“That looks amazing, dear. I’d never have thought to put it there!” Katharina gushed at Lillian’s placing of a small bookshelf under one of the windows that was higher up on the wall.

The rest of the windows in the guest room—the third guest room in her house, that is—ran from floor to ceiling. When Lillian first saw the awkward window that was half the size of the others, she grimaced. Who approved this design? she wondered, quickly wiping the ugly expression off her face. Turning to Katharina, she smiled and assured her that they would be able to make this room look perfectly fine, and that the black sheep window would be no problem at all.

Really, she was wracking her brain to figure out how to keep it from being an eyesore. That was when her eyes settled on the sleek copper bookshelves Katharina had imported from somewhere in Europe.

“Give me a minute to look around at what we’ve got left,” she said to Katharina. “We may need to do a little reorganizing to give this room a good theme, and make sure it doesn’t look like all the rest of the moving stuff was thrown in here.”

Katharina shrugged, and got a lighter from her back pocket. “I’ll let you work your magic, Lily of the Valley.”

Please don’t call me that, Lillian thought.

As it did every couple of minutes, Katharina’s phone made a dainty dinging noise and she lifted it to look at the screen in an instant. Mouthing whatever the message said, her brows pulled together and she made a “humph” sound. Tapping twice, she raised the phone to her ear and began jabbering in a language Lillian couldn’t have figured out if she tried.

“I need to make noise while I move stuff,” she said quietly, beckoning to the furniture left in the room. Katharina nodded and pulled a long, thin cigarette from a little gold case in her pocket. Still conversing in a tone that was less than happy, she held her phone between her shoulder and jaw while she lit the cigarette and walked outside to her porch.

Lillian turned back to the room and let out a big sigh. She looked at the watch on her wrist. “Not even noon,” she groaned, “and I’m already exhausted.”

Katharina was definitely not the easiest person to work with. She was constantly going from ultra-pleasant and happy to finding a problem with something and making a hundred phone calls to all her contacts to ensure that the problem was fixed immediately. Despite all this, Lillian couldn’t help but admire her. Katharina had the most drive and ambition of anyone she had ever met, and she absolutely got any job done as best as it could possibly be done.

I hope I’m like that one day, she thought, and turned her focus back to the room. As Katharina chatted away out on the porch, Lillian walked through the house to see how many items would fit into her potential theme for the third guest room.

When Katharina finally ended the conversation she came back in, gushing.

“This is only half of your bookshelf,” Lillian explained, walking over to the copper bookcase under the awkward window. “I took it apart and put the other two shelves on top of the desk.”

Katharina’s jaw dropped as she pranced over to the desk and ran her hand along the top of the shelves. “How did you take it apart?”

“It was actually two pieces, just fastened together in the middle.” Lillian picked up a handheld drill.

“Where was that?”

“Inside one of these drawers.” Lillian nodded towards the wall unit. “So that takes care of the window. I’m thinking this room would be good to have a rustic sort of feel to it. Wood and metal. It’s a great combination, don’t you think?”

Elated, Katharina clapped her hands, and her mouth spread into a wide smile, revealing her perfect teeth. “Wonderful. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Just part of the job,” Lillian smiled.

“Listen, I’ve got a meeting just after lunch that will likely take up most of the afternoon. Since tomorrow is our last day, do you think we’ll be able to do the rest of the house by the time you fly back?”

Lillian stepped out into the hallway and peeked around the corner into the other guest bedroom. All the furniture was there, and except for it being scattered all over the room it already had a cohesive aesthetic. “Yeah, we’ll be able to get it done. It’s just this last guest room and the bathroom, and maybe a few tweaks.”

“We aren’t rushed, then?”

“Nah, we’re okay. We make a great team.”

Katharina looked a bit frazzled after her heated conversation during her smoke break, and Lillian wanted to make sure she provided some positive vibes. This woman had spent a lot of money to bring her here—well, it seemed like a lot of money to Lillian, even though she knew it was merely a drop in the bucket for Katharina—and she wanted to make sure she did a good job.

“Take a break,” came the oft-spoken command. Lillian set down the drill and followed Katharina into the kitchen.

“Is white okay?”

“White?” asked Lillian.

Katharina reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine with the most beautiful label in the world. It looked like it was decorated with gold leaf.

