Some Kind of Wonderful (Puffin Island 2)

“No one is going to blame you for that. So you shouted at him. You shouldn’t feel bad about it,” Skylar said stoutly. “It will have done him no harm to find out how you really feel. There’s certainly no reason to be avoiding him. You can hold your head up high. He’s the one who should be hiding in the kitchen.”

“I didn’t just shout at him.”

“You punched him? Nobody is going to blame you for that, either. What you need is dessert. What are we having, Em?”

“Ice cream.”

“Perfect. It will cool her down. Just give her the tub and a spoon.”

“I didn’t punch him.” Brittany rubbed her fingers over her forehead. “I had screaming sex with him.”

Silence descended over the kitchen. Skylar stared at her and then turned to look at Emily, who was also mute.

“Stop gaping at each other,” Brittany muttered. “It happened. I can’t change that. But I have to work out what to do next.”

“But—why?” Skylar sounded faint. “How—how did you get from ‘I have no feelings for you’ to screaming sex?”

“Well, for a start because you told her to!” Emily glanced at Sky in exasperation. “You told her she should have sex with him to see if it was still as good as she remembered.”

“I didn’t mean for her to actually do it! It was the wine talking!”

“We’re never giving you wine again.” Emily looked at Brittany. “Where? When?”

“He gave me a ride home after my trip to the hospital.”

“That explains why you didn’t call me.”

“I did, but your phone kept going to voice mail.”

“You’re kidding.” Emily groaned. “Lisa called me to tell me what a great week she’d had at Summer Scoop.”

“So in fact this is all your fault.” Skylar closed the dishwasher. “Our friend was in trouble and you were talking about ice cream? You need to reevaluate your priorities.”

“I didn’t know that was going to be the exact moment she called. Why didn’t you leave a message?”

“Because I didn’t know how long you’d be and I didn’t know how to refuse his offer without looking as if I cared.”

“So he dropped you home and then what?”

“He followed me into the house.”

Sky blinked. “He forced you?”

Brittany glanced towards the door. “No! Look—we should get back out there—”

“So basically it was a wild-animal moment. No romance or emotional bullshit. No bunches of roses or singing cherubs. Just mind-blowing sex.” Sky grinned. “That’s not so hard to understand. The man is in crazy shape.”

Emily closed her eyes. “Sky—”

“What? I know you’re blind to every man but Ryan, but you should take a closer look. I don’t know which I prefer, his pecs or his abs. And the way he calms Cocoa does something indescribable to my insides. Did you see his hands? It’s all so quiet and understated. I love that. And I love a man who is kind to animals. Did he use a condom?”

“Skylar!” Emily glanced nervously towards the door.

Brittany felt heat rush into her cheeks. “Yes.”

“Wow. He carries one in his pocket just in case his rampant sex drive overwhelms him in the middle of Main Street. Good to know.”

Emily intervened. “He protected her. That’s all that matters. Now can we—”