I feel like I’ve been hit by a golf cart repeatedly. I roll over in my bed as yesterday’s dramatic ending speeds through my mind like a movie trailer. Scene after scene—me storming over to Reece’s house; having it out with him; falling; the hospital; kissing him and coming home—replays through my awakening mind.

The sun is shining in through my window and I know I’ve overslept. I start to think about all the things I need to get done today. Jess should be gone to the shop already. I’ll be saved having to explain my bandaged arm at least until tonight.

I groan as habit has me using both hands to brace myself as I start to stand up. I can’t believe I fell. The hospital bill is going to be expensive. A year ago, that would have felt like a mountain I’d never be able to climb. Today, I know I have enough money in my checking account to pay for what happened yesterday.

It’s amazing how having that layer of stress removed makes everything feel a lot easier to handle.

I gingerly feel the ground with my toes, grateful for the luxury of heated floors throughout the house when my feet meet a comfortable, lukewarm floor. I walk over to open the blinds and gaze out at our beautiful backyard. Two squirrels race through the branches of a tree that’s in one corner of our yard.

What a luxury it must be to know exactly where you belong. To be doing exactly what you’re meant to without anyone trying to stop you.

It’s been a few weeks coming, but I feel like it happened overnight. Reece and I are . . . an “us.” I’m part of a “we.”

All the lights were off when we got here last night. Reece asked to stay, but I said no. I told him I’d talk to Jessica in the morning and let her take care of me. I was exhausted, bruised and just wanted to go to bed. And, I was afraid of what would happen if we’re alone together in my bedroom. That kiss, God, it was so good . . . and quick. It had to be, I could feel his lips start to demand more from me. I could feel his hunger. I could feel the potential of what’s to come with us.

I am brushing my teeth as I remember what he said to me in the car. Wide open? I feel like his girl? Butterflies erupt in my stomach. How is it possible that Reece Carras feels like that about me?

I meant what I said yesterday, I want to get everything out into the open and I want to talk about Fabienne.

I hope we can do this part quickly because I want him so badly. I didn’t even know it was possible to need someone’s physical presence. Yesterday when they took me back into the exam room and didn’t let him come with, I thought I was going to die from missing having him there. By the time they were ready to discharge me, my need to see him was acute.

Relief and happiness overwhelmed me when I saw him as we came out into the ER’s lobby. The look on his face said he felt the same way. When he looked at me and asked me if I was okay, I had to kiss him.

I can still feel his lips on my mouth. So wanting, grasping, accepting.

I’m falling for him, fast and hard. There are so many practical things that will make this difficult to figure out. I’d planned on leaving the country as soon as the screenplay was done. My plan was to come back, but it wouldn’t be an option for three years from the time I left.

My ability to stay in this country is currently dependent on tenuous and contentious Executive Order. I can’t travel beyond its borders—I wouldn’t be allowed re-entry. Reece can’t whisk me off for a weekend to Cabo or Paris or wherever he’s used to vacationing. I can’t accept that I’ll never have the right to vote in elections that have real consequences for my life. I’ve never felt more resentful of my status as I do now.

“Enough of this pity party,” I say to my reflection before I turn to leave the bathroom.

Gingerly, I make my way to the bed, trying not to jostle my arm. I’m about to pull the comforter back and climb back in when there’s a knock on my bedroom door. I figure it’s Jess, though she rarely knocks. When I open it, confusion and excitement make me gasp. Reece and Jessica stand there, together and smiling.

“Oh, my little macaron,” Jessica says as she pulls me into her arms. She hugs me and strokes my hair and calls me her little beignet over and over while assuring me that she is going to take care of me. I look over her shoulder at Reece, silently asking for an explanation.

He holds my phone up, waving it before he puts it down on the desk in my room, “You left this at my house last night.”

Jessica doesn’t loosen her hold on me as Reece enters the room. He’s never been in here before and I can see him surveying it as he does a broad sweep of the place.

