Sunset In Central Park (From Manhattan with Love 2)

“Eating bread is drastic action?”

“No one has seen my naked body in such a long time I can eat what I like.” Eva helped herself to warm, fragrant bread. “And by drastic action, I was thinking of something more—creative. Is it too soon to write my letter to Santa?”

“It’s August.” Paige ignored the bread but helped herself to an olive from the bowl in the center of the table. “I don’t think Santa opens his mail this early. Why don’t you sign up for online dating?”

“I want to meet someone the traditional way.” Eva grabbed a napkin and a pen and started scribbling.

Paige leaned over her shoulder, reading as Eva wrote. “‘Dear Santa, I have been a good girl this year. Too good. For Christmas I would like Very Hot Sex with a Very Bad Man. And a new condom because mine expired last month. Love Eva.’” Paige laughed. “What are you going to do with that?”

“Keep it in my purse until the right moment presents itself.” Eva folded the napkin carefully.

“What if you have an accident and the emergency services find it in your purse?” Frankie asked.

“That would be perfect. I love a man in uniform. So if you’re not pregnant, what sort of trouble are you in?”

Frankie opened her mouth to explain her predicament and then saw Matt and Jake stroll toward the entrance of the restaurant, deep in conversation.

Her stomach did a flip.

Her knees shook so badly she was relieved she was sitting down. She wasn’t ready to see him yet. She hadn’t worked out what she was going to say or how she was going to handle it. “Forget it. Change the subject.” She made a grab for a glass of water. Her hand shook, spilling it across the table.

The puddle slowly spread and Paige held out her hand to Eva. “I need that napkin.”

“No way! Use your own napkin. Mine is about to make the journey to Lapland. It’s going to change my life.”

“Hello, beautiful.” Jake slid into the booth next to Paige, took her face in his hands and gave her a long, slow kiss. “I missed you today.”

Paige smiled up at him, pools of water and napkins forgotten.

“Ugh.” Eva covered her eyes with her hand. “Please, spare a thought for the rest of us who haven’t had sex since dinosaurs walked on the planet.”

Matt slid into the seat next to Frankie.

She held herself rigid, hardly daring to breathe.

Being near him shouldn’t make her this nervous, should it?

She felt the hard length of his thigh against hers and tried to shift away, but she was already pressed up against the wall and had nowhere to go.

“We interrupted your conversation.” Matt reached for the menu. “Eva, what were you saying about sex with dinosaurs?”

“Since dinosaurs, not with dinosaurs. My preference is for sex with humans, but that hasn’t happened in a long time. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s depressing. And anyway, Frankie was just telling us she’s in trouble.”

Frankie shot her friend a quelling glare. “Forget it!”

“Why are you giving me that look? We’re all friends here. If we can talk about me having sex with dinosaurs, we can talk about you being in trouble. It’s only Matt, and sometimes it’s helpful to have a male perspective on things.”

Not this time.

“You’re in trouble, Frankie?” Matt closed the menu without looking at it. “What sort of trouble?”

Damn the man. He knew exactly what her trouble was. “I’m not in trouble.”

Eva frowned. “But you said—”

“It was nothing! Forget it.”

“So here’s my male perspective—” Matt pressed his thigh against hers. “It’s a mistake to turn your back on a problem, or run from it.”