Wilde Thing

offering. The new-and-used bookstore that connected directly to The Daily Grind already had customers strolling the aisles for a good read, some with one of Liz's specialty drinks in hand. While her and Mona's businesses were their own, there was no denying that their patrons enjoyed the services they offered and loved being able to buy a best- selling novel and specialty coffee drink all in one convenient stop.

'Good morning,' Liz greeted, and headed behind the front counter, where Mona was sorting through a box of used books, her movements slow and sluggish. 'I brought you an eye-opener.'

Mona's expression turned grateful, and she eagerly reached for the hot drink. 'With a double shot of espresso?' she asked hopefully.

'Of course.' Liz grinned.

Mona closed her eyes, took a long whiff of the fragrant vapors curling upward, and moaned in appreciation. 'You are so good to me.' She took a tentative drink of the steaming liquid and sighed. 'How did you know I needed a good kick of caffeine this morning?'

'You know your mood is a dead giveaway.' Liz leaned against the counter and slipped her hands into the front pockets of her apron, having learned long ago how to judge her friend's disposition in the morning. 'When you don't cheerfully breeze through the cafe and yack with all my customers before opening shop, it's a sure sign that you're either tired, grumpy, or have something on your mind.'

'Tired,' she murmured, and eyed Liz above the rim of the Styrofoam cup. 'And if I wasn't so out of it, I'd take offense to that 'yacking' comment you just made.'

Liz raised a brow, completely unfazed by her friend's cranky threat. 'Late night for you, too?'

'Ummm. My current beau, Brad, took me out dancing until the wee hours of the morning, though I'm guessing my evening wasn't as interesting as yours.' Mona tipped her head Liz's way, suddenly seeming very alert and awake. 'How was your first night as a phone sex operator?'

Liz wrinkled her nose. 'It's not a career I'd choose to pursue. I think I'll stick to what I do best, making coffee drinks.'

'Did you find out anything on your cousin?'

'No, not yet. There's a few girls I'm trying to be friendly with, and hopefully they'll eventually open up and give me some information on Valerie, if they even know anything at all.' She cast a quick glance back at the cafe, making sure that Gloria wasn't swamped with orders, which she wasn't. 'I'm trying not to get discouraged. Steve did warn me that it could take time.'

Mona nodded in understanding, but her gaze held a deeper curiosity she didn't hesitate to express. 'So, did you at least have a good time talking about sex?'

'Not at first,' she replied wryly. 'Some of the callers were downright perverted and lewd.'

Mona laughed. Obviously, the caffeine was kicking in and perking up her spirits. 'That's only because they were strangers.' She took another fortifying drink. 'How did your call with Steve go?'

Liz had told Mona about her plan with Steve, to use him to get invited to one of The Ultimate Fantasy parties. 'It was okay,' she said, deliberately vague.

Mona's gaze narrowed skeptically. 'Just okay?'

'All right, it was good.' Her face flushed in remembrance, and she modified her rating. 'Better than good.'

A wide grin spread across Mona's face. 'Now we're getting to the good stuff.' A customer walked up to the counter with an armful of books, and Mona held up a stern finger at Liz. 'Hold that thought.'

As if Mona would let her drop the subject now that she'd managed to make Liz fess up. Liz waited while she rang up her customer and bagged the books for the older woman, and then she was back, anxious and eager to hear more.

'Spill all the juicy details,' Mona said.

Liz gave her friend a very brief, clean-cut version of her phone conversation with Steve last night, not wanting to share just how sizzling and erotic the episode had been. She avoided specifics, giving Mona just enough information to draw her own conclusions, without really confirming anything at all.

Mona nodded. 'So, things are working out between you and Steve, then, yes?'

'With business and finding Valerie, yes,' Liz replied, deliberately misconstruing Mona's meaning.

'Your business with him happens to include hot and steamy phone sex,' she said, and continued sorting the used paperbacks from the box on the counter. 'So I'm assuming that your two-way banter was mutually satisfying?'

She absently turned the pencil in her pocket between her fingers. 'Umm, you could say that.' While Steve might have been the only one who'd climaxed from their phone conversation, he'd made up for that in spades later, as he'd promised.

Mona must have caught the dreamy smile that curved her lips, because she pounced on it like the curious feline she was. 'It appears to me that the two of you have more than business going on.' She gave Liz a quick once-over, then grinned slyly. 'You slept with him last night, didn't you?'

Although an instinctive denial rose to her throat, Mona was her best friend, and Liz couldn't bring herself to lie to her- not when she trusted Mona unconditionally with something as private as her relationship with Steve. 'Yeah, I did.'

'Well I'll be damned.' Mona stared at her in awed delight. 'I knew you had it in you, and it's about time.'

Liz shrugged, playing it off. 'It's nothing serious.'

'Nobody said it had to be,' Mona said pragmatically but with genuine caring. 'Just enjoy yourself, and Mr. Wilde, for as long as it lasts.'

Now, that was something she could easily agree with. 'I intend to.'

'Tell me one thing I'm dying to know.' Mona leaned toward her and lowered her voice secretively, obviously trying to keep her question just between them and out of earshot of any customers. 'Was he as good in the sack as he looks?'

Memories of just how good he was filtered through Liz's mind, and her heart picked up its beat, making her feel like a teenager with a crush on the school bad boy. That was how he made her feel-young and vibrantly alive. And anxious to see him again.

'He was… incredible, in every way.' It was the only adjective she could find to describe Steve Wilde and do him justice. 'The best I've ever had, actually.' And he had the wonderful ability to bring out the bad girl in her and let that naughty side have free rein with him. She'd never let loose like that with Travis, who believed sex was all about him achieving pleasure.

'After the past three years of flying solo, you deserve to treat yourself to a hot, guilt-free affair.'

Liz laughed, because she knew Mona expected her to. Her affair with Steve was no doubt a guilty pleasure, but she wasn't about to admit to the deeper blame she was struggling to keep at bay for stringing her aunt and uncle along about Valerie, and for not being able to handle the simple request of watching out for their daughter.

She glanced back at the cafe and caught sight of Henry, the older guy who delivered her dairy products. Welcoming the interruption from her more troubling thoughts, she grasped the opportunity to refocus on business.

'I'd better go help Gloria get that dairy order put away,' she told Mona just as another customer came up to the register with her choice of reading material.

'Okay, we'll talk more later.' Mona flashed her a smile. 'By the way, thanks for the kick of caffeine.'

'Anytime.' Liz headed around the counter and gave her friend a lighthearted poke in the side as she passed. 'Since it seems to put you in a good mood, who am I to argue?'

'No, hearing about your evening with the incredible Steve is what perked me up,' she countered sassily. 'I should be so lucky, so I'll just have to live vicariously through you.'

Liz just shook her head and continued back into the cafe. Back to real life and the responsibilities awaiting her.

Chapter 6

A few minutes before seven that evening, the familiar rumble of a motorcycle pulling up in front of the cafe