“Jess, I’m okay,” I say trying to reassure her. I wrap my arm around her and hug her back. She relaxes her hold and scans me from head to toe. Her face is as expressive as her Botox will allow.

“I’m so glad you have me listed as your In Case of Emergency, my little bonbon. When Reece called this morning, I came up and peeked in on you and saw you were sleeping. And then I went off to the store.”

“Thank you, Reece, for caring enough to call me. I can see you already know her well enough to know that she wouldn’t ask for help on her own, even if she needed it.” She beams at him and squeezes me.

I feel a ball of emotion forming in my throat. This woman is my family. My own may have fallen apart, but I’ve started to build a new one. One that’s based on choice and love. It holds us together with a bond that’s thicker than one formed merely by blood could ever be.

I squeeze her back and say a “thank you” that comes out strangled as it works around that ball in my throat.

“Come on, I know you’re basically okay, but I’m going to cook some food, do your laundry and make sure you have everything you need while you’re here. And you can take some back to Malibu with you.” I watch as she grabs my overflowing clothes hamper from my closet.

“I’ll take that,” Reece says as he lifts it from her arms.

She gives him a grateful smile.

“Now, muffin, I know you’re going to try and write and other naughty things you shouldn’t be doing. But Reece thought that maybe if you didn’t have to do the other stuff you’d actually get some rest when you’re not trying to write . . . with one hand.” She grins down at me. She gives my shoulder a squeeze and then heads back out the door.

“Reece, come on. Help me unload the groceries out of my car. I’ve bought the entire grocery store for our girl here,” she calls over her shoulder as she leaves.

He smiles at me and follows her out, running his hand gently down my arm as he passes me.

I’m smiling, genuinely, from my very soul for the first time in a very long time. That smile stays in place until I fall asleep that night. I’m loved. I’m seen. I belong to someone who will fight for me.

I thought my heart was permanently broken. I never thought anything would feel good again. But today, between Jessica’s love and Reece’s protectiveness and desire to take care of me—I feel great. I can feel the jagged tear in my heart start to knit back together.

“You look so much better this morning,” Jessica exclaims when I come down for breakfast the next morning. She’s smiling broadly as she gives me a hug.

“I feel better,” I say as I hug her back. “Thank you for yesterday.”

“Of course, ma chere. I hope you’re hungry,” she says smiling as she extends her arm over all of the food she’s made for breakfast. There is a mountain of turkey bacon—I can’t believe she touched meat for me—and a bowl of fluffy scrambled eggs sitting there waiting to be devoured. A tray of cinnamon rolls covered in a white glaze, still steaming from the oven—its rich, spicy aroma dances under my nose, making my mouth water.

“Jessica, you’re going to spoil me. Come. Sit with me.” I beckon her with my hands.

I look her in the eye and grab her hands.

“Thank you so much for everything. It’s been years since anyone has done anything like this for me. Not since I was a kid. I wanted to say this yesterday, but we were so busy being us . . . talking nonstop and then I fell asleep. So I want to say it right now. Thank you. All the food, clean clothes, all my appointments entered into my calendar.” I giggle at the memory of her entering them last night and cursing the tiny buttons on my phone as I dictated things to her. She scowls. “You’ve got so much work to do and your own life. And you dropped everything to take care of me.” I feel a tear escape and run down my cheek.

“Don’t cry, my little éclair,” she says as she wipes the tear away.

“I’m happy, that’s all.”

“Lucía.” I startle at her use of my name. “I didn’t ever think I’d have a family after Thomas died. And I don’t want to diminish your biological family, but I love you like I would a sister.” She brushes a stray hair off my forehead. “I know you want to do everything yourself. You need to feel like you’re the master of your own destiny. I’ve never wanted to overstep or demand that you let me do more for you. But, I’m glad Reece decided to not ask you before he called me. I’m happy to be able to take care of you, Lucía. It’s my honor.” She squeezes my hand as she hops down from the stool and walks around to get plates from the cabinet. “You and I are each other’s life vest in this crazy city and I know you’d be there for me if I needed it,” she says, her back to me.