Wine? Before lunch? Her first thought was last night’s episode. She felt fine, and the emergency pill seemed to take care of whatever issue was going on inside her, but she wanted to take it easy. She reached into her purse sitting on the counter and pulled out a muffin left over from the hotel’s gourmet breakfast. “Don’t mind if I do,” she said as she nodded and smiled. It’ll be okay, as long as I have some food in my stomach to help soak it up.

“Let me warm this up for you.” Katharina snatched the muffin away, put it on one of her dainty china plates, and stuck it in her microwave. The pleasant noise of the wine pouring into the glasses almost made her smile.

Today’s not too bad of a day, she thought, remembering her good dream and even better sex. She was angry at the fact that a small part of her felt guilty for being so intimate with Cayden when they were still broken up, and she didn’t even know the relationship between him and Katharina—or any other woman, for that matter. Not wanting to ruin the moment, she shoved the feelings away and toasted with Katharina, extra careful not to tap the glass too hard.

With a look of triumph, Katharina put a hand on her hip and looked around her huge open living room. “This looks amazing.”

“It does.”

“And we’re already almost done?”

“We are.”

Katharina squealed and took another sip of wine. “You’re truly a magic-maker, darling. I have to tell everyone about you.” She set the glass down and began taking photos of her living room from all different angles, reviewing each one after and muttering “Yes, that looks good” to herself every now and then.

Lillian enjoyed having a seat for the first time since arriving earlier that morning, and seeing Katharina so captivated by her home’s transformation made her feel like the trip was worth it.

I should send Andrew a text and let him know that this was all a success, she thought, stifling a laugh as Katharina got swept away down the hallway by her photo frenzy. The sound of her phone taking picture after picture became nothing more than background noise. Pulling out her own from her pocket, she tapped Andrew’s name and sent him a quick message.

I’m glad I came to Los Angeles, was all she said. It was all she needed to say. He would be glad enough. At least she wasn’t sending him a message full of regret and tears he would be able to sense even from hundreds of miles away.

Katharina reappeared, but instead of the loud shutter noise being emitted from her phone’s speaker, it was her ringtone. “Hello?” she purred, and her face lit up.

Good, Lillian sighed a breath of relief as Katharina’s face lit up and her mouth erupted into that huge grin of hers. There was nothing that gave her so much anxiety as seeing her face fall and hearing her having a heated discussion—argument, rather—in another language with whoever was on the other end. Even though she knew it had nothing to do with her or her work on the house, Katharina was mildly intimidating in that way. That didn’t stop Lillian from admiring her, of course, but how Katharina was able to bounce from her clear irritation during the fussy phone call earlier to elation now with someone else was incredible.

Please, whatever god is out there listening, I want to be like that one day. She almost laughed, imagining herself being that free of stress.

“Did you get the photos I sent you just now?” Katharina paused. “Yes just, maybe, ten seconds ago. You must see the house. It’s fabulous! For a moment—and this is the only time you will hear me say this—dare to recall how atrocious this whole place looked last week.”

It did look pretty bad, thought Lillian.

“You see it in your mind now, right? Okay. Look at the photos I sent.” There was another pause, and Lillian could tell Katharina was so excited for her friend to see the pictures. “Yes!” she suddenly shrieked, her voice ringing out through the house. “That’s the bedroom! The one with the silly window. I was dreading having to find a company to fix it. Reshaping a window is such a hassle, don’t you agree?”

I wouldn’t know, Lillian thought.

“Can you believe how she decorated it?” All of a sudden her jaw dropped, and she whirled around to look at Lillian. “I know! Haven’t I told you? Her name’s Lillian. I flew her in. She’s the best of the best, no doubt. It’s only taken two days for her to do my whole home like this. I haven’t even had to buy anything extra. Yes, she gave each guest room a decorative theme, if you will.” Getting carried away by her rant, she held up a finger to Lillian and disappeared back down the hallway. She was glad; her face was beginning to blush like she hated.

Checking her phone again, she saw Andrew had already replied.

Good to hear. Everything going okay?

She knew exactly what he meant by that, and knowing where Andrew stood in regard to her relationship, or lack thereof, with Cayden was only going to make responding harder.

Maybe now isn’t the best time to say anything, she tried to reason with herself, knowing this was shaky ground she stood on. At the same moment she lowered her phone, it dinged again.

