wedding or what that would mean for her secret. In ninety minutes, give or take, Tommy would be paraded in front of the Parrish family as a ring bearer. They’d have the entire ceremony to watch him and put together the pieces of the puzzle—and there was nothing Jenna could do to stop it.
She closed her eyes in prayer that she would get through the night with Tommy’s true parentage protected. The alternative was too overwhelming to bear. If the truth came out, she and Tommy would have to pick up and leave town immediately, in a middle-of-the-night, desperate-woman-on-the-run type of move. Away from her support system, she had no idea how she’d take care of Tommy and still get through her last month of college.
Stumbling out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around her middle and drained the champagne. Then she did the only thing she could think of. She found her phone in her purse and called her best friend, Carrie. “Hey.”
“Hi. Didn’t expect to hear from you this weekend. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your sister’s wedding?”
Jenna sat on the closed toilet lid. “I am, but I needed a break.”
“Uh-oh, what happened?”
Nothing wrong with a little white lie when the truth was too dangerous to share. “Just bummed I don’t have a date for this thing.”
“What about the hot lawyer?”
She and Carrie had had many talks about Matt, from PMS-fueled bitch-fests to diabolical strategy sessions. “He’s not ready for a relationship right now. He tried to let me down easy today.”
Carrie sighed into the phone. “What is it with this guy?”
Jenna didn’t have the slightest idea, but even if she did, she would never divulge Matt’s private life to her friends. “No clue.”
“I’m sorry, chica, but I think it’s time for you to give up on this particular fish and go back out in the sea.”
Jenna fiddled with the tag on the towel. “I’m not sure about the merits of comparing men to fish. I think they’re more like—”
“Peacocks? Donkeys? Hyenas?”
Jenna laughed despite herself. “I was thinking more like elephants.”
Carrie gasped. “Hold on a sec. That sounds to me like you’ve seen this Matt guy naked. And he’s . . . he’s hung like an elephant! This changes everything. Honey, you can’t let this one slip away.”
“What? Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I haven’t seen him naked and I have no idea how he’s hanging.” Not actually true because she’d felt his arousal while they’d waltzed and caught a glimpse when she’d woken on Tara’s couch, so she knew firsthand that he was hanging just fine, thank you very much.
“Damn. You know that’s one of my top twenty things I want to do before I get married, right?”
“Sleep with a well-endowed man? Yeah, I’m aware of that.” As far as goals went, Carrie’s might be shallow, but it had merit.
“Just once,” Carrie pined. “One magic night of hedonism is all I’m asking. I mean, how are we supposed to know if the adage ‘size doesn’t matter’ is true or merely a cruel urban legend perpetuated by teeny-weenie men?”
That was a conundrum. Jenna tried, but she couldn’t hold back a giggle, as usual when their conversation plunged into the gutter. “I’m already feeling better. Thank you.”
“I’m here for you anytime. You know that. Okay, I’m off my magic wang soapbox—for now. Tell me, why are men like elephants?”
Jenna indulged in one more laugh. Nothing like a magic wang soapbox to put her problems in perspective. “Okay, so Tommy and I were watching this show on elephants a few years ago. Did you know male elephants don’t live with the pack of females or their kids? They can’t even live together in a herd of males because all their macho maleness makes them too aggressive. It’s the female elephants that run the show, feed the young, and protect the herd. And men . . . well, they only come around when they want to get laid.”
“That’s a really jaded view of dating
She closed her eyes in prayer that she would get through the night with Tommy’s true parentage protected. The alternative was too overwhelming to bear. If the truth came out, she and Tommy would have to pick up and leave town immediately, in a middle-of-the-night, desperate-woman-on-the-run type of move. Away from her support system, she had no idea how she’d take care of Tommy and still get through her last month of college.
Stumbling out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around her middle and drained the champagne. Then she did the only thing she could think of. She found her phone in her purse and called her best friend, Carrie. “Hey.”
“Hi. Didn’t expect to hear from you this weekend. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your sister’s wedding?”
Jenna sat on the closed toilet lid. “I am, but I needed a break.”
“Uh-oh, what happened?”
Nothing wrong with a little white lie when the truth was too dangerous to share. “Just bummed I don’t have a date for this thing.”
“What about the hot lawyer?”
She and Carrie had had many talks about Matt, from PMS-fueled bitch-fests to diabolical strategy sessions. “He’s not ready for a relationship right now. He tried to let me down easy today.”
Carrie sighed into the phone. “What is it with this guy?”
Jenna didn’t have the slightest idea, but even if she did, she would never divulge Matt’s private life to her friends. “No clue.”
“I’m sorry, chica, but I think it’s time for you to give up on this particular fish and go back out in the sea.”
Jenna fiddled with the tag on the towel. “I’m not sure about the merits of comparing men to fish. I think they’re more like—”
“Peacocks? Donkeys? Hyenas?”
Jenna laughed despite herself. “I was thinking more like elephants.”
Carrie gasped. “Hold on a sec. That sounds to me like you’ve seen this Matt guy naked. And he’s . . . he’s hung like an elephant! This changes everything. Honey, you can’t let this one slip away.”
“What? Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I haven’t seen him naked and I have no idea how he’s hanging.” Not actually true because she’d felt his arousal while they’d waltzed and caught a glimpse when she’d woken on Tara’s couch, so she knew firsthand that he was hanging just fine, thank you very much.
“Damn. You know that’s one of my top twenty things I want to do before I get married, right?”
“Sleep with a well-endowed man? Yeah, I’m aware of that.” As far as goals went, Carrie’s might be shallow, but it had merit.
“Just once,” Carrie pined. “One magic night of hedonism is all I’m asking. I mean, how are we supposed to know if the adage ‘size doesn’t matter’ is true or merely a cruel urban legend perpetuated by teeny-weenie men?”
That was a conundrum. Jenna tried, but she couldn’t hold back a giggle, as usual when their conversation plunged into the gutter. “I’m already feeling better. Thank you.”
“I’m here for you anytime. You know that. Okay, I’m off my magic wang soapbox—for now. Tell me, why are men like elephants?”
Jenna indulged in one more laugh. Nothing like a magic wang soapbox to put her problems in perspective. “Okay, so Tommy and I were watching this show on elephants a few years ago. Did you know male elephants don’t live with the pack of females or their kids? They can’t even live together in a herd of males because all their macho maleness makes them too aggressive. It’s the female elephants that run the show, feed the young, and protect the herd. And men . . . well, they only come around when they want to get laid.”
“That’s a really jaded view of dating
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