“Yes. Of course I would.” And it’s true.

She turns around, plates in hand, a conspiratorial grin on her face.

“And oh my God. Reece Carras is obviously totally fucking in love with you,” she says on a delighted whoop.

“Do you think so?” I say fishing for her opinion. It feels too good to be true.

“Umm, Luc. Open your eyes,” she crows. “It’s absolutely obvious that he is and that you are totally in love with him, too,” she says as she piles food onto my plate.

“Neither of you have to say a word, you both practically vibrate when you’re in the same room. I mean, I felt like I was in some fucking force field of love,” she says, a delighted smile on her face.

“No… we have so much to work out, Jess. I don’t want to get my hopes up if things fall apart,” I say to her in an agonized tone.

“Get yourself together. You don’t think about being in love. You can’t help being in love. You can’t fight it. You’re just there whether you want to be or not. And, babe, you couldn’t have picked a better man to have that happen with. Because some of us fall in love with total cunts. They cheat on us, and treat us like dirt. And we put up with the crap because we are in love with them. And if the sex is good? Then fuck it, you are totally screwed. Leaving him is almost impossible. Even if he hurts you in between the moments where he makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.”

She puts my plate of food down in front of me and grabs us forks from the drawer and comes to sit with me again.

“Trust me. Don’t waste a moment of time you have with a man like that. He’s actually good enough for you, pudding. He’s gorgeous, he’s rich, he has a conscience and he’s crazy about you. He wants to take care of you. Let him. You deserve that, Luc. You don’t have to do everything yourself. If you find someone you can share your life with, you don’t let stuff get between you.”

“I know. We’re going to try. But, Jess, I worry about living my entire life looking over my shoulder. . .”

She grabs my hands and gives me a searching look. And then her face softens into a sweet smile.

“I understand, donut. There will be some hard choices to make. But, you should keep your eyes on the prize. You’ve come so far in the years I’ve known you. You’re this close,” she holds up her thumb and index finger, leaving a tiny gap between them, “to having what you want.”

She’s right. I need to get it straight in my head. Hanging out with them together yesterday was great. I rested on the couch while Jessica cooked and put Reece to work chopping, stirring, straining and just being her general kitchen bitch.

Jessica told us about some weird customers she’d had this week while she filled a dozen Tupperware containers with meals, salads and snacks. Reece talked about getting his first gold medal. He told us that he’d thought about hiring someone to come and do this stuff for me this week. He dismissed that idea almost as soon as he’d had it because he knew I wouldn’t be comfortable with a stranger in my house. It felt good to know that he understood me so well.

“Anyway, eat up. I’ve got to get going. I can leave the store for a day, but more than that, and the place starts to get disorganized. I’ll try to come home early. Call your mother.” Gosh, she’s calling me on all my shit today.

“I will,” I mumble. “I’m going to try and do some reading today. Rest my arm. We have our meeting tomorrow and I want to be rested up.”

She frowns at me disapprovingly and says, “Tomorrow? So soon? You should take a couple of days. You fell pretty hard. You’re lucky it’s not worse.”

“Jess. Really. The doctor said I could go back to work. I probably look worse than I feel,” I protest.

“Okay. But when you’re done, home and then rest.”

“Sure,” I mumble and roll my eyes.

“Don’t sound so glum, my little bowl of cassoulet.”

I laugh out loud at that one. “Cassoulet? Moved up from desserts to full blown meals, have I? That’s what you should have made for me today.” I pout playfully. Her cassoulet—a savory bean stew, a French staple—is one of my favorite things to eat in the world. I want to go to France just to eat the different varieties. Especially the ones with sausage in them; she always leaves it out. And it’s still one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted.

“My cassoulet takes a full day, my sweet. One day, I’ll take you to France and take you to have the best cassoulet in the world. There’s a restaurant in Carcassonne . . . ah, how I miss it.” She looks up when I don’t respond.

