I open the door as Chloe raps her knuckles against it. Her eyes skim down me and fill with concern.
“You not feeling well?”
Her question throws me off. “I feel great.” My brows pinch together in confusion. “Why?”
Truth be told, I feel marvelous.
I think Matteo pounded the last six months of stress right out of my now limp-as-a-noodle body. Maybe even a year. I feel lighter and brighter than I have in a long time.
She gives me another hard look and says, “Because it’s one o’clock on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and you’re sitting around wearing sweat-pants and a T-shirt. That’s why.”
I glance down at my outfit before correcting her. “Actually, they’re yoga pants. Completely acceptable attire.”
One perfectly manicured brow gets cocked. “That doesn’t make it any better.”
I shrug. “It’s a lazy weekend.”
“Hmmm. I don’t think so.”
“Excuse me?”
Her eyes narrow and fill with suspicion. “No. It’s more than that. You look….” She trails off as she searches for a word, “different.”
“Excuse me?” A gurgle of surprised laughter escapes. “What are you talking about?”
“I think,” she declares triumphantly, “that you got laid last night. Which means that you’ve been holding out on me.”
My mouth tumbles open.
How can she tell? Is it written across my face?
When I say nothing, she continues. “Yeah, you’re definitely glowing! And you seem a whole hell of a lot looser than before. Like someone gave you a much-needed tune-up. Maybe a few of them.”
I wave a hand dismissively. I don’t want to discuss Matteo. There’s nothing more to say other than, Yes, we had sex last night. And it was incredible. “You’re crazy.”
“That goes without saying,” she replies easily.
I lead her through the living room and head out to the sun-filled terrace.
“So, am I right? Did you get lucky last night?” Before I can formulate an answer, she says, “I didn’t even know you went out. Where’d you go and why wasn’t I invited?”
As we sit down across from one another, she gives me another searching look. One that tells me she won’t be dropping the subject easily. Chloe can be as tenacious as a terrier when she sinks her teeth into something juicy.
Her hand flies to her mouth. “Don’t tell me that Sasha finally wore you down.”
I burst out laughing. “No, it wasn’t Sasha!”
“But it was, in fact, someone.” She looks moments away from leaping over the table. “Who? I want a name!”
“No one you know,” I admit begrudgingly. What made me think that I could hide this from her?
She considers me thoughtfully. “Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.” There’s no way Chloe knows Matteo. Why would she?
“Come on, put me out of my misery and tell me who it was.”
For my own sanity, I need to downplay the situation. Matteo and I aren’t together. Last night changes nothing between us. We screwed each other’s brains out. That’s it. End of story. If he holds true to his normal pattern, he’ll disappear for a while before turning up in a week or so. My heart twists at that harsh slap of reality, and I push the pang of sadness aside, ignoring it.
“It was a one-time thing. There’s no point in discussing a guy who isn’t in the picture. But you’re right, okay? I did spend the night with someone.”
Chloe settles back in her chair with a pleased expression. “Good for you, girl. I’m glad to hear it. Sounds like Little Miss Grace finally got her groove back. Lord knows you were wound tighter than an eight-day clock.” Her eyes skim over me again. “You seem way more mellow.”
As I pick up my glass of ice water and take a sip, she asks, “So it wasn’t that hot-ass uncle of yours?”
I fight not to spray the water from my mouth like a fountain. Instead, it goes down the wrong pipe, and I end up coughing and sputtering. Chloe grins as if she’s enjoying the entertainment I’m providing.
I barely force out the words without pounding on my chest and sucking in a few deep breaths. “Of course it wasn’t Dominic!” My eyes water as I continue coughing.
Regarding me with a cagy look, she shrugs. “Maybe you should give it some thought. You two would look awfully cute together.”
I shake my head in exasperation. “Oh my God, I think you’ve completely lost your mind!”
“What’s wrong with what I just said? I’ve crushed on that man for the better part of my life. If he wanted to give it a whirl, I’d be on board with the idea. Older men are definitely hot. More than anything, they appreciate a young, nubile body. Trust me on this.” She gives me a sassy wink which makes me wonder what she’s been up to these last two years.
Sasha?
Older dudes?
What’s next?
