I hung up the phone and rolled my eyes at Mina's excited look. “It's just a work call,” I told her, even though I was pretty giddy about the thought of working my hands over Christian's body another time.
“You never look that happy about a work call,” Mina accused.
I sighed. “I had this super handsome guy come in yesterday,” I told her.
She practically squealed with excitement. “That's great!” she said. “What was his name? Did you get his number?”
I shook my head. “Mina, I'm not about to date one of my clients,” I said. “Especially since he apparently wants to become a repeat client. And anyway, even if he weren't my client, he's from New York. He's here on vacation, and then he's going to leave again. I wouldn't want to get involved with someone who was about to leave; you know that.”
“I'm not saying you have to start a relationship with the guy,” Mina said, rolling her eyes. “But you could at least sleep with him.”
“His ego's too big for that,” I said. “He was a nice guy once we got talking, but I think he thought I was going to give him a happy-ending massage when he first walked in. What kind of a place does he think this is?”
Mina groaned. “Gretchen. If some uber-hot guy wants you to touch his dick, why can't you just go along with it for once?” she asked in exasperation. “Where's the harm in that? Live a little.”
“I'm not that kind of girl,” I said, shrugging. “And this definitely isn't that kind of massage parlor.”
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“He's coming in at ten, though?” Mina asked, looking at her watch. “That's in just ten minutes. Do you think I could hang around and see him?”
“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But you don't get to say anything. You see him, and then you go sell some more pineapples, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mina said, shaking her head.
We were just finishing up breakfast when Christian walked in, looking just as yummy as he had the previous day. “Good morning,” he said, smiling at both of us.
“Good morning,” I said. I glanced over at Mina, who was just staring at Christian, and I couldn't help grinning a little. Yeah, the man was gorgeous; I guessed Mina could see that as well. It wasn't usual for her to find herself speechless, but hey.
“This is my friend Mina,” I said, nudging Mina forward.
Mina giggled a little and shook his hand. “It's nice to meet you,” she said.
“And you,” Christian said, giving her his full, most charming smile. God, she had to be practically melting. I know I was, and I wasn't even the one directly receiving that smile. “So, same room as yesterday?” Christian asked.
“Same as yesterday,” I confirmed. “Thanks for breakfast, Mina, and have a great day.”
“You too,” she said, still sounding a bit faint. I shrugged a little and got ready for the massage.
“Your friend is cute,” Christian commented as I started the massage. “A bit shy, maybe, but cute.”
I snorted. “Mina? Shy? No way! I'm not entirely sure what's gotten into her.” Except that you're practically a Greek god walking into my massage parlor.
“How long have you known one another?”
“She's been my best friend for ages, since we were kids,” I told him. “And we're lucky enough to work next door to one another. She runs the pineapple shop next door. I get to see her all the time. More so lately. I think she must have been feeling that we weren't seeing enough of one another because she's been over here two days in a row now with breakfast for me!”
“Or she thinks you don't know how to take care of yourself, maybe,” Christian said, smirking up at me.
I laughed. “That could be, too,” I agreed. “I probably have a better grasp on that than she does, though, if I'm being honest. She's a brilliant woman and very creative, but she's a bit flighty, I guess.”
“I work in the same office as my best friend,” Christian told me. “His name's Paul. He's a great guy. No matter what I do, he's there for me.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “That's what friendship is, right?”
“I guess so,” Christian said, sounding as though he was considering it.
“Mina and I would do anything for one another,” I told him. “And I tell her everything, and she tells me everything as well. I probably know her better than I know myself. She's like a sister. The sister I would have chosen.”