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“Shows where they find or build houses for people that I can never afford and that I’m not even interested in. They have a one-hundred-thousand-dollar budget, but they’re looking for six-bedroom, four-bathroom houses, with pools and ten acres of property. It’s ridiculous.”

“And you can’t look away, can you?”

“No,” she said, laughing a little.

“Wait. You said fifth wheel. Jill has someone now?”

“No, she’s usually the sixth wheel,” Sophie explained.

“Here we go,” Bryce said at one of the doors as she took out the key and swiped it.

The door beeped, and Bryce pushed it open, allowing Sophie to go in first. As soon as she was inside, her phone rang. Sophie reached for it and checked the readout, expecting it to be one of her friends checking on her or asking for an ill-timed update.

“It’s my former boss,” she said.

“It’s late,” Bryce noted as the door closed behind her. Also, you quit. What could he possibly want right now?”

“I don’t know, but he can go to voicemail,” she said as she hit ignore. “Oh, and Jill texted another three times. So did Monica and Melinda, though.”

“What are you going to tell them?”

Sophie then felt her jacket being pulled away from her shoulders, and she let Bryce take it off for her.

“What happened; that I almost lost you again because of that micro-managing asshole, but I quit my job.”

Bryce’s lips were on her neck, and her arms wrapped around Sophie’s waist.

“You didn’t almost lose me. I was just worried.”

Bryce placed another kiss on Sophie’s neck.

“Worried that I’d just left you there. I would never do that, Bryce.”

“You can call me Bry. Everyone does.”

“Because your one-syllable name is so hard to say?” she teased.

Bryce moved Sophie’s hair away from her neck and said softly, “You can message them back and tell them that you’re safe with me and that we’re in for the night. I need to tell my friends the same. They said they’d send New Orleans PD out looking for me if I didn’t tell them when I was in for the night and safe.”

“Did they think I was going to murder you or something?”

“This city is crowded, so they worry about safety. They love me.” Bryce then sucked on Sophie’s earlobe and added, “You are so soft.”

“You’re not going to make this whole not-having-sex-tonight thing easy, are you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it, no,” Bryce told her.

Sophie opened her messages app and tried her best to focus while Bryce continued to apply soft kisses along the top of her shoulder and neck.

Sophie Santiago: Everything’s fine. I’m with Bryce. I’m safe. Go to sleep.

Three dots appeared.

Bridgette Musgrave: We’re in relationships. We’re not eighty. It’s not even midnight yet.

Melinda Andrews: Bridge meant to say she’s glad that you’re okay. You’re really okay, right?

Sophie felt Bryce’s hands tighten around her middle.