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Lila snorted. “Sure, we’ll agree to disagree on that one.”

Ann sighed. “Are you on your lunch break?”

“I am. Taking a late one today.”

Every nerve in Ann’s body was on fire. She was so exhausted but one mundane conversation with Lila set her in motion again. That was what she loved about Lila. They helped each other simply by existing. Closing her eyes, Ann remembered the sweet, tender, and bittersweet kisses Lila had given her in the car when she’d dropped her off. She sorely needed to remedy that. “I need to see you again.”

“Yes.” Lila nearly whispered. “When?”

“Now?” Ann chuckled. “What would you say to a little phone sex so I can get off real quick?”

Lila hissed. “I’m at work.”

“On lunch.”

“At the hospital…”

“All right. I get it.” Ann bit her cheek. She really should have known better, but she was nearing desperation. She needed to get off, have the sweet little distraction from the shitshow that her life had become in the last week. No way was Heidi going to be ready for that. In fact, it might be close to a month before Heidi allowed that to happen again. Holding in a groan, Ann wallowed.

“You can come by this weekend.” Lila’s voice was gentle and soothing.

“I can try. I have to work, but I didn’t pick up any PRN. Maybe I can stop by briefly after a shift before coming home. It’d have to be quick, though.”

Lila laughed. “Quick is something I think we can both manage.”

“I’ll see about timing.”

“Please do. I…I miss you.”

Ann’s brow furrowed. That was the first time Lila had ever said something like that to her. They’d kept distance in their relationship on purpose, mostly because of Lila’s own desire not to enter into any type of deeply emotional relationship together. This was new territory they were entering into.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Ann finally replied, hoping she wasn’t crossing some kind of unexpected boundary she couldn’t see. Something felt so different about this conversation than any others they’d had. Whether it was because it was serious and most of their conversations weren’t, Ann wasn’t sure.

“Friday,” Lila stated.

“That’s tomorrow.”

“Please try.” A hint of whine lit up the back end of Lila’s statement.

“I will, but she is my first priority.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

“Good.” Ann’s lips twitched upward for the first time in a week. It felt so good to smile, or at least mostly smile. “I’ll try my best. I think we could both use it after last weekend.”

“True that!” Lila giggled. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“I’ll let you go then. See you soon, hopefully.”

“Yes, soon. Otherwise I might resort to naughty text messages.”

“I could get on board for that. Even though I know you won’t include photos, texts with descriptions and my imagination will be enough.”

“Incoming as soon as I’m off work, then.”

“Perfect.”

“All right, talk to you later, bye.” Lila hung up before Ann could respond.