Parental Guidance (Ice Knights #1)(20)

“What’s there to tell?” She patted Anchovy on the head and scratched behind his ears when he came over, ball in mouth. “It was an obstacle course. We should go sometime; it was actually pretty fun.”

Gemma took a sip from her double espresso soy latte with half a shot of hazelnut. “The course was or the date was, because from what I saw when I picked you up, it looked like the second one.”

“We were just standing there.” Closely, so much so that Zara could feel him even though he wasn’t touching her. “You have an overactive imagination.”

Her bestie just gave her the you’re-full-of-it-but-I-love-you-anyway scoff as she walked to the corner of Zara’s apartment that was filled with gorgeous natural light and, therefore, had been designated as her art studio.

“What are you working on now?” Gemma asked, her hand hovering over the unassembled dolls but not touching them.

“It’s a piece for the Friends of the Library charity auction.” Zara crossed to stand next to Gemma. “It’s gonna be a house filled with influential female authors reading one another’s books.”

By the time she was done, the two-story dollhouse would be filled with twenty-five handmade and hand-painted dolls, dressed in custom-made costumes, reading at the kitchen table, in the bathtub, on a couch, gathered by the fireplace, and tucked into bed. All the books on the shelves would have individual pages, and the covers would be one-twelfth-size replicas of first editions of the authors’ books. Her Etsy store of individual miniatures other people used was making bank instead of her own artistic scenes, but it was pieces like this that she really wanted to do. Miniatures art wasn’t the most popular or sought after, but there was something that made her soul feel lighter when she created a piece of art showcasing a one-twelfth-size world that she’d love to live in.

“Your work really is amazing.” Gemma pivoted, the teasing upturn of her mouth gone, replaced by a tight concern. “You know I would have taken you to the charity ball as my plus-one anyway, right? I would never really stand between you and your dreams. I just really am worried about you.”

“I get it.” She did, sorta. They’d been friends for too long to get annoyed at her bestie’s pushy ways. “We both know what a softie you are.”

“It seems like the Bramble dates are going well, though.” Gemma picked up Jane Austen’s acrylic head.

“Let’s just say that Caleb and I have an understanding.” One with rules and structure.

“I hope that understanding involves orgasms.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Not yet, anyway. I saw the way he was looking at you. The man wants to carry you off and do the best kind of wicked things to your body.” Gemma put down Jane’s head and held out her hand. “I bet you that by date five, you’re banging him so good that your lady cobwebs will be knocked forever loose.”

Zara clamped her lips together before she did something she’d regret—like agree—and started futzing around with the mail on the counter.

“Our agreement didn’t preclude sex, but I’ll still take that bet,” she said, shaking her friend’s hand. “He is not the kind of guy for me.”

“Because he’s too oh-my-God-I-tripped-and-landed-on-your-big-cock hot?” Gemma tapped the tip of her nose with her finger as if she’d hit on the answer. “Yep, that’s totally it. You’re right. He’s totally not bangable.”

Zara fought to keep both the smile off her face and thoughts of a naked Caleb out of her head. She did not need to go there. Cobwebs or not, sleeping with a guy like Caleb who, according to his own words, hung out with people who couldn’t remember all the women they’d fucked was not something she was going to do. Ever.

“Very funny,” she said, trying to put into words the oh-honey-no alarms that went off around Caleb. “I mean, he’s hot and all, but he reminds me too much of my dad.”

Gemma let out a spluttering cough and almost dropped the coffee she’d been sipping. “Okay, that definitely went into ew territory.”

“That’s not what I meant.” She flipped off her friend. “He’s got this whole ‘let’s go for it’ vibe about him. I clocked it as soon as he threw this whole dating plan at me and today at the obstacle course when he let go of the rope and just went with the flow.” And he’d done both with a whole devil-may-care gleam in his eyes. If that didn’t scream out “run, you’re in danger,” she didn’t know what would. “You know how much I need predictability. Someone who runs on instinct is the last person I need in my life or between my legs.”

“You’ve thought a lot about Caleb Stuckey,” Gemma said.

Zara shrugged, not wanting to admit the truth of that statement. “Okay, a little.”

“You know, I think you just might be misjudging him. He could surprise you. What won’t surprise me is when I win this bet, because you are so gonna sleep with him.” Gemma strode to the door. “And now I have to trek all the way over to Waterbury to meet with that wedding planner everyone at work raved about.”

A quick hug and she was out the door. Then it was just Zara and Anchovy, which was how everything usually was. Normally, she’d do one of three things: binge-watch old episodes of Law & Order, fall into the latest urban fantasy romance she’d grabbed at the store down the street, or work. Okay, the last one was what she did nine times out of ten.