only to dream of Nate in completely inappropriate places, doing decadent things. It started her morning off—right up until the point when she saw him working on the shop and could barely meet his eyes.
    ****
    Nate whistled tunelessly as he removed a stack of mail from the odd-shaped box standing in front of his house Friday afternoon. He’d put in a hard day at Decadence, getting things blocked out and set up for the build-out Claudia wanted. He’d tried to catch her eye at the store in the morning, but she looked really busy and he hadn’t pursued it. She had a lot on her mind with Peter here, and he didn’t need her right away. He’d catch her tomorrow. He hoped she and Justin were getting along decently and the boy wasn’t giving her any problems. He’d tried talking to Justin when the kid had walked by him on his way home from school, but as soon as he’d asked what was bothering the little guy, Justin had clammed up. Nate knew he’d wheedle it out of him eventually, maybe at dinner with Claudia next week. Or Claudia would tell him. Either way, he’d told Justin that his phone was always on. He and Justin hadn’t ever talked about Peter, his biological father, but with the guy back in town and Justin’s general moodiness of late, Nate had no doubt it would explode at some point. And he’d be there for him. Just like he was for Claudia, though she, too, had been acting weird lately. Must be all the stress, he thought.
    A recent gag gift from his cousin, the mailbox made him laugh every time he saw it. Today was no exception as he took a good look at it and tried to push any concerns to the back of his mind. It was perfect. No one else in his circle of friends had an oversized replica of an Xbox Game System to hold mail.
    “Hey there, sonny,” a familiar masculine voice rumbled from behind him, and Nathan jumped. His next-door neighbor, Fred, erupted with his trademark laugh and continued, “I caught you off guard. Sorry about that, my boy.”
    Nate turned and beheld Fred