Why Not Tonight?

“Oh, yes. After I spoke to you last night, a dozen of us brought food and drinks and lawn chairs into the apartment-complex parking lot and we had an impromptu blackout party. Lots of fun. What did you end up doing?”

Mallory’s gaze strayed to her breakfast table and an image of her and Adam and Rocky Road ice cream slammed into her. “I, uh, had a friend over.”

“Kellie?”

“No. Do you remember Adam Clayton?”

“Of course. But you haven’t seen him in years. Where did you meet up with him?”

Mallory related the G-rated version of the story, along with the news that she and Greg had broken up-but since a shot of mother sympathy was always welcome, she didn’t skimp on those details.

“That jackass,” Mom fumed. “I’m so sorry, Mallory.”

“I’m fine, Mom, really. No broken heart, I promise.”

“Well, I’m glad, although I know that it must have stung.” She hesitated then asked, “So what was Adam like? Still handsome and charming?”

“Yes.” And sexy and sweet and funny and sexy. “He was very…nice.” Her gaze drifted again to the table. Very nice indeed.

“Well, just be careful about jumping into another relationship too soon, honey.”

“Not jumping. But if the right guy comes along, believe me, it wouldn’t be a rebound situation. Greg is already a distant memory.”

“Good. How about lunch tomorrow? Are you free?”

“I am. Noon at my office?”

“I’ll be there.”

After saying goodbye, Mallory dialed Kellie’s number. Her friend answered on the first ring.

“Has he left?” Kellie asked. “Are you alone?”

“Yes. Where are you?”

“My house. I can be on my way to your house within three minutes. I have a bottle of wine. It’s warm, but hell, what can you expect with a power outage.”

Mallory laughed. “Don’t rush out. I have a few calls to make for work. I may have to show houses later today.”

“You’re killing me, you know that? You phone me last night and tell me you can’t talk because Adam, your gorgeous former lover, is at your house, and now you tell me that you have to work? There’s a phrase for that, Mal. It’s called ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’ Humph. Just for that, I might not tell you the details about the gorgeous man I met at the beach yesterday…and who I’m seeing again this evening. Which means I’m only available for girlie chitchat until six o’clock.”

“I want to hear everything. Let me make my calls and I’ll phone you back.”

After hanging up with Kellie, Mallory called the buyers and sellers she was supposed to see that afternoon. She tentatively rescheduled the appointments for early in the evening, in the hopes that the blackout would have ended by then. If not, then they agreed to reschedule for tomorrow. That done, she called Kellie back.

“I’m free for the next few hours, so come on over,” she told her friend. “But forget the wine. I have possible appointments this evening. Got any diet soda?”

“Nope. But I have a container of Rocky Road in my freezer. It’s probably half-melted but I’ll bring it anyway.”

Mallory squeezed her eyes shut. “Yippee.”

KELLIE’S ARRIVAL AT NOON coincided with the power coming back on.

“How’s that for timing?” Kellie asked with a grin, shoving her carton of half-melted Rocky Road in Mallory’s freezer.

Since the temperature hovered near ninety, they closed the windows and Mallory cranked up the air conditioner.

“Ahhhhh,” she said as the first blast of cold air hit her. “That feels so good.”

“Quit hogging the AC, sit your butt down and tell me everything,” Kellie demanded, commandeering the bar stool closest to the air conditioner.

“You first. Tell me about this guy you met at the beach.”

“Why do I have to go first?”

Mallory waggled her eyebrows. “Saving the best for last.”

Kellie’s eyes widened, then without delay related her story of meeting one Mark Grainger at the concession line. “He was ahead of me and holding up the works because he’d ordered a half-dozen hot dogs and sodas and hadn’t brought quite enough money. Turns out he was seventy-five cents short, so I handed him a dollar.”

“In the interests of getting the line moving.”

“Exactly. Plus, he had a great ass. When he turned around, the front view was just as great. Six-two, dirty blond hair, deep green eyes, killer smile and dimples. He was all kinds of polite gratitude and had the most amazing accent. Turns out he’s from Australia and he’s been in New York six months working for some international bank. He invited me to join his party, so I helped him carry his drinks. His party consisted of his two sisters, his brother and sister-in-law who were visiting from Down Under and one of Mark’s male coworkers.”

Mallory smiled. “I can see that you had a great time.”

“Great is a gross understatement. I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed so much. They were all so nice-and they thought my accent was cool!” She shook her head and chuckled. “As for Mark…wow. Can you believe he insisted on paying me back my dollar? Said he couldn’t let a ‘lydee’ pay for his food.” She patted her chest. “Be still my heart. He’s funny, smart, gorgeous, and so gentlemanly and polite. And he’s employed. And he’s heterosexual. And he’s interested in me.”

“He sounds terrific.”

“Right. Which means there’s got to be something horribly wrong with him.”

Mallory laughed. “Maybe he’s just a terrific guy. I know they’re an endangered species, but there are still a few of them out there. Probably. So where were you when the lights went out?”

“We were all still at the beach. When the radio announcements advised people not to drive, we just stayed there.”

“All night?”

“Yup. They had a cooler filled with drinks, bags of chips and pretzels, so we were set. Everybody else eventually fell asleep, but Mark and I stayed up the whole night talking. I swear, it felt like we’d known each other for years. Total clickage between us. And wow, does he know how to kiss.” She heaved a dreamy sigh. “I’m telling you, Mal, this guy’s totally knocked me silly. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Every time he looked at me I felt positively woozy.”

“Believe me, I know the feeling.”

Kellie’s gaze sharpened. “Well, since you haven’t met Mark, you must be talking about Adam. Your turn to spill. Tell me everything.”

There was no point in sugarcoating it-Kellie would see through that in a heartbeat. “The night was…amazing. He was amazing. Exactly as I remembered, only better. Charming, sweet, thoughtful. We talked and laughed, reminisced about the past-”

“And the sex was…?”

“Amazing.”

“When are you seeing him again?”

The question brought a hollow pang to her midsection. “I don’t know that I am.”

“Ha-ha. When?”

“Seriously, I don’t know that I am.” She gave her a quick recap of how they’d left things. When she finished, Kellie shook her head.

“Mal, I understand you not wanting to put your life on hold, but it sounds like you and Adam have something special. Don’t forget that eighty-eight percent, ‘One Who Got Away’ statistic.”

“In this case, away is the operative word. Pretty hard to figure out if you have