Listen, Andrew had sent, you don’t have to hold back telling me anything. You’re my family and I want us to always be open with each other.

“Dammit,” she cursed, clapping her hand over her mouth and looking around to make sure Katharina wasn’t nearby. Not that she would have cared about Lillian saying—well, pretty much anything. The woman had no filter herself, and seemed to get along best with people who also didn’t tone themselves down on any occasion.

Lillian knew she wasn’t that person. Yet. But Katharina seemed to like her anyway.

A bird chirped loudly from the railing of Katharina’s porch and Lillian watched it for a minute or so, hoping that in the meantime her brain would come up with some appropriate response. I shouldn’t be over- thinking a text to Andrew this much, she huffed, frustrated. It’s just Andrew. But it’s also a slightly sticky situation.

She remembered her wine and took another sip, begging it to take the edge off her thoughts. How am I supposed to tell him what’s been going on? Oh, Andrew, things are awesome. I’ve been here for two days and last night I slept with Cayden. It was great sex. It couldn’t be compared with any of the sex we had before when we were together. Last weekend came back to her, but she wasn’t in a place where she wanted to admit to herself, or anyone else, what she had done to him—making their relationship even more confusing by telling him off in her kitchen then seducing him while he was doing yard work.

I hope I never let that one slip.

Katharina’s voice, muffled behind the wall, reached her ears; she was speaking in the tone that meant she was about to get off the phone. Hurry, Lillian pressured herself, shaking the phone as if that would help. Just tell him how things are. That’s all he asked.

Repeating his question didn’t help her reach any conclusion at all.

“She’s leaving tomorrow, but I’ll ask her if she wants to stay another few days.” Katharina stepped back into the kitchen and locked her gaze on Lillian. “Would you like to stay for a little longer and help my friend Talia when you’re finished here?” she asked, quickly adding, “Not that I’ll ever be done here. I think I’ll always find reasons for you to come back. Do you do interior design as well?”

“Uh...” Not sure which question to answer first, Lillian cleared her throat. “I’ll have to go back for a couple of weeks, I think. My clients are waiting for me there.”

“But you see them every week,” Katharina protested.

“I know, but...”

“Yes?” she interrupted, turning her attention back to the phone then back to Lillian. “Talia says to call her when you’re free. She’s much more understanding than I am.”

Lillian smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, shut up,” Katharina laughed, looking at Lillian again. “Let me correct myself. Talia is much less selfish than I am.” She didn’t look hurt at all by her friend’s accusation; in fact, she looked pleased. “I know I am! Listen, I’m not ashamed of it. How else do you think I got where I am today?”

The conversation wasn’t going in a direction Lillian wanted to join.

“Oh, let me quickly tell you about what happened.” Katharina’s tone got serious. “Yes, he dared to call today after what he said to me yesterday.”

Yesterday? Lillian froze. Certainly she wasn’t talking about something Cayden did.

“He does have nerve, and he called me this morning. I had to step outside for some air while he tried to explain himself. Of course, it didn’t work in the least.”

Phew. It wasn’t Cayden. Unless Cayden knew how to speak whatever language it was that Katharina knew. She made a mental note to ask Cayden if he was seeing anyone, but only if the time was right. That wasn’t a question to just pull out of a hat. After last night, she didn’t want another argument.

“One more moment, dear. Please finish your wine.” Katharina winked and went out of the room again, rambling about the incident from yesterday evening.

Obediently, Lillian took another sip and pulled up Andrew’s message again. This shouldn’t be so hard, she lamented, bouncing her leg up and down. Why am I having so much trouble telling him what’s going on?

Because you know how he feels about you, and you know the only person you feel the same way about is Cayden. That was definitely Amelia’s voice. Lillian closed her eyes and saw, as clear as day, Amelia standing in the doorway of her old room, back in the apartment above the nightclub. Girl, you have got to do what’s best for you. Not Andrew. He’s your family, and that’s where it stops.

Easier said than done, she thought.

You’re so thoughtful, not wanting to hurt Andrew. A lot of people wouldn’t consider that if they were in your shoes.

Thank you, Lillian nodded, lost in the memory.

Take the time that you need to reply. Andrew loves you no matter what. Amelia’s voice faded away, and Lillian opened her eyes. How was there still so much wine in the glass? She took another sip.

