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#Phoneafriend

“What’s the emergency?” Marci asked as soon as Joy opened the door.

Joy pulled her in, slammed the door behind her, then leaned against it. “He kissed me.”

“Say what now? Who kissed you?”

With an eye roll, Joy huffed. “Kian. He kissed me at lunch.”

“Well, it’s about damn time.” Marci returned the eye roll, then shoved a coffee cup into Joy’s hand. “Drink that and chill out.” She turned and walked into the living room, plopping into the chair.

“What do you mean, ‘it’s about damn time’?” Joy asked, stomping into the living room.

Marci waved her finger in front of Joy’s face. “Those of us with eyes can see how he looks at you. He’s all like, ‘Joy Brady doesn’t like me because I was mean to her in high school.’ And then you’re all like, ‘I can’t like Kian Van Adler because he was mean to me in high school.’”

“You think you’re hilarious, don’t you?” Joy asked, deadpan, then dropped onto the couch and propped her feet on the coffee table.

To say Joy was still reeling from her ‘date’ with Kian is like saying Santa was busy on Christmas Eve. It was all she could think about, even hours later. Not just the kiss, either, but all the ideas he brought to the table. They were all great ideas, but she couldn’t get her mind off the kisses they’d shared in the kitchen long enough to think about them. What was really throwing her for a loop was his reaction to the kisses. And by reaction, she wasn’t talking about what he said afterward. She meant how hard it was for him to walk when they broke apart. Quite literally hard.

“It wasn’t just because I’m a woman,” she muttered.

“What?” Marci asked, drawing Joy’s gaze to hers.

“Uh, nothing,” she said, smiling a smile that probably looked possessed, but a girl doesn’t kiss and tell.

“Let me guess, you’re referring to Kian Jr., who stood at attention both during and after the kiss.”

Withering, Joy sank into the couch. “A girl doesn’t kiss and tell!”

“What’s the big deal?” Marci asked, though she’d never been afraid to speak her mind. “Is it a bad thing that he got a hard-on while kissing you? Seems to me that meant he liked it.”

“Are we seriously talking about Kian Van Adler’s hard-on right now?”

“Yep,” Marci answered, sipping her coffee. “But you started it.”

“Because I’m confused, okay? How did this happen?” Joy moaned, rolling her head against the back of the couch.

“Well, when a man finds a woman attractive, all the blood rushes—”

“Marci!” Joy said, laughter filling the name as she fell onto the couch. “Not what I meant!”

“I know, but I’m trying to figure out why you are so,” she motioned with her hands. “Embarrassed that you turned a man on?”

“No. I’m embarrassed that I turned Kian on!” Joy exclaimed, then slapped a hand over her mouth. Why had she said that? It was true, but now Marci would want an explanation, and she wasn’t sure she could give one. “And before you ask, no, I don’t know why.”

“Or maybe it’s not embarrassment so much as confusion?” Marci asked, setting her cup on the table.

“He’s my boss! Ugh, speaking of that, he had a lot of ideas today. I need to run a few by you.”

“Hit me,” Marci said, leaning back, waiting for Joy to lay it out.

Where should she start? With his idea for the mall, or with the one where he asked her to go off overnight for a business meeting?

The mall, Joy. Start with the mall.

“He wants to set up a special night with Santa for underprivileged kids in town.”