“Uncomplicated? As in—you were just friends?” Lily asked.
“Yes, sort of.” Frankie sipped her tea and frowned.
“And that’s become a problem?” Lily nudged.
“Exactly.” Frankie rubbed her fingertips against her temple. “Will you promise not to tell Justin about this?”
“Of course,” Lily said firmly.
“Good,” Frankie said with relief. “Because he and Eli are such good friends, and I don’t want him telling Eli about our conversation.”
“I totally understand,” Lily assured her.
“So, here’s the thing. Since Eli and I have been dating, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to say no to him. It’s not that other men haven’t wanted to go to bed with me, but … this is Eli.” Frankie spread her hands expressively, the take-out cup of tea tilting precariously in one hand. “He’s practically part of my extended family. If I sleep with him and things don’t work out, it’s not as if I can just walk away. I’ll keep running into him at family gatherings. I’ll hear about him in casual conversation from Justin or Uncle Harry.”
“I see your problem,” Lily said slowly, sipping her tea.
“Not to mention the fact that he hasn’t said a word about where he thinks our relationship is going,” Frankie added.
Lily’s sable eyebrows lifted. “Do you want it to go somewhere? Permanently, I mean?”
Frankie’s mouth drooped. “I don’t know. I’ve never wanted a permanent relationship.” She slipped off the stool and paced across the room to stare out the bank of tall windows that looked out on Ballard Avenue. Traffic hummed along the brick street below. “But with Eli, I find myself wondering if having a man in my life for the long haul might not be a bad thing.”
“Are you saying you’ve thought marriage was a bad thing up until now?” Lily asked, her voice gentle.
“Maybe not bad,” Frankie told her. “Just … not something I could see myself choosing.”
“You mean, before Eli?”
“I never thought about it before Eli.”
“Ah.” Lily nodded and sipped her tea.
“Has it been worth it for you? I mean—” Frankie waved her hand to encompass the high-ceilinged, well-appointed workroom with its bright bolts of silk, mannequins and lingerie-design sketches tacked on the white-painted walls “—you were a successful designer before you met Justin and had Ava. It must have been difficult to readjust your life to include a husband and child.”
“Oh, yes.” Lily’s face softened, her eyes warm as her gaze met Frankie’s. “But their presence in my life has made me a better designer. And even more importantly, a happier, more contented, more fulfilled person.”
“Hmm,” Frankie murmured, considering Lily’s words.
“You and Eli haven’t had any conversations, even a few comments, about where your relationship is going?” Lily asked.
Frankie shook her head. “No. We’ve only been seeing each other for a short time.” She paced away from her abandoned stool and Lily, then turned to pace back, too restless to be still. “That’s one of the things that bothers me. How can I feel so strongly about him after only a few weeks—days, really,” she amended.
“But haven’t you known him a long time?”
“Yes, since I was a little girl,” Frankie conceded. “But still …” She stopped, leaned a hip against the worktable, and eyed Lily. “Eli Wolf is handsome, charming and kisses like the devil himself. I’m incredibly attracted to him. But he has a reputation for serial dating. He scares me—and I don’t know what to do about him.”
Lily smiled a mischievous, impish grin. “I swear, I felt the same way about Justin. And I never admitted it to a living soul. Kudos to you, Frankie, for being so honest.”
“I don’t know what good it does me,” Frankie grumbled. “It’s not making me feel better. I hate not having answers. I’m a woman who treasures a rational, reasonable approach to life. My sisters tell me I’m too brainy and value logic over emotion, but the truth is, I’ve never found a situation I couldn’t resolve through research and rational thinking.” She threw up her hands and paced away once more. “And this situation is filled with emotion and too little logic. He’s making me crazy. And on top of everything else about him that’s so incredibly attractive, he doesn’t appear to be the slightest bit intimidated that I have a PhD in English Lit and two master’s degrees. I’ve never dated a man who didn’t ultimately resent me for having a double master’s in math and science. It’s as if men are offended by a female who likes math or science, but Eli doesn’t seem to care in the slightest.”
“So, you’re saying Eli sees you as a woman, not a brain?”
Frankie thought for a moment, eyes narrowed, before nodding abruptly. “I suppose I am.”
Lily’s laugh was infectious. “Frankie, do you realize you have the opposite problem from most pretty women—and you are definitely pretty,” she said firmly. “In any event—” she waved a hand before continuing “—women are more likely to complain that men notice their face and body first, while ignoring their brain. You, on the other hand, appreciate Eli because he sees past your brain to the wonderful woman you are.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Frankie murmured, considering Lily’s words.
“I know I’m right,” Lily said firmly. “And how terrific is it that Eli appreciates your emotional, physical self and accepts the cerebral, brilliant side of you as well?”
“I think that’s part of why I’m so drawn to him,” Frankie admitted.
Clear childish tones sounded in the stairwell, answered by a deep male voice as footsteps clattered on the stairs.
“I think Ava’s arrived,” Lily told her.
The little dark-haired girl burst through the doorway, followed by Justin. Lily’s smile held warm affection as she bent to swing Ava up for a hug. The glance she exchanged with Justin as he bent and brushed a kiss against her mouth was filled with love. A twist of wistful envy swept Frankie.
Could she have that with Eli? Was it possible?
“Hi, cousin.” Justin threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick, hard hug. “How’s everything?”
“Fine, Justin, just fine. How are you?”
He gave her a wry grin. “I’ve just spent an hour eating pancakes with Ava at Vera’s Restaurant. My ears hurt from all the chattering.”
Frankie laughed. “That’s what you get for having a bright, precocious daughter. When are you going to have a little boy so your family balances the male-female ratio?”
Justin looked at Lily, lifting an eyebrow. “I’ll let Lily field that question,” he said dryly.
“And Lily’s not talking,” his wife said with a laugh.
“Good for you,” Frankie told them. “Don’t cave in to peer pressure. Have a baby when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready,” Ava piped up. “I want a baby brother.”
The adults blinked before exchanging glances and laughing.
A half hour later, Frankie and Ava left Lily and Justin in the design room above the boutique to drive to the park for an hour of play.
“Cousin Frankie, can we ride our bikes over there?” Ava pointed at open space in the parking lot behind them.
“Well, we could,” Frankie acknowledged. “But if we follow the path around the park,