Better than expected, she typed to Andrew. I’ve worked through some things with Cayden. We didn’t have much time to talk last night. She winced. That was fudging it just a little, but he didn’t need to know. We’re meeting tonight to finish our conversation.

She pressed ‘send’, feeling pretty good about her answer and knowing the wine helped more than it should have.

I need to work on taking the edge off by myself, not with the help of anything—or anyone—else.

Nervous that he might reply right away, and she would obsess over her next message, she put her phone back into her pocket, making sure that it was on silent mode. The time for Katharina’s meeting wasn’t too far off, and she needed to focus on getting the rest of the house done before it was time to fly back home. There really wasn’t much left except for little decorations to arrange and a few more storage ideas to implement.

“I’ll call you later to tell you how it was.” Katharina wandered back into the kitchen with her empty wineglass. “Yes, I’m passing your phone number to her right now. Talk later, love. All right, goodbye.” She hung up and let out a loud “Whew!”

“Everything okay?” Lillian asked.

“Yes, darling. Everything is fine. It’ll be more fine after my meeting. Did I give you Talia’s number already?”

“Not yet.”

“Hmm. Let me do it now.” In a couple of quick taps, she sent Talia’s contact information to Lillian in a text. “There. Now do not forget to let her know when your appointments with your little children back home are finished. She has a house so big, it’s maybe...” she looked around the room and muttered something in words Lillian couldn’t understand, “it’s maybe five times as big as this house. You’ll need at least a week there.”

The surge of excitement at her business spreading collided with the fear of coming back to Los Angeles if things didn’t work out with Cayden.

If things don’t work out, she repeated to herself, shocked. What, am I hoping things do work out now? Figure out what you want, Lillian! I mean, figure out what’s best for you. I think.

“I need to get ready now. Are there any small things to finish today before I send you back?”

Thinking for a moment, Lillian shook her head. “Honestly, the house is about ninety-nine percent finished. Even if we were to leave it today, it’s fine.”

“Oh?” Katharina beamed.

“I think so. Well, there are a few minor things I’d like to do, just because I’m an overachiever, but really it’s in great shape. I’ll work on a couple more ideas and send them over to you tonight, so we can brainstorm in the morning.”

“Do we need these changes?”

“They aren’t really changes,” Lillian corrected. “Think of them more as improvements. Your house is incredible now, thanks to your impeccable taste in décor and furniture.”

She could almost see Katharina’s head swell.

“But since you’re planning on being here for many years, I assume—you did buy this house, after all—there are only a few improvements I would make to help set you up for living here long term.”

“Talent like yours is a rare find,” Katharina cooed. “Your talent is one thing, but you’re also a beautiful person. I do wish you lived in Los Angeles. I would invite you to all my parties. I want everyone I know to meet you.”

“You’re too sweet,” Lillian smiled.

“Honestly, finish your wine. I’ve never met a woman who needed coaxing to drink Pinot Grigio.” She picked up Lillian’s glass and handed it to her. “Why don’t you move here, anyway?”

“My house is back in Hanneston,” Lillian bit her lip.

“Sell your house and move here. I have an agent who will find you a big apartment.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“Darling Lillian!” Katharina exclaimed. “Money is no longer a problem for you, don’t you understand? I have three people begging for you right now. I only told three of my closest friends about you. That means three out of three people want you. Imagine if I told twenty people?”

“Imagine,” Lillian repeated, not liking this pressure.

“I’ll give you time to think about it, otherwise you really must prepare to fly here more often.” Noting her uncomfortable face, Katharina reached forward and tweaked Lillian’s chin. “I want to put this little pressure on you, you know.”

“I can tell,” Lillian replied, trying to not look stressed out.

“Good. I will order you a car now, then.” As she tapped on her phone, she asked, “What are you doing for lunch?”

“I don’t have plans, actually.”

“Now you do. I will have the car take you to this wonderful place near your hotel. It’s only a few minutes’ walk away. The weather is so gorgeous today, and there’s a lovely sitting area on a patio in the back. You can read there and have a good lunch,” she said, nodding at the novel peeking out of Lillian’s bag.

“It sounds perfect.” Having a quiet afternoon to herself would be ideal.

“Yes, it is. Oh, this morning before you arrived, I made you reservations at the hotel bar tonight. Anything you order is covered.”

