Im all for you taking on a hot guy, especially now that youve dumped that pansy boy you were dating. But maybe we should wait until youre
I didnt dump Lance. He dumped me. Isabel sneered, her voice rising as she warmed to the subject. He was lousy in bed. But no matter how many times I tell myself its no loss, I still feel like I got ripped off. Im twenty-six, Audra. The years I should have spent exploring my sexuality, living out my wild fantasies, theyve passed me by. I cant afford to wait any longer.
Cringing, her face going flame-red at the cooks disapproving stare and the grins of the waiters, Isabel stopped her rant to suck in a deep breath.
Audra lifted one brow and pursed her lips. I had been about to suggest we wait till you were sober to make a man plan, but hey, we can start now.
Man plan? Isabel giggled at the absurd idea, then her laughter fell away. Well why not? Before taking on any new venture, the first thing she did was sit down and make a plan. Business plans, life plans, weight-loss plans. Damned if most of them hadnt all worked. So why wouldnt a man plan?
I want the ultimate fantasy plan, she mused as she hauled her suede hobo bag up to the table and started digging through it. Something with a limited time frame, you know? I mean, I have such a tight schedule trying to get the new store up and running, I cant have a bunch of distractions right now.
Isabel found her ever-present notepad, flipped to a clean page, and chose a penred for passion, of course.
Okay, first step is to define the goal. Sex is a little too broad, dont ya think? Isabel tapped the pen against her bottom lip. Hot sex is better, but still not right. What dya think? Fling? Affair? Boy toy? Bootie call?
She glanced up to see Audra grimace. What?
Nothing, Audra denied. At Isabels pointed look, she shrugged. Its justwell, this isnt you. I mean, the plan part, thats all you. Goal setting, control, youve got a firm handle on those. But to make a plan specifically targeted at snagging you some emotionless, string-free, temporary sex? Thats the wine talking.
Nope. Isabel shook her head so hard, her curls flew. I had a fling once. I can totally do it again.
That fling was a failure, remember? The liar was married and didnt tell you. You were a mess for months afterward.
Isabel wrinkled her nose and tried to shrug like it hadnt mattered. She had been a mess. Not heartbroken, although shed felt like she should be. But angry and betrayed. The worst of the anger had been aimed at herself, though. Shed given into the romance of being swept off her feet by a sexy guy. Shed been so enamored with all her romantic notions, shed ignored the warning signs. Separated. And shed found out from his wife, who thought they were trying to work things out.
The worst part? The jerk had never seen anything wrong with lying to her. To him, as long as he and his wife had different addresses, he was free to do whatever he wanted. It didnt matter that Isabels idea of free was completely different.
But that had been two years ago, before shed discovered the power of control. A weekend goal seminar had taught her all about it. Since control was already one of Isabels favorite things, the seminar had been like finding heaven. All the tools she needed to shift from being a woman who doodled plans and wishes with minimal success to a take-charge business entrepreneur with a solid business plan and a firm handle on her lifes direction.
So why not apply the same principles in order to get a rocking sex life?
All she had to do was make this man plan and stick to it. As long as she did that, life couldnt fall apart on her again. Now that she thought about it, that mustve been the problem with her relationships in the past, especially with Lance. No plan, no goal. Shed just floated along, letting the guy set the tone for the relationship. Oh, sure, shed hoped hed be the one. But hoping wasnt planning. It just went to show, the one area of her life shed left to fate was her love life, and fate kicked her in the ass.
Nope. Outlining her exact wants and needs, then setting specific goals worked pretty well for everything else. She just had to apply it here, to her love life. Or, she corrected with a naughty little smile, what shed soon make her love life.
I want hot sex, she insisted, now that shed made up her mind. The busboy, clearing glasses from a neighboring table, shot them a startled look. Audra gave him a wink. He blushed and scurried away before Isabel could order another glass of wine.
Isabel rolled her eyes. Audra winked and made guys runto and away from her. Isabel still hadnt quite figured out how to get a guys undivided attentionor what shed do with it once she had it.
As usual, watching Audra made her painfully aware of their differences. Audra could pull off that flirty, spontaneous thing. Isabel worried so much about looking stupid, about failing, that she avoided spontaneity whenever possible.
