“That’s different. You and Jon were getting serious. Flynn and I are—”

Laura stared at her. “You and Flynn are what?”

“That’s just it. We’re nothing. We had sex. Once. We work together. It’s a fling.”

“A fling that could either get messy complicated, or could get serious.”

She sighed. “It’s not going to get serious.”

Laura wagged a finger at her. “You can’t predict the future, Amelia. You might believe right now that you’re headed down Flingstown Road with Flynn, but you could end up making a sharp turn onto Love Lane.”

Amelia shook her head. “Not gonna happen. I’ve been to Love Lane and that road was filled with hazardous potholes. I don’t intend to travel down that particular road ever again.”

“Many people have tried to detour and failed, my friend. I’ll lay money you can’t help yourself and you end up down that road again.”

“Nope.”

“We’ll see.”

“Yes, we will.” Amelia picked up her drink, and fortunately, lunch arrived so that particular conversation ended, much to her relief.

After lunch, she and Laura ended up going shopping—but not for shoes. She pondered some lingerie, prodded by Laura who insisted that if she was going to have a hot sex affair, then she needed new underwear.

“You probably haven’t bought new, sexy underwear in years. What are you living in? Some cotton stuff, right?”

She lifted her chin. “My cotton stuff is serviceable and comfortable for work. Besides, my lack of scandalous lingerie didn’t keep Flynn out of my pants the other night.”

“Touché, my friend. But still, we’re stopping in the lingerie department and buying you something fun and sexy. To make you feel good about yourself and not for Flynn.”

When Laura put it that way, how could she resist?

She had to admit, fingering the silks and laces and deep lavender colors—her favorites—did make her feel good. And admittedly it had been a while since she’d shopped for anything this pretty. She certainly hadn’t been interested in wearing anything that would turn on her ex, and after they’d split, underwear from the discount stores had suited her just fine.

Now she had a bag filled with hot lingerie she couldn’t wait to try out. And maybe—just maybe—she’d think about whether she wanted Flynn to see any of it.

Okay, she was already thinking about stripping down and climbing on top of him wearing the dark lavender bra and panties. Her body tingled just pondering the thought of straddling him, his cock hard as she slid across it wearing next to nothing—

“Are you all right?”

They were riding the escalator and her attention snapped back from her oh-so-inappropriate fantasy to her friend. “I’m fine. Why?”

“Your cheeks are flushed.” Laura put her hand on the back of Amelia’s neck, sliding it forward to feel her forehead. “You don’t feel feverish.”

Amelia laughed. “It’s just hot in here and I have on too many clothes.”

Way too many clothes for that fantasy she’d just conjured up.

They hit nearly every department, chatting the entire time as they tried on clothes, browsed makeup and perfume and looked at shoes, much to Laura’s whimpering. In the end, Laura decided on a few pairs of socks, which made Amelia laugh.

“Jon will be so proud you only bought socks,” she said as she dropped Laura off at home.

Laura opened her door. “He likely won’t believe that’s all I got and I fully expect him to inspect the closet. And possibly the trunk of my car.”

“If he needs confirmation, tell him to text me. I promise to vouch for your ability to resist that gorgeous pair of sparkly silver heels.”

Laura whimpered again. “Don’t remind me.”

They hugged. Laura grabbed her bag and said, “Call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes over dinner tonight. Unless of course, you’re in an after-sex stupor. Then just text me and let me know you lived through the night.”

“Funny. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

When she got home, she went inside, checked her mail and her e-mail, then grabbed something to drink. She had a couple of hours to kill before she was due over at Flynn’s house, so she picked up around the house, did that morning’s dishes and folded some laundry. After that she headed upstairs to change clothes. What she was wearing was okay, but for some reason she decided to change into some of her new lingerie. And, of course, she chose the dark lavender bra and panties.

She stared at herself in the mirror, turning from one side to the other. She didn’t have a curvy body and in fact was kind of stick straight. Her friend Laura got all the lush curves and she’d always been kind of jealous. But admittedly, she looked okay in the new underwear. The bra pushed up what little breasts she had, and the double straps on the panties sat nicely on her hips. Her stomach was flat—mostly—and she felt prettier than she had in a long time.

She had long legs, which Laura had always said were Amelia’s best assets. So tonight she decided to wear a dress instead of her usual pants. Especially since she was going to officially meet Flynn’s sister. And maybe because she felt extra special in this underwear.

She washed up, redid her makeup, brushed out her hair and decided on a black silk and cashmere dress with long sleeves. It was cool out so she went with her black heeled boots. She finished off the look with a long silver pendant and her silver earrings.