Edith dipped her spoon into the rich dark ice-cream and scooped a large helping into her mouth. She sucked on the treat for a few seconds before chewing a few times. She savored the dessert, leaning back on the sofa, eyes closed until she finally swallowed, eliciting a low moan. “It’s almost better than orgasming, almost but not quite. Jacob was so much better than any ice-cream I ever had, chocolate or otherwise. I can’t believe he left with that hussy instead of me.” She gave her spoon another lick before dipping it back in the tub.

“He’s not allowed to date ‒ to have any kind of relationship. You need to try not to take it personally. Even if he did really like you, and I’m sure he did, he couldn’t act on it.”

Edith looked at Ana pointedly. “Winston asked you out on a date.”

Ana gave a little snort. “That’s different. It’s fake dating … not the real thing.”

“Fake dating?” Edith cocked her head. “Yeah right, tell me another one. You warned me that I was too emotional for a one-night stand well, right back at ya.”

“It’s not like I’m going to sleep with him. We’re friends, that’s all.”

“Don’t forget that I saw him.” Edith laughed. “He’s too hot to be a friend.”

“What a terrible thing to say. That’s awful and so stereotypical. Next you’ll tell me that men and women, in general, can’t just be friends.”

“Of course they can but only if there’s no sexual attraction. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how sexy Winston is, how broad his shoulders are, how thick his biceps were in that shirt he was wearing tonight or how he filled those jeans,” she raised her brows and widened her eyes, “and yes, I’m talking about the crotch area.”

Ana choked out a laugh and covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe you said that,” she finally managed to get out.

“It’s the truth isn’t it? The guy is packing.”

“Edith!” Ana chided. “You can’t say things like that and no, I can’t say I noticed his … his … you-know-what. That’s just plain rude.”

“Really?” Her friend looked shocked. “You seriously didn’t notice? You didn’t look? Not even once?”

Ana shook her head so hard that she might give herself whiplash if she wasn’t careful. “No way! Just no.”

“Okay then … you can fake date him in that case. I guess you do see him as just a friend.” She lifted her eyes in thought for a few seconds. “I don’t understand what’s in it for him though. He might have ulterior motives.” Edith held the tub out to her.

“I don’t think so.” Ana scooped some ice-cream onto her own spoon. “He told me he’s done screwing around.”

“Famous last words.” Edith wrinkled her nose.

“I believe him. You should have seen how many gorgeous women approached him this evening. He said they just want sex from him but he wants to have a bit of fun without those kinds of expectations. Thing is,” she sucked in a breath, “we kind of both want the same thing, and I think he genuinely wants to help me.”

“What do you want out of it?”

Ana sucked in a breath and then slowly released it. “I think I agree with Doctor Brenner, I want to have a bit of fun.” She shrugged. “No more and no less. Just a little fun and if it helps me … get better.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the other words hovering on the edge of her mind … ‘move on’. Guilt flooded her for wanting that.

“In that case,” Edith smiled, “go for it.” She winked at Ana. “I know I would.”

Ana couldn’t get ahead of herself though. A month was a very long time. Everything could change between now and then. She needed to discuss this with her therapist. She needed to give it more thought.

Fun.

No strings.

Just friends.

Was it possible? She may not have noticed the size of his package. Did women actually check that out on a guy? Did they really? She may not have noticed that, but she had noticed that Winston was a good-looking guy. That didn’t mean she would ever end up liking him for real. It wasn’t like he would ever be in town enough for that to happen. Real relationships took a long time to develop and that happened when people were seeing each other all the time. Nope, she was good. Something that felt a little like excitement unfurled in her. The prospect of fake dating Winston was sounding more and more appealing by the second.