I’m smiling, but it’s stilted. We both know that that trip will never happen. Her eyes soften with understanding and she smiles brightly.

“Or even better, I’ll make it. And I’ll even add a little sausage, just for you,” she says and that draws a small smile out of me.

Out of nowhere and suddenly, a pang of longing courses through me.

“Deal.” I hop off the stool. “I want to call Reece and say thank you for yesterday. Then I’ll eat. I’ll only be a minute.” I walk back to my room after giving her a quick smile.

His phone goes straight to voicemail. His custom message plays and I’m struck by how deep his voice is. It’s all timbre. When he talks to me in person, I always hear a softness in it. At the beep, I leave a message.

“Hi Reece, It’s me, Lucía. I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything. For the hospital, for calling Jess, for staying to help her and spend time with me. I hope you’re having a great day. I’m going to try and get some work done today, so I’ll be home if you want to call me or stop by. Okay. Bye.”

I hang up and go back out to the breakfast prepared by my best friend and get ready to do some reading.

I’m half way through my read through of my last session with Dan and Todd when my doorbell rings. I’ve been working for four hours straight and I’m glad for the distraction. Editing with one hand is frustrating and slow.

I look through the peephole. My mood picks up right away and anticipation makes me feel flushed. It’s Reece. I open the door with a wide grin on my face. He smiles back, his eyes warm as he takes me in. I’m tingling all over; I’m hyper-aware of his presence.

“How are you, Luc?” He hands me a brown paper bag and the familiar, spicy aroma makes my mouth water.

“Come in,” I say as I peek inside the bag. “Bahn mi?” I ask with excitement. I look at him grinning. “How’d you know?”

“Jessica told me,” he says looking proud of himself. Oh, Jess. I should have known.

In the kitchen I unwrap the savory Vietnamese beef sandwich that I love. It feels like Christmas morning. And I’m celebrating it with my favorite person.

“Thank you. How’s your dad?” I ask as I try to decide which side of it I’m going to bite first. I can feel him hovering behind me and my back arches a little, trying to subtly close the gap between us.

“He’s good. He doesn’t want to follow anyone’s orders and wants me to sneak him food. He’s driving my mom crazy.”

We both laugh at the image that creates. He’s standing closer to me now and I can smell him, his aftershave has a clean and fresh scent and I wish he would wrap his arms around me. Since that kiss, all the need and longing that’s been simmering between us has reached a boiling point. I can’t be near him without needing to touch him.

I want to know where things stand with Fabienne. My mind is made up about keeping him at arm’s length until that’s cleared up.

Reece shifts his stance and I realize I’ve just been staring at him. He coughs a little uncomfortably. “Listen, I’m not going to stay. I just wanted to bring you lunch and see if you felt up to the meeting tomorrow. If we need to postpone, we can. Just say the word. Everyone will understand.”

I jerk my head back at that “No. I’m ready. We’ve prepared and worked our asses off. I’m bruised and I have stitches in my hand, but I’m not bedridden.”

I wrap my sandwich up, no longer interested in eating it.

“That’s what you came to ask, right? Well, I’m ready. I don’t want to postpone. Was there anything else?”

I tap my foot impatiently.

Reece sighs and rolls his eyes a little.

“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” I ask.

He ignores that question. “I’m not sure why me asking if you’d like to take another day off upsets you so much. Are you taking the painkillers they prescribed? Those can give you mood swings.”

I groan at him. “I’m not taking painkillers and I’m not having a mood swing.” I use my good arm to hop up on the kitchen counter. I sit facing him. “This meeting is important and I want to get it over with. I nearly killed Dan and Todd and myself trying to get ready. It’s the only thing that’s getting me through each day right now. So, I need it to happen.” I know I’m just one octave away from sounding like I’m begging, but I don’t care. “If we’ve got to start from scratch or the studio’s not thrilled with what we’re doing, I’d rather know now.”