Lillian’s mouth gaped. “Katharina, this is too much.”

“No, it’s not,” she said simply. “What you’ve done for me is worth much more, and I fully intend to have you back. I will need to make a mess, first, though.” She winked. “Your car’s almost here. Let’s take a photo.”

Without allowing any time for Lillian to get ready, Katharina ran her fingers through her silky hair and held the phone out, flashing her teeth to the camera. A few snaps later and she scrolled through them, ogling at how good they both looked.

“You have a waiting list, right?”

Lillian smiled sheepishly. “A small one.”

“It’s about to get much bigger after I post this.” Lillian couldn’t tell if Katharina was joking or not, but the thought made her nervous. Balancing the clients she had right now was hard enough—how would she manage more?

“I see the gears turning in your head,” the woman pointed out. “Don’t worry about figuring it out now. Loosen up, darling. Enjoy your afternoon and your night, and I will see you again in the morning.” She pulled Lillian out of the chair and handed her the bags on the floor. “The car is waiting. Thank goodness this one didn’t honk.” A curious look crossed her face. “I do miss Oliver. He was my favorite driver.”

Time to go. “Thank you, Katharina.” One of her bags slid off her shoulder and caught on her elbow.

“Stop thanking me,” she said, waving Lillian out the door. “Relax, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Hope your meeting goes okay,” Lillian called, rushing down the front steps toward the car that waited by the gate.

“Don’t worry about it,” Katharina called back, waving one last time and shutting the door on her way back inside. Lillian ran ahead, smiling at the driver and climbing into the back seat. Having a half day without Katharina was definitely much-needed. After last night with Cayden, what she needed most right now was some time by herself to think about it and figure out what to do next.

How am I even supposed to handle it? she wondered, searching for the answer during the car ride. But as the car pulled up to the restaurant Katharina had sent her to, Lillian could already tell she would be spending the afternoon here, and in no rush to leave.

“Thank you,” she told the driver as she got out and looked at the front of the place. It was made of old stone and draped in plants. A water fountain was just inside the doorway, and as she walked in she felt like she was being immersed in a blissfully zen jungle of fragrant jasmine vines mixed with a high-end restaurant. Most of the seats were empty, and she could see out the back onto the patio.

Yeah, she thought as a waiter led her to a table on the patio. I’ll be able to get some good thinking and reading done here. I might even solve a couple of mysteries this afternoon, too.

***

SHE TAPPED HER FOOT nervously, taking another sip of her gin and tonic. I’ve really gone off the deep end today, she thought, stirring the liquid with her tiny straw and listening to the clinking of the ice against the glass. A glass of wine before lunch and now another drink. Got to take it easy tomorrow.

A couple of months ago, she would have been anxious beyond belief about having a drink. Her new meds were working well, and she had figured out what seemed to be, at this point, most of the foods that triggered a flare-up. Since lunchtime she had made extra sure to eat enough of the right things, so the alcohol wouldn’t irritate her system. The glass of wine at Katharina’s hadn’t upset her, so that was a good sign.

I just can’t go overboard tonight, she told herself firmly, taking another little sip. I’m already a tiny bit tipsy and I don’t want to suffer tomorrow.

Turning her attention to the huge room with its dim, warm lights, she listened to bits and pieces of others’ conversations around the room. The hotel was enormous, so it only made sense that the bar was just as impressive. She almost didn’t come down, but she knew that Katharina would see the bill and know if Lillian came or not.

What she wasn’t expecting, though, was to arrive and give Katharina’s name for the seats, only to be asked if “the other person joining” would be there soon.

Lillian didn’t know who the other person was, but she nodded and smiled. She had been doing a lot of that in Los Angeles, nodding and smiling. Things were so different here than back in her humble home with her usual clients and the two cats.

After she ordered her drink, she decided to accept the fact that Katharina had told Cayden to come. No one had told her that; she just knew it. Damn you, woman’s intuition. She bit her lip and tried not to jerk her head around, looking for a familiar face.

“Hey, you,” came the voice, and she stood up like something had poked her back.

“Hey,” she breathed, not sure why she was nervous.

Cayden sat down, propping his arms on the top of the seat. He looked so at ease. Lillian couldn’t take her eyes off him or keep them from wandering all over his body. I slept with that last night. She tried to stifle a grin. I slept with that gorgeous creature and that ridiculously sexy body last night.

