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She broke off, looking me up and down.

“Why are you glowing?”

I scoffed, even though my cheeks grew warm with tattle-tale heat.

“I’m not glowing. It’s probably just sweat. It’s summer.”

Connie eyed me warily and shook her head.

“No, I’ve seen you like this before. A long, long time ago.”

I turned away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Understanding dawned on her face and she gasped.

“You slept with Neil!”

My gaze flicked past her shoulder to where Nathan was still seated on the bench.

“Keep your voice down,” I hissed.

Connie waved me off.

“Oh, don’t be shy. We’re all adults here.”

Nathan spoke up.

“Hattie, I would appreciate it if you don’t convince my wife to leave me in favor of nasty, sweaty biker sex.”

“You’re the father of my children,” Connie protested. “I would never leave you.”

Nathan arched an eyebrow.

“There is a hulking, muscled, tattooed biker in my living room, who is really great with kids. That’s like crack to women.”

“Well, I’m very happily married,” Connie said. “And besides, nasty, sweaty biker sex is more Hattie’s department than mine.”

I dragged a hand down my face.

“I don’t understand how this conversation got started, but I’m literally begging to change the subject.”

“Not a chance.” Connie scooped her arm through my elbow and led me back into the house. “You talk. I’ll make tea.”

She listened attentively, without interruption, while I told her about Neil and my conflicted feelings regarding Seattle.

“If you still love him, I don’t see the issue,” Connie said, dipping her tea bag in her steaming mug.

“Because we loved each other before and it wasn’t enough to cover the problems in our marriage,” I countered.

She propped her chin in her hand, fixing me with a long look.

“But you said it yourself. You’ve been chasing this dream, this idyllic fantasy. When you met Neil, you fell for him as easily as breathing.”

I snorted.

“Probably due to my raging hormones. I was twenty-one. He was older than me by almost ten years, my mother hated him, and he had a motorcycle. It's like winning the lethal combo lottery. I didn’t know any better.”