The Virgin Gift(46)

One I’d been hearing since a certain flight a couple of months ago.

I’d thought she was just a stranger. That was the role I’d assigned to her.

But I couldn’t get the flight attendant out of my head. Her advice had touched down deep inside me. I wanted to remember her words, to hold on to them, so I’d memorized her voice.

You’ll get there. I can see in your eyes that you’re thinking about it. I know you’ll get there, and you’ll be glad when you tried.

And there was that voice again.

“Can I get you a drink before we take off, Mr. Abernathy?”

My eyes snapped open as she asked the man in front of me for his beverage order.

As if on cue, her gaze traveled to mine. She blinked, then a sliver of a smile tugged at her lips. She returned her focus to her customer, who asked for a bourbon.

A minute later, she brought it to him, then she moved to stand by my seat, a knowing grin on her pretty face. “And what brings you to Paris this time, Mr. Winters?”

My smile spread of its own accord. She remembered my name. “Just heading home.”

“What a coincidence. I live there too. Another American in Paris.”

I sat up straighter, feeling buzzed with possibilities for the first time in ages. “You never told me your name.”

“You never asked.”

I smiled at the beauty in front of me and let her own words be my guide. You’ll be glad when you tried.

“I’m Mr. Winters, as you know. But my friends call me Brandon. And I’d love to know your name.”

Her smile was radiant. “I’m Miss Parker. But my friends call me Serena.”





A few months later, I opened the mailbox at my flat, fishing around for bills or letters. I found an invitation. One I’d known was coming.

I turned and showed it to the woman by my side.

The woman who’d become my lover, my partner, and my friend.

Serena Parker moonlighted as a flight attendant, but her passion was helping others find deep love and intimacy through her podcast.

She was like me. She’d loved and lost, but she was on the other side now.

So was I, and I was loving life with this woman. We spent our free nights together, dining at off-the-beaten-path restaurants, wandering along curving roads lit by streetlamps, and imagining the places we’d travel together. We’d go to faraway islands, eat pineapples, and watch the sunset. Or we’d travel to remote lands, embarking on long hikes that led us to beautiful vistas.

And this time, we’d return to a place I knew well. A place I wanted to go with Serena.

“Would you like to go to a wedding in Vegas with the best man?”

She arched a sexy brow. “I very much would.”





Epilogue





Ask Aphrodite



Hello, my gorgeous lovelies! I’ve been reading your comments and enjoying your questions.

I love that you have so many, and they remind me of how many paths there are to love and intimacy.

I’ve noticed, too, quite a plethora of questions about me.

Who is the woman behind Ask Aphrodite? Who is the woman who guides you through the wilds of desire and sensuality, wherever you are in your journey?

I’m like all of you. And I’m like myself again.

We all have our own stories to tell.

Mine is that I’ve found a second chance.

And I’m here to say that great love is possible more than once.

I’ve found it with a new man, and he’s found it with me too. Do we have it all? I’d like to think so. Because I practice what I preach. I practice openness and honesty and communication.

That, my lovelies, is the heart of what this show is all about.

Learning how to ask for what you want.

If you ask for it, you just might get it.

As for me, I’ll be signing off for a few weeks, since we’re heading to a certain city to attend the wedding of a good friend. And while I’m there, we’ll be eloping, and then flying someplace warm and tropical, where we’ll make love all day and night.

And we’ll eat pineapples too.





Another Epilogue





Nina





“You look beautiful.”

The words came from my sister, Ella, as she raked her eyes over me in my wedding gown.

“So do you,” I said, giving her the same treatment in her black maid-of-honor dress. “Also, I think you might be next.”

“Shh,” she said, bringing her finger to her lips. “Don’t jinx me.”

Ella had met a fantastic man, a single parent like herself, and they’d been going strong for some time now.

“There is no jinxing when it comes to love,” I said as she handed me my bouquet.

“Enough about me,” she said, dismissing the conversation, her expression turning serious. “I have to tell you something important. Something I’ve hoped to be able to say for a long time. I want you to know I’m so glad you waited. And I don’t say that because of me. I say that because of you. You’re so happy with Adam, and all I’ve ever wanted is to see my little sister this incandescent.”

That’s how I felt today, and every day with him.