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of
Turkey they came from must be Old World. A lot of things she
wouldn’t have expected were new to them.
    While Joseph bustled at the stove, Arcadius
requested she show him how to use her cell phone. He pulled his
chair next to hers for the lesson. Elyse tried to hide the flush
inspired by his nearness, but he smelled very good—like sandalwood
and frangipani and big warm man.
    She reminded herself she wasn’t remotely
ready to move on from David. Her husband had only been gone two
months, and he’d been her everything. Arcadius wasn’t flirting—not
that she could tell anyway. Once or twice tonight, she’d thought
she saw a spark in his eyes, but each time it had disappeared. He
didn’t touch her as they bent together over her phone, careful not
to knock her shoulder with his broad one.
    Elyse wished she were as self-controlled. She
couldn’t help noticing the shine and luxuriance of his hair. The
dark locks hung an inch below his shirt collar. His neck was nice
too: tanned and muscular. The grace of his fingers as he pushed
buttons per her instructions caused her thighs to go sweaty.
    She didn’t want to think about what he’d done
to her nipples.
    “Is this right?” he asked, turning the phone
to show her his results.
    Elyse could barely tear her eyes from his
face to check. His closely shaved skin was nearly as smooth as
Joseph’s and, gosh, his mouth was pretty.
    “Sure,” she said, trying not to sound
breathy. “That’s how you add contacts. At least on this style of
phone.”
    “Ah.” He looked at the cell, dwarfed by the
cup of his relaxed palm. “Could Joseph and I purchase these devices
in not-black?”
    Elyse smiled at his hopeful tone. “Probably.
I use that one for business. You can also buy skins to dress them
up.”
    “ Skins ,” Arcadius said, nodding like
he’d filed the word away.
    Joseph set steaming cups on the table in
front of them.
    Relieved by the excuse to lean back again in
her chair, Elyse picked hers up and sipped. Her eyes went wide at
the strong sweet taste. “How did you make this? This is authentic
Turkish coffee! I don’t have the equipment.”
    Joseph’s smile was both pleased and sly. “I’m
magic,” he teased her.
    Arcadius’s chuckle set nerves tingling
between her legs. No mere sound should have been able to arouse
that strong a reaction. Elyse struggled not to squirm. Her dinner
guest probably didn’t mean to have the effect. Not that she was an
expert, but she hadn’t one hundred percent ruled him out as gay—nor
could she swear if she wanted him to be.
    Him and Joseph being lovers would make things
too simple for her illogical psyche.
    Despite her inappropriately eager hormones,
this was the most pleasant evening she’d spent in a while. She’d almost forgot her troubles, and she did feel like her
old self.
    The glow lasted a whole minute after she said
goodbye to her new tenants.
    Without them in it, the apartment was very
quiet. Maybe Joseph was magic. He’d put the dirty dishes in the
dishwasher when she wasn’t looking . . . and cleaned the
countertops. This was nice of him, but straightening up would have
settled her. Instead, she was left with her loneliness.
    She let out a long slow sigh, the sound no
use whatsoever for drowning out silence. It was too early to go to
bed, on top of which her ability to sleep had been crap lately.
    “Pull yourself together,” she told
herself.
    With nothing particular to keep her busy, her
restless feet took her the last place she should have gone. She and
David had converted the second bedroom into his “man” room. His
desk and computer took up one wall, furniture from his bachelor
days scattered across the rest. The room smelled of him as she
stepped inside. Unable to bear seeing so many reminders of her
loss, she’d boxed up his things and stowed them here. She didn’t
know when she’d want to give them to Goodwill. As of yet, she
hadn’t taped the boxes closed. Probably the little book Cara