The Secret (Single in Seattle 1)

So, I do. I tell her about finding him in my office and everything that led up to me walking out his front door.

“Wow,” she says at last. “That’ll be a story to tell your grandchildren.”

“I don’t think I’ll be bragging to the grandkids that I had a one-time stand with someone. If my gran said something like that to me…ew. No. Just no.”

“So, he’s still an irritating jerk, but he’s hot,” she says, summarizing what I just told her.

“Oh, yeah. That pretty much covers it.”

“I bet he tries to see you again.”

“I’m capable of saying no,” I remind her. “I’m too busy to date. I have a demanding career. And, like you said, my dad would kill me. And maybe him, as well.”

“You’re an adult,” Stella points out. “You can date—or fuck—anyone you want.”

“Not celebrities.” I shake my head and lean my head back against the couch. “You know how strict my dad is about that. Yes, I’m an adult, but it would freak him out—big time. I don’t need that kind of drama. Besides, I don’t like Vaughn well enough to date him. It was just sex.”

“Just really good sex,” Stella echoes.

“Exactly.” I try to look nonchalant. “It’s no big deal. We just blew off some steam. Got rid of some sexual tension. I’ve been working hard, so a little sex was good for the soul. That’s all. He’s totally annoying, so I won’t be tempted to do it again.”

Except, he’s not annoying. He’s got a bit of a superiority complex, sure, but he’s not that bad. At least, he apologized after he realized that he’d been in the wrong.

And the sex wasn’t just good. It was out of this world. It might have been the best of my life. I’ve had decent sex in the past, but it didn’t make me tingle like that. It didn’t make me crave more.

Which is bad because I’m not doing Vaughn again.

“You said his house. Does he live here?”

“His family has a house here. It’s ridiculously huge and beautiful.”

“And you went there.”

I nod. “He gave me his phone number and the address and told me to meet him.”

“And you did.”

I look over at her. “Stop it.”

She holds her hands up in surrender. “I didn’t follow directions from a sexy but annoying actor and fuck him in the kitchen. Damn it.”

I laugh and kick out to nudge her in the leg. “Don’t be a jerk.”

“I’m just jealous,” she says with a sigh. “At least one of us is getting some. Do you have to work?”

“I should, but I don’t want to. What about you?”

“I should, too. But maybe, instead, we should order some Chinese food and watch reality TV.”

“That sounds like the best idea you’ve ever had in your life.”

Stella grins. “I think so, too. I’ll order extra for when Erin and Drew get home, or they’ll be sad.”

“Especially Drew. He’s going to eat us out of house and home, you know.”

“The Montgomery boys like to eat,” she says with a shrug. “We could charge him extra for rent to make up for it.”

“Nah. It’s not a big deal. I want moo shu chicken. And potstickers. Oh, and egg rolls.”

“Fried rice?”

“That’s a given. Extra fortune cookies, too.”

“Duh.” She taps on the screen of her phone. “Okay, it’ll be here in forty-five minutes.”

“Perfect. I can take a shower and get comfy. We have a lot recorded on the DVR to catch up on.”

“I’m in,” Stella says and closes her laptop, then stands to follow me upstairs. “Just tell me this. Does Vaughn have a decently sized dick?”

“Better than decent.”

“You bitch.”

Chapter 3

~Vaughn~

“Up!” Pudgy hands lift toward me, and a little face with the sweetest lips I’ve ever seen pouts, wanting my attention.

“You’re cute,” I reply as I lift Paisley into my arms and blow a raspberry on her round cheek. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

“Just like most women in the free world, our daughter has a crush on you,” Kelly says as she walks into the dining room and sets out a platter of ribs. “And she’s a year old.”

“She has good taste,” I reply and wink at Paisley, my little goddaughter. Kelly’s married to my best friend, Jamal, and I’ve known them both for more years than I can count. I trust them implicitly.

So much so that Kelly is my personal assistant.

“I can’t believe you got the appointment with costuming wrong for this project,” Kelly says as Jamal walks into the room with corn on the cob and potatoes. Jamal takes the baby from me and sets her in her high chair. It’s still jarring to see my enormous friend, with his broad shoulders and huge hands, handling that tiny baby girl. “I reminded you three times of when to be there.”

“I wrote it down wrong,” I reply with a sigh. “I messed up the date. Do you know Olivia Conner?” I ask her.