Not that she had self-esteem issues, really. She knew she was pretty, if in a cutesy way with her shoulder-length, dark curls. Audra, on the other hand, wore her hair short and spiky, the midnight-black tipped in magenta.
Their outer personalities were just as different. Audra being all edgy and wild, where Isabel was known as a good girl.
Inside they were more alike that most people would believe. Not only in their insecurities, but in their drive to have more for themselves than theyd had as kids living next door to each other. Audrad created a career for herself as a lingerie designer, and Isabel who had started her florist career in her parents shop was on the brink of kicking off the next phase of her career plan with an innovative new florist shop. Finally, something completely on her own, a venture that would prove to she was a success.
And now shed apply that planning savvy to the dismal emptiness that was her love life. Between excitement and the wine, it was all Isabel could do not to clap her hands together in excitement. This man plan was going to rock.
Cmon, quit scaring little boys, she insisted. Help me here. Consider it my birthday gift.
I gave you a silk nightgown, Audra reminded her, even as she slid the notebook and pen out of Isabels hands.
Yeah, but the rest of the gift can be a guy to wear the nightgown for. Your designs deserve an audience, right? Help me get one.
A small, sober voice in Isabels head pointed out that she sounded desperate and needy. It wasnt like she was a troll with no prospects. But she knew she was the kind of gal who drew in nice guys. The ones who paid more attention to their stock portfolio and cholesterol levels than they did to mind-blowing physical satisfaction.
Take Lance, for instance. Oh, he was fine on the surface. Good-looking, smart and ambitious. But sex with him was like eating Chinese food. Shed been fulfilled in the moment, but a half hour later shed felt unsatisfied and puzzled as to why.
Okay, consider this my gift to you, part two, Audra agreed. She sketched a few words on the page. Lets start with the basics. You want hot sex. What turns you on? Whatre your fantasies?
Rules first. Before I get to the sex, I need the guidelines firmly established, Isabel insisted.
Never one for rules, Audra just rolled her eyes. But she wrote the numbers one through three on the page anyhow.
Only three?
Only three?
Too many rules just get in the way. This is it, all you get. She tapped the pen on the page, then raised a brow, as if to ask well?
Okay, number oneIm in control. I want to call the shots in this relationship instead of being the one following along like an enthusiastic puppy.
Audra nodded and wrote that down.
Number twoonce youre committed to the plan, you cant second-guess yourself, Audra declared. Its all or nothing. I know you, if you start second-guessing, youll back out before you even get started.
Fine, Isabel agreed with a huff. She thought, then poked at the paper. Number threeno silly ideas about falling in love. Its just sex. Wild, insanely passionate sex.
Thats a given, Audra argued. Why waste a rule on that?
Not that Im speaking from experience or anything, Isabel said, only half-lying, but I think with the right guy, if the sex is so excellent and wonderful, itd be easy to fool yourself into believing its all romantic. Like love-at-first-kiss.
Audra rolled her eyes, but wrote it down anyway. Okay, lets get to the fantasies.
I said I wanted a hot, sexy man, Isabel reminded her meticulously.
A hot sexy man isnt gonna do you any good if hes not pushing the right buttons. Any dork can be the hottest sex youve ever had if hes tapping into your fantasy.
Isabel considered, then dismissed that theory. She wanted a hot sexy man, not a talented dork. The fantasy angle had potential though.
How do I make a fantasy list?
Think of the hottest guy youve ever seen. Real life, movie, whatever. What guy out there, just by thinking about him, gets you hot?
She didnt even have to consider it. All she had to do was close her eyes and a face flashed into her mind. Unruly dark hair, vivid green eyes and a body to die for. The hottest, sexiest, guy shed ever met.
From the grin on your face, youve got someone in mind?
Oh, yeah. Remember Dante Luciano?
Nice, Audra said, her tone both appreciative and amused. Dante was trouble, through and through. He was so bad, he made me look like a goody-goody.
Which was saying a lot, since back then Audra had one of the wildest reps to ever hit the local high school.
His fathers my contractor, you know? Isabel said.