A waiter came over and asked for Cayden’s order, to which he responded, “Long Island iced tea.” The waiter nodded and disappeared. Lillian ogled.

“What?” he laughed. “Is that considered a girly drink? Should I get something else?”

“No, no,” she held up her hands. “Get what you want. I heard a couple earlier say how it’s extra strong.”

“I’m a big guy. What can I say?” He winked. They sat there for a minute in silence, just looking at each other like they were on a first date. While waiting for Cayden’s drink, they made small talk about their day and asked all the typical, boring questions two people could ask each other. The subject of conversation moved to food, and Cayden began a rant about the burrito place for a full two minutes. The only thing that stopped his talking was the waiter bringing his drink.

“Thanks,” Cayden made eye contact with the waiter, who dipped his head and left the two again. Raising his glass, he looked at Lillian. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” she said, feeling her face flush, and they clinked glasses. Cayden took a sip and closed his eyes.

“That’s amazing,” he breathed. “Want some?”

“I don’t know,” she said cautiously.

“Have you ever tried one?”

“No.” She felt like a teenager again.

“Try some. Just a little.” He handed her the glass, and she timidly took a sip from the straw. He just sipped from this straw, she thought, remembering how, when she was younger, she thought drinking from the same straw or place on the edge of a cup meant she was kissing the other person.

It was really good. She nodded and handed him the glass again. “Good choice,” she smiled. “I might get that next time.”

“Next time?” he raised an eyebrow cheekily. “Does that mean you’re coming back to Los Angeles?”

Her lungs felt tight. “I don’t know. According to Katharina today, I’m moving here soon.”

Cayden’s face lit up. “Yeah?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. This isn’t the kind of place I can see myself living permanently. And the way she’s talking, she has clients out the wazoo for me. She swears I would have enough work for the rest of my life.”

“It doesn’t have to be permanent, though.” He took his straw out of the glass and laid it on a napkin. “You could fly here, maybe. Every so often.”

“But then that leads back to my clients back home, and I just don’t know. I feel obligated to them, since they’ve been with me for a while.” While she spoke, she felt her body loosen up. Shit, that must be the gin kicking in.

“If I may be so bold,” Cayden began, “I think your clients back home would be happy that your business is growing exponentially.”

“You think so?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I do. You have good taste in people.”

I know, she thought. Their eyes locked. I just need to learn how to keep some of them.

Clearing her throat, she asked, “Is your business doing okay here?”

“Too well.” He chuckled. “Word has spread about me and I’m turning people down.”

“You must be really busy with so many clients, then.” The idea of him working with so many people killed her mood.

“Actually, no. It’s still primarily Janine. Katharina a couple of times a week, and one or two other people off and on. Nothing too regular.” His face changed. “I actually just found a trainer to replace me for Janine.”

A clear vision of Cayden working on his yard flooded her mind. “That means you’re moving back, or staying here?” Instantly she realized what she said, and regretted it. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

“I have nothing to hide,” he replied. “I was, uh, thinking about moving back.”

The two stared at each other, earnest expressions on their faces. Anyone in the room could have known what they were feeling.

“Are you seeing Katharina?” She put a hand in front of her face. “Another question I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I’m not,” he said quickly, never breaking eye contact.

Her mood lifted a little.

“Are you...” he seemed to get lost for a second. “Are you seeing anyone?”

She shook her head.

“Really?”

“Who would I be seeing, Cayden? I semi-purposely don’t have a large social circle.”

“I just thought that you might be seeing someone. I thought maybe you might be seeing Andrew.” As he mentioned Andrew’s name, a fleeting pained expression darkened his face.

“Andrew?” she exclaimed a little too loudly. A glance from the couple at the next table turned her face cherry-red. “No way would I ever be seeing Andrew. He’s practically my brother!” She laughed into her hand.

A weird smile touched Cayden’s lips. “Is it that funny?”

“It’s pretty funny. No offense. How did you even get that idea?”

“What am I supposed to think when, right after our big argument last weekend, his car is parked in front of my house all night?”

Lillian, not disappointed in the gin’s effect, took another sip and giggled. “His car broke down and I had to let him use mine. He was in town for business.”