Never mind… I don’t want to know.
She interrupts my thoughts with another comment. “He would treat you like a total princess.”
It feels like my eyes are going to pop right out of my skull. Yes, we used to get all ooey-gooey thinking about Dominic when we were fourteen years old. But as adults? Come on… I can’t even imagine it. Chloe’s banter may sound casual, but she’s not joking around.
“You would really go out with him?”
She doesn’t bat an eyelash. “In a heartbeat.” Her green gaze sears mine. “You wouldn’t?”
“I don’t know,” I reply slowly. “I’ve never thought about him like that. Dominic is my godfather.” When I was younger, I used to call him Uncle Dominic because it was appropriate. When I left for college, he told me that the uncle part made him feel old and asked me to stop using it. It was weird at first and took some getting used to.
“I think about him like that all the time.”
Sometimes I think Chloe just likes to be provocative, and stir up trouble.
“Well, I don’t,” I say.
I haven’t.
Not really.
Chloe doesn’t look convinced. “Hmmm. Okay.” Shrugging, she adds, “I could have sworn that I sensed some vibes between the two of you at the party last month.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s never been like that between us. I’m his godchild.” As I say the words, I remember the way he pressed a kiss to my lips the last time he was over for a visit. My belly drops as the incident plays out in my head. I’m pretty sure he did that to comfort me because I’d been upset about selling the house. It was nothing more than that. Easily dismissible.
Mentioning it to Chloe will only spur on the crazy notions she has in her head. That’s the last thing I want to do.
“I’m sure he’s involved with someone. Or, knowing him, a whole bunch of someones.” Smiling, she sips her drink and muses, “Remember how he was with a different woman every time we saw him when we were younger? We would hang out on the balcony overlooking the family room and moon over how lucky she was to be with him.”
I smile thinking about all the times we spied on him. We spent a lot of time crouched on the catwalk, sighing our fourteen-year-old hearts out. We were so silly. But it was fun. Just harmless little crushes on both our parts.
“That was a long time ago,” I remind her.
“Yes, it was.”
So much has changed.
Too much.
It’s still difficult to grasp just how different my life is now.
“Not to change the subject from your yummy uncle-”
I breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
“-but a few of us are thinking about taking a trip to the Virgin Islands in the spring and maybe renting a kickass house on St. Thomas. You interested?”
The tension filling my shoulders from talking about Dominic fades. “Yeah, that sounds amazing! But it would have to be during my spring break. Otherwise I can’t go.”
“That’s why I’m bringing it up now. I really want you to come with us. Let me know what week works best, and we’ll see if we can coordinate everyone’s schedule.”
I’ll have to discuss it with Dominic.
I know we talked about waiting until I’m settled, but I want more control over my finances. I don’t want to go to him every time something like this comes up. I’m twenty-three years old. More than old enough to be responsible and make good decisions.
Reaching across the table, I grab Chloe’s hand and squeeze it. “Thank you for thinking of me.”
Her eyes soften. “Hey, no matter what happened, you’re still my best friend. As far as I’m concerned, you were always my best friend.” Alluding to our past, she says, “Look, I knew you were going through a shit time. I’m sorry for not sticking by your side regardless. I should have kept calling and texting.” She shrugs. “I didn’t know how to help or make anything better.”
Her words strike a chord in me. We may not have been communicating, but deep down I knew that if I reached out, if I had needed her, Chloe would have dropped everything to be there for me. And vice versa. “I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I didn’t know how to deal with all the grief and depression I was going through.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetie.”
“I know you did what you could. We were both in school, just trying to keep our heads above water. It wasn’t like we were at the same college or even a few hours away from one another.”
“No,” she agrees somberly, “we were practically across the country.”
Inhaling deeply, I remind her, “It’s all good. We got through it.”
Her lips quirk. “I’m glad you’re back in Chicago. And that we can spend as much time together as we want.”
“Me, too.”
Unclasping her fingers, I sit back as another layer of the past falls away.
“Don’t think for a minute that we’re done talking about this mystery man of yours.”
I roll my eyes.
She grins in response. “Or Dominic.”
Please. I know Chloe way better than that.
She’s merely warming to both subjects.