“Erin’s Whorehouse,” her friend said when she answered. “How can I help you?”

Julie burst out laughing. “Last time I called this number, I got Joe’s Bar and Grill.”

“Yeah, well, Joe got really boring, so I’m changing it up. How did your day go? Since you didn’t bug me while I was on duty, I’m assuming that the ovens didn’t break down and the coffee machines behaved themselves.”

“I had an uneventful day, and this afternoon was blessedly slow, so I got out of the salt mine right at the stroke of five. Then I finally did it.”

“Oh, man. When you say that, I know I better brace myself. What, exactly, did you finally do?”

“I walked over to Blackie’s Pawnshop.”

“And did what? Please don’t tell me you had monkey sex behind a glass display case. Very tacky.”

“No.” Julie smiled so big her face hurt. “I looked to see if, by some miracle, he still had Grandma’s engagement ring.”

“Oh, wow! And I’m guessing, because you sound so happy, that he did. Watch out for that guy, Jules. He’s angling for something more than a cinnamon roll.”

“Maybe so, because he kept it in his back room all this time and never even tried to sell it. I—could—not—believe—it. But he had it, and the very best part is that it didn’t bankrupt me to buy it back.”

“Uh-huh. What did he charge as a redemption fee?”

“Nothing. I got it back for exactly what I sold it to him for.”

“Oh, boy. This is serious stuff, Jules. He’s definitely buttering you up for something more than baked goods and fabulous coffee.”

Julie waggled her feet and curled her toes. “I don’t think so. Not that he isn’t interested in more than my baked goods. He pretty much made that clear this afternoon.”

She heard a rustling sound come over the air, and then Erin said, “Do tell. It sounds like your evening has been a lot more exciting than mine.”

Julie filled her friend in on every nuance of her conversation with Blackie. “It was all I could do to walk out of there, because I lied when I told him I wasn’t in the market for a romantic relationship. I think maybe I am.”

* * *

Erin jerked her cell phone away from her ear to stare at it. Were her ears deceiving her, or had Julie just said she was ready to get serious about a guy again? And with Blackie, of all people. He was so much older. But Erin guessed age wasn’t always a deciding factor in relationships. Sometimes, something clicked between two people and nothing else mattered all that much. Theoretically, she got that. It had just never happened for her.

“So . . .” She let that word hang there for a moment. “What is it that you’re seeking in a relationship? I mean, I understand that physical satisfaction is pretty much a given after being single as long as you have, but is that all you’re interested in, or does it go deeper than that?”