Lila frowned. “She’s married. I know that because she regularly overshares about her sex life. She’s quite flexible for her age. And why would I glow?”

“She’s not pregnant.” Armie sent Remy a dark stare.

Lila turned the sweetest shade of pink. “What? Why would you think I’m pregnant? I just slept with him and he used a condom and everything. I’m on the pill, by the way, but I’m going to need a test on you. Sexually transmitted infections can lie in wait for years. I’ll do one on me, too. We can exchange them over dinner.”

“That’s very modern of you,” Noelle said, watching the conversation like it was the best tennis match ever.

Lila’s skin went from pink to red. “Damn it. I should not have said that. I’ve been around Mabel for too long. I’m starting to put everything out there.”

“Well, I think it’s refreshing,” Lisa said, moving back to the stove. “I like this side of you. And according to all the rumors, Armie shouldn’t have any trouble passing that particular test.”

“He hasn’t had sex in years and years,” Noelle confirmed. “It’s been a long drought for him, and it makes him cranky. I would have asked you for some kind of sex toy for him that I could slip into his nightstand, but I don’t know if they have those for men.”

He turned to his very precocious teen. “You asked Lila about sex toys?”

It was Noelle’s turn to go pink. “Just joking. Maybe. It’s doctor-patient privilege.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Not until you’re eighteen.”

He turned to Lila, ready to find out exactly how much she was already influencing his daughter.

•   •   •

How could her morning have already gone so wrong? She’d woken up only moments before. She shouldn’t be dealing with this kind of drama. The night before had been a revelation, but she was confronted with all the reasons they might not be able to work this morning. All it had taken was the addition of a few people and she was right back to worrying they didn’t really fit together.

“I think this is a conversation we should have in private.” She loved her sister and she should have called her apparently. Back in Dallas, it would have been no big deal. Lisa likely wouldn’t have even heard about the incident. Here, she was discovering, everything was a big deal.

Maybe he would see reason and she could put off the conversation until they could have it in a professional setting. Like the clinic, where she would be properly dressed and in the right place to deal with the fact that she’d had a conversation with his daughter he might be angry about.