Cayden grunted and looked out at the rest of the room.

“Wait...” She tried to figure out the timeline in her head. “How did you know his car was at our houses?”

All at once, Cayden’s eyes grew round. “I, uh, have a camera on my house.”

“You have a camera on your house?” She let out another laugh. “The only reason I’m upset you didn’t tell me is because I’m tipsy on gin right now.”

“Good, because this is getting awkward.”

“I don’t feel awkward,” she sang. “I think I’m a lot more drunk than I wanted to be.”

“You wanted to be drunk?”

“Maybe a little.”

“How come?”

“Because seeing you again makes me really, really nervous.”

“Was last night okay?”

“You shouldn’t have come, to be honest.”

“I’m glad I did. I found you on the floor for crying out loud, Lil.”

She thought about it. “Yeah, I guess it’s good you came.”

“I wish you would have told me you didn’t want me to stay.”

Lillian frowned. “Why would you say that?”

He shrugged. “I mean, we’re still broken up, I think. When I came home you told me that our, you know...that it was a mistake.”

Her blood got hot. “Don’t hold on to those words, Cayden.”

“I’m confused, I guess.”

“There’s—” she started, about to tell him there was nothing to be confused about when she was ten times as baffled as he was. Slouching, she took a breath. “My bad,” she muttered.

“What?”

“I said it was my fault,” she blurted, again a little too loudly. “I shouldn’t have been that mean. It was stupid of me.”

“Why won’t you just let me in, Lil?” He leaned forward.

She could feel the silly glint in her eyes. “I’m choosing to ignore that sexual innuendo.”

Cayden broke into a relieved smile. “There she is. That’s the Lil I know.”

“She just takes a little prodding,” Lillian smiled.

“But for real,” he continued, taking a swig of his drink. “Whew, that’s good.”

“Is it strong?”

“Strong enough to help me not regret what I’m about to say.” He popped an ice cube into his mouth. Lillian watched his mouth work to melt it. “Why do we keep doing this? Of all places, you end up here with my client and I happen to walk in and see you. Last night happened. It happened when I came home to work through this with you. It’s happening now, us together, talking. Why can’t we just...go back?”

I want you, she screamed in her head. “Of course I wish we could.”

“Then why not?”

“You’re here, and I’m there.” It was the only excuse she could come up with.

“You know that’s a load of crap. I just hired a replacement for myself. I want to move back to be with you.”

“I...” She couldn’t speak fast enough.

“If this is about me being better off without you,” he leaned in closer, his face near hers, “you clearly don’t know me, Lil. I’m not better off without you. I can’t get my mind off you anytime we’re apart.”

Her mind drew a blank.

“I can prove it, that I really miss you and care about you.”

“How?” she whispered.

Without a word, Cayden pulled her head closer and planted a firm kiss on her mouth.

All her thoughts dissipated. Time blurred. Her memory faded.

Suddenly they were holding hands, practically running to the elevator.

He pressed her against the wall of the elevator, her face in his hands.

She pinned him against the hallway, then her hotel door.

The door slammed behind them. The lamp barely provided any light, but it was enough for her to see his chiseled body as she unbuttoned his shirt and flung it off.

She looked by the door. Her shoes were there. His were by the bathroom door. Her dress was draped halfway off the bed.

Cayden’s back muscles rippled underneath her hands as he pushed into her. A drop of sweat ran down her temple.

“Thank goodness the bed doesn’t creak,” she whispered, but she meant to think it. Cayden laughed and kissed her, flipping her on top of his body. Their fingers interlaced; their blood ran hot. The pressure released.

The ocean from her dream surrounded them; the moon and bright stars out the window sent icy blue light onto the floor. Time kept racing past, blurry and passionate.

Cayden’s fingertips traced her collarbone; hers traced his ear.

She lay on her side, feeling his body molded to her shape. He put his arm around her, pulling her so tight and close to him she almost couldn’t breathe.

His breathing evened out and she felt herself sinking into slumber.

Cayden’s breath on her neck sent a warm current down her body.

I hope this isn’t a dream, she thought, feeling distant, like her mind was somehow detached from her physical feelings.

“You’re amazing,” she felt his breath on her neck whisper.

I hope that’s not, either.

“I love you.”

She smiled, letting herself sink the rest of the way.

That, too.