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Gabby rolled her eyes. "There's nothing hardcore about you, Mom. You don't even believe the word "rules" should have been invented—"

At that moment, Sofia's phone rang. They both looked down, and Gabby grinned when Keegan's name flashed on her screen. "He probably wants to invite you for a private dessert."

Sofia rolled her eyes back at her daughter. "Probably not, and either way, I'm staying here with you. Girl time—"

"No. You need to talk to him." Gabby grabbed the phone and answered it. "Hi Keegan, it's Gabby. My mom's in the bathroom. What's up?"

Sofia rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, listening to the joy in her daughter's voice. The sassiness. The snarkiness. Keegan made Gabby feel safe enough to be sassy to him. She appreciated that so much.

"Sure. That's fine," Gabby said. "Ten minutes? I'll send her down."

"What?" Sofia sat up abruptly, shaking her head and waving her hands in the universal sign for "No freaking way!"

Gabby hung up and grinned at her. "He'll meet you in the bar. He has a window seat in the back."

Sofia held up her pajamas. "Too late. I'm getting ready for girls' night. We'll watch a movie—" She paused at the reproachful look on her daughter's face. "What?"

"You're avoiding. You didn't tell him about me sixteen years ago, and now you're still not going to talk to him? What's so scary about him? Because if he's scary, you need to tell me."

Realization settled deep in Sofia's bones. Her daughter was right. She did need to face Keegan, a conversation that was a decade and a half overdue, both for her sake and her daughter's. And for Keegan's. For all of them. "You'll be okay? I won't be long."

"I'll be fine. Take as long as you want. This hotel is gorgeous, and I can stream any service from their television. I'm going to binge watch and order room service until you're broke, and you'll have to pay for it all because of the guilt you feel at depriving me and Keegan of a lifetime together." Gabby waved her off. "Go, go. Leave me to milk your guilty conscience to the maximum extent I can."

Ah…guilt. "That's so rude to try to make me feel guilty."

"It's not rude. It's my job as a teenager to make you a better person." Gabby grinned. "Have fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, remember that? We had some today. It's not a bad way to live."

Sofia let out her breath and stood up, leaving her pajamas on the bed. "I can be fun."

Gabby grinned. "I know. I'm just mocking you because you're stalling."

"I'm not stalling."

"No?"

Crap. Gabby was right. She was totally stalling. "Okay, I'm going." She grabbed her room key and her phone, and slid both of them in her pocket. "If you need anything—"

"I'm good. Go."

"Right. Okay. Bye." Sofia put her hand on the doorknob—

"Wait!"

"What?"

"You're going to wear that? What about makeup? Something a little sexier?"

Oh, God. She wanted to rush back over there and freshen up, but that would be trying too hard. Asking for what she wasn't sure she wanted. "I am what I am, Gabby. I can't fake that."

"You could try—"

"Not this time." She blew her daughter a kiss and headed out into the hall before she could change her mind and bail from her first private moment with the man who had turned her world upside down so many years ago…and still did.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN