“I tried that,” Vickie said. “But Zoey said there’s nothing there but friendship.”

Maura sighed. “It’s too bad. Zoey’s always felt like part of the family. But I’ve never picked up on anything between them.”

Cecile grabbed her bag and stood. “Well, I think they’d be adorable together.”

Mike and Zoey were spending a lot of time together. And Zoey said she’d thought about it. Vickie would have to keep a closer eye on those two.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

MIKE DIDN’T USUALLY need help coming up with riddles and dad jokes—that was kind of his specialty. But coming up with a joke while reaching out to the best friend he’d slept with two days ago was new territory for him. Zoey had been so adamant that they keep everything quiet from their friends and families, so that Hazel wouldn’t find out. Friends with benefits, that’s all they were.

Really good friends. With some spectacular benefits.

That night of the storm, he and Zoey had nothing short of life-altering sex. And it was all her idea, which somehow made it even hotter. When he’d opened his door to see her standing there in the doorway to her room in the skimpy little nightie... His body responded so fast that it was a miracle he’d been able to walk down the hall to her.

The hottest dreams he’d had were nothing compared to the actual feel of her in his arms. The fires her fingertips created everywhere they traveled. The soft, needy whimpers that rocketed through him like lightning bolts. And being inside her, feeling her warmth and...

Mike got up from his desk and started pacing his office. He had a real estate closing in half an hour and he couldn’t walk in there with a teepee in his pants. It had only been two days, but it felt like an eternity since he’d touched her. He needed to see her tonight, even if only to talk. Like old times.

We’ll never be the same again...

He raked his fingers through his hair, then curled his hands and tugged on it in frustration. He hadn’t liked hearing those words from Zoey, but she wasn’t wrong. He had a hard time imagining that anything would ever be like old times between them. But they’d promised to try to keep the friendship intact. He needed to keep things light. He started tapping on his phone.

M: What do bird couples call each other?

There was a long pause, and he wondered if she was on a service call somewhere. Or had he made a mistake using the word couple? A floating bubble finally appeared.

Z: No idea

He grinned, crossing his fingers that he wasn’t crossing a line. Where were the lines? Did they have lines now?

M: Tweetheart

Z: Well, one thing hasn’t changed. Your jokes are still awful.