Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)(38)

“I’d like a little more finesse than that, but it would be better than a kiss on the cheek.”

“See, this is what guys complain about. If they want us, we call them animals and pull back. If they don’t attack us, we think they’re not interested. Men can’t win.”

“I’m not being deliberately difficult,” Felicia told her. “I just wish there’d been more.” She’d wanted to make love with Gideon. She’d wanted him in her bed. Not just for the orgasms, but because she liked touching and being touched by him. “Maybe he’s afraid I’ll get too emotionally connected, although I have told him that if that happens, I’ll deal with it myself. He’s explained he’s not the type to want a relationship, so if I fall in love with him, isn’t that my problem and not his?”

“You’d think so, but it’s rarely that simple.”

“Maybe I should fall in love with him. For practice.”

Consuelo winced. “Don’t go looking for heartbreak, kid. It’ll find you fast enough on its own.”

Maybe, but it would be wonderful to know what love was like—just once.

She glanced at the clock. “The guys are due to arrive shortly. We need to get finished.”

The office was nearly packed. There were two more boxes to fill. Felicia had arranged use of the service elevator, which meant the file cabinets could be moved with their contents in place. She’d already emptied the desk and storage cabinets, not to mention the small closet. With Justice, Ford and Angel each wielding hand trucks, she calculated the move would only take three hours. As long as everyone did what she said, things would go smoothly.

She and Consuelo finished packing about three minutes before Justice, Ford and Angel arrived.

“You couldn’t hire movers?” Ford asked as he took in the stacked boxes, with neat numbers written on the side.

“The city provides movers,” Felicia told him. “However, they have other responsibilities, and I didn’t want to wait. So you volunteered.”

“I don’t remember volunteering,” Ford grumbled.

“Me, either,” Angel said.

“Your lack of recall isn’t my problem,” she said firmly. She’d actually told them when and where to report. Which was almost like volunteering.

“Consuelo will supervise this end of things,” she continued. “I’ll be at the new place. When you take the boxes, please do so in order.” She paused for emphasis. “Once you are in my new office, you will stack them in order. Not all the odd numbers in one section and the evens in another. Not by prime numbers or weight, but in numerical order. Is that clear?”

Justice grinned. “I’m not sensing a lot of trust.”

“I know you. All of you.” She did her best to glare at them, not that she’d ever been especially intimidating. But a girl could dream.

“If you don’t listen to her, you answer to me,” Consuelo said firmly. “Got that?”

Angel and Ford exchanged a look, then nodded.

“The desk stays,” Felicia said, picking up her tablet and tapping on the screen. “So do the bookcases. You have the address. You may begin now.”

She started for the door, then turned back. “Thank you very much for your help. I’ll have beer and pizza waiting for all of you when we’re finished.”

Two minutes later she was on the street. As she exited the building, she was surprised to find several women on the sidewalk. They weren’t walking, and there wasn’t a festival. Instead they seemed to be waiting.

“Is it now?” one of them asked her.

“I wish it was hotter,” her friend said. “Then they’d want to take their shirts off.”

Felicia looked to the left and saw more women waiting. “I don’t understand.”

A woman wearing a bright purple tracksuit walked over. “We’re here for the parade,” she said cheerfully. “You’re Felicia, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m Eddie Carberry. Your bodyguards are moving your office today. We’re here to watch the show.”

Felicia still didn’t understand. “You want to watch men use hand trucks to move boxes and file cabinets?”

Eddie smiled at her. “We want to stare at rippling biceps and great butts. The boxes are just the delivery system.”

“Okay,” Felicia said slowly, thinking there was so much about small-town life she still found confusing.

She walked along the sidewalk. The gauntlet of women stretched to the corner, and when she made the turn, she saw it went on even longer. Her new office was on the other side of City Hall. As she approached that building, Mayor Marsha came out and started toward her.

“I don’t know how word got out,” the mayor said with a sigh. “I swear, the women in this town are like children. Promise them a half-naked man and they go wild.”

“The men won’t be half-naked, so I’m not sure they’re going to get what they came for.”

Mayor Marsha looked grim. “Honestly, I doubt that will matter.”

Felicia looked back at the still-growing crowd of women. Angel had just rounded the corner, and the women cheered. She heard calls of “Work it, baby” and “Take off your shirt!” Instead of appearing insulted, Angel only grinned and moved a little more slowly.