He walks over to me but stops a few feet away. He’s just staring at me, his eyes alight with a predatory gleam as he looks at me from head to toe. He doesn’t say anything. But every single nerve ending in my body feels the demand in his gaze. My whole body starts to tingle.

“Reece,” I say, my lips feel dry and I lick them.

His eyes narrow at the motion. “I should go, Luc. I can’t be here when you’re dressed like that. You sitting up there like that. Your T-shirt is practically see through and your nipples are making me crazy. Your shorts are hugging you like they’re fucking painted on,” he growls as he takes a step toward me.

I look down at myself. My shorts are very short. Apparently my “made up” mind has lost control of my body because just as I think to myself that I should go and change—my legs open, wide. I let him see my denim covered crotch and he takes another step toward me. I can feel my panties getting damp as the need to be touched swamps me.

“Lucía,” Reese mumbles, a low warning.

“Yes, Reece?” I trail my hands up my sides and then run my hands over my nipples. They respond to my touch and I feel them stiffen under my palm.

“What’re you doing?” he asks me, quietly, his eyes glittering as they follow the path of my hands.

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. I am just letting my body do what it will. I want him to look at me. I need him to see me.

He steps between my open thighs.

“Lucía, I’m going leave. I have a meeting and then I need to spend tonight preparing for tomorrow.” But as he says this, his hand trails down the center of my chest, and spreads out over my abdomen. His touch is like a brand, even as he lifts it from my body, I still feel it.

My breath hitches, as the tips of his fingers brush the underside of my breasts. His eyes never leave mine. He looks like he wants to eat me alive. I lick my lips and his eyes dart there and then back to my eyes.

“I want to get through that meeting tomorrow and then I want us to figure out what we’re doing about . . . us.”

He whispers the last word, he unbuttons my shorts and slips a hand inside. I watch his eyes narrow just as his fingers breach my underwear and he feels how wet I am. He trails the pads of his middle and index finger across the lips of my pussy and I tilt my hips forward to increase the pressure. It’s an instinct because like sheets of loose leaf paper in a stiff breeze, my wits have scattered. All that remains is how this feels.

“So sweet. I want to fuck you. So badly.” He brings his mouth close to mine so that as he speaks our lips brush. “I can’t think straight.”

I spread my legs even farther and he slips one of his big fingers inside me. The sensation of his finger filling me is unreal. I didn’t know anything could feel so good. My muscles contract gripping his finger tightly. I whimper and lean back as he starts to pump in and out of me. He drops his head and bites my nipple through my T-shirt.

My arms are around his shoulders and my ass slides on the counter with every thrust of his finger and when he presses his thumb to my clit, I scream.

He starts to rub me and sucks my nipple hard before he brings his face back up to mine and brings our lips to almost touching again.

He adds another finger and slows down his thumb’s assault. I feel the spark of an orgasm starting to build somewhere inside of me.

“I can feel you, baby. Your cunt is squeezing my fingers. God, I wish it was my cock,” Reece mumbles against my mouth, our gazes still locked.

I feel helpless and ravaged. His fingers’ manipulation of my body takes me from breathing hard to moaning to whimpering to shuddering as my orgasm rolls over me.

Reece watches me, mumbling against my mouth, the heat of his breath mingling with mine every time I open my mouth to release a sound. It’s like he’s feasting on my pleasure, absorbing my need.

He pulls his fingers out of me. He trails them over his lips, and then kisses me lightly.

Reece lifts me off the counter and onto my feet. I’m disoriented and so completely aroused that it takes me a moment to register that he’s leaving. I just blink up at him, trying to get my bearings.

He licks his lips. A slow smile spreading when he sees the flush of heat spread all over my body.

“I’m going to leave now. Make sure you bring your A-game tomorrow, Fifty-five.” And then, he’s gone.

Just as I’m settling down to read again, I pick up my phone and send Reece a text.

Stop calling me that.