They all turned to gaze at her.

“I’m his matchmaker! We’re not having sex!”

“Which is a good thing,” Molly said. “But Dean Robillard’s a whole different matter. Talk about the ultimate boy toy.”

“We’re straying,” Krystal said. “Three of us have been married for a long time, and no matter how much we love our husbands, things can get a little stale.”

“Or not,” Phoebe drawled with her cat’s smile.

They all snickered, but Krystal wouldn’t be distracted. “Molly and Kevin have young kids, and we know what a crimp that can put in your sex life.”

“Or not.” Molly offered up her own cat’s smile.

“The point is…It’s time we get more in touch with our sexuality.”

“I’m way too much in touch with mine,” Janine said. “I just wish somebody else would touch it, too.”

More snickers.

“Go ahead and make jokes,” Krystal said. “We’re still going to watch this film. We’ll be better women for it.”

Charmaine went on full alert. “What kind of film?”

“An erotic movie made especially for women.”

“You’re kidding. Really, Krystal.”

“The one I selected—a personal favorite—involves actors of various races, ages, and degrees of hotness, so nobody’ll feel excluded.”

“This is your big mystery?” Phoebe said. “That we’re going to watch porn together?”

“Erotica. Made just for women. And until you’ve seen some of these movies, you shouldn’t judge.”

Annabelle suspected more than a few of them already had, but no one wanted to put too much of a damper on Krystal’s enthusiasm.

“Here’s what I really like about this particular film,” Krystal said. “The men are all gorgeous, but the women are fairly ordinary. No silicone.”

“That sets it apart from porn for men, all right,” Sharon said. “At least from what I’ve heard.”

Krystal began fussing with the DVD player. “There’s also a story, and real foreplay. A lot of it. Kissing, slow undressing, lots of caressing…”

Janine buried her face in her hands. “This is pathetic. I’m already getting turned on.”

“I’m not,” Charmaine said in a huff. “I’m a Christian, and I refuse to—”

“Good Christians—good Christian women—are supposed to please their husbands.” Krystal smiled and hit the remote. “And believe me, this’ll please the hell out of Darnell.”

Chapter Fourteen

When Annabelle returned to the cottage shortly after midnight, her cheeks were still flushed from watching the film, and her sundress clung to hot, damp…very damp flesh. Seeing the light shining through the front window filled her with dismay. Maybe he’d left it on as a courtesy. Please don’t still be waiting up. She absolutely could not face him tonight. Even without watching a dirty movie, she could barely keep her hands off him, but after what she’d just seen…

She tiptoed up to the porch, slipped off her sandals, and let herself in as silently as the squeaky screen door and wobbly doorknob would allow.

“Hey.”

She gasped and dropped her sandals. “Don’t scare me like that!” “Sorry.” He lay sprawled on the couch, a sheaf of papers in one hand. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of faded black athletic shorts. His feet were bare, his ankles crossed on the arm of the couch, where light from the floor lamp turned the hair on his calves golden. Her eyes returned to the gym shorts. After what she’d seen on the screen, he was criminally overdressed.