When her parents had retired earlier that year, theyd sold the family florist shop and adjoining apartment. Then theyd given her the money to fund her new location. A darling Victorian located on the main street of Santa Vera. The small, tourist haven in Northern California was a few miles from her hometown of Auburn. Close enough to keep some of the existing customer base, far enough away to feel like she was finally striking out on her own.
Didnt you have to talk to him or something at a party back when we were kids? Audra frowned, obviously trying to remember.
Isabel just shrugged. Shed never discussed that that night with Audra. At first, because shed been grounded for three months and hadnt been allowed to go out of the house or to make any phone calls. Later, because she hadnt wanted to hear how bad or how far out of her reach Dante was.
Its a good thing you didnt hook up with Dante, then, Audra said with a laugh. He and his dad had major issues. I remember a few times he ended up staying at our place after his old man kicked him out.
Twirling one long black curl around her finger, Isabel frowned. Shed never been jealous of Audras reputation or lifestyle before. But shed always been curious.
Did you and Dante ever, you know
Audra gave her trademark wicked grin and winked. When Isabel frowned, she laughed and shook her head. Nah, we never did more than flirt. Dante was a couple years ahead of us, remember. He was tight with my brother, Drew. By the time I was up to his standards, hed left town.
Before Isabel could do more than wonder at the relief surging through her, Audra tapped the notepad with the pen. Okay, keep your fantasy guy in mind and let your imagination soar. Lets come up a few hot fantasies for him to fulfill.
Isabel eyed her friend, then the notepad. She turned around and called out to the waiter, Another glass of wine, please.
WHO KNEW BEING A YEAR OLDER would hurt this bad? Isabel pressed the heel of her hands to her forehead to try to keep the pounding from making her eyeballs explode.
She wasnt sure what was worse, the hangover or the sense of impending doom tapping on her shoulder. All these big plans, everything she wanted, was right here, spread out across her desk.
Could she make it happen?
A glance at the color-coded and bulleted spreadsheet told her she was a week behind on the shop renovations. Another week and she stood to lose her contract with the town council for their spring festival. Since she needed that contract to launch her business with enough success to avoid becoming a first-year statistic, she couldnt afford the loss.
Everything she had was invested in this new floral shop. Years of planning, of dreaming and hoping. And she was going to lose it all because her contractor broke his foot? Panic rumbled sickeningly in her stomach. She couldnt fail. Her parents retirement depended on her success. Their pampered and protected only childthey expected her to excel. Theyd sold their store and loaned her the money to open this new floral and gift shop. Sure, they said they wanted to move to the little town in Oregon and retire next to her aunts, but she knew it was because they couldnt both lend her the money and afford to retire in California.
She couldnt let them down. She just couldnt.
Pushing the spreadsheet aside, Isabel grabbed her notebook to outline a possible plan of attack to get the renovations finished on time. Flipping pages, her eyes went wide. She flipped back.
The Man Plan.
Holy shit. She pressed her index finger to the vein throbbing in her right temple. Had she and Audra actually made a plan to catch a guy? A hot sexy guy? Glancing over the pages, a reluctant smile tugged at her mouth. Theyd actually created something excellent here.
She ran her finger down the page.
Rules:
1 Take control.
2 No second-guessing or backing out.
3 No falling in love.
Steps:
Find the perfect guycheck credentials.
Feel him outor up. Make sure the spark is there.
Take the list in order; build up the tension.
Set a time limit. Two weeks is ideal affair length.
Cut him loose. Remember rule three.
Fantasies:
Hot, sexy kissmake me melt.
Slow, sexy dance. Get a feel for the moves.
Hot, wild and a little rough up against the wall.
Intense passion in a semi-public place.
Pure romance-novel sex. Complete with a ride on a white horse along the beach.
A smorgasbord of sexual pleasure, complete with whipped cream, strawberries and lots of decadent chocolate.
Water play, shower, bath, hot tub. Something with pulsating heat.
Tied up and crazyfor extra spice, add a dollop of chocolate.
Isabel snickered. Right. Like she had time for something like this. Maybe after shed opened the shop. Or later, once Sweet Scentsations had wowed the town and made its niche. There wasnt any deadline on the Man Plan.
Regardless, she couldnt worry about it now. She simply had too much to do. Tearing the pages from her notebook, she tossed them on the corner of her desk with a smirk.