Page 71

“Absofuckinlutely.”
She giggled and said, “I’ll send you a map pin.”
“I’ll be there.”
I didn’t think about what this meant, and I definitely didn’t ask her as I said goodbye. This was the most hopeful I’d felt all week, and I was going to feel it for as long as I could. If I got shattered, well, there were more buckets of beer and wings to be had at the bar.
The pin came through my phone, and I looked at the address. She was near a fancy restaurant at Emerson Shoppes. Audrey liked shopping those boutiques, even though you could get the same thing for half the price at a department store.
I wondered why Birdie was there. Wondered what had made her think of me.
Grabbing my keys, I flew down the stairs and went to find out as fast as I possibly could.
38
BIRDIE
Confession: So maybe I talk like a porn star sometimes.
I waited inside a nearby shop, checking out the trinkets and jewelry that were far too expensive for me to buy, when my phone started ringing. Had Cohen made it here that quickly?
I held it to my ear and said, “That was fast.”
“What was?” Mara asked. “Where are you?”
Surprised to hear Mara’s voice, I said, “Sorry, Mom sent me on a date with a guy who was so wrong for me.”
“I could have told you that,” she said. “He was wearing a sweater vest underneath his blazer, Birdie. Asweater vest. At least the guy your mom introduced me to had a decent sense of style.”
“Well, apparently some of us don’t learn as quickly as you.” I twisted the price tag on a necklace and immediately let it swing back. Way too much.
“So what’s the news? Do you need me to come get you? Because this guy and I actually hit it off, and he asked me to go out with him.”
“Actually...” I bit my lip. “I kind of called Cohen.”
Mara squealed. “You’re so bad!”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not bad. I’m just fed up with doing what everyone else wants me to do.”
“Okay, if that’s the case, Idon’twant you to have hot sex with Cohen and tell me all the sordid details.”
I turned toward the back corner, hoping the shopkeeper at the register wouldn’t hear me. “You know Cohen has to agree with the hot sex part before we can have it, right?”
“Oh, he’ll agree.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
From behind me, a low voice said, “Because I’m standing right here?”
My lips parted, and I turned, seeing Cohen standing in his full, handsome glory. “Mara...I gotta go.”
She might have said something, but I couldn’t hear it. Not over the rushing in my ears as I lowered my phone and held it limply at my side. “Cohen...”
His grin was just as disarming as his voice. “What’s this about hot sex?”
A nervous giggle erupted from my chest. “Let’s talk about the getaway ride first.”
“I’m happy to oblige.”