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“Should we continue this tomorrow?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” Athena nodded, finally looking back into Monti’s eyes.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.” Monti scooted off the bed as if escaping.

That was something Athena couldn’t blame her for. She watched as Monti quickly collected her things in silence and nodded firmly at Athena as her goodbye. When the door was shut, Athena collapsed onto the bed again, her hands resting on her hips as she closed her eyes, imagining Monti’s hands, her fingers, her lips. Just what would it be like?

A kiss.

A touch.

A hope of something different.

fifteen

Today the rain was oppressive.

Monti wanted the sunshine on her face, the warm breeze as it blew across her skin, and the feeling of sand between her toes. She smiled at that thought. Maybe she really did need to take that trip with Fallon to Belize sooner rather than later. Rolling her shoulders, she closed her laptop as she stared at the house in front of her.

She’d been parked in Athena’s driveway for the better part of two hours, just waiting for their appointment time that day and killing the minutes in between. Since Monti had given up her job and gone on the road, this was the longest she had stayed in any one place. The itch to move was strong, and she had learned over the years that she needed to follow it.

Scratching the back of her head, Monti stretched her legs out on her bed and rolled her shoulders. She had fifteen minutes before she needed to go in. And she was mostly avoiding Fallon. They hadn’t rescheduled their lunch date yet, and as much as Monti wanted to spend time with her sister, she didn’t want to get caught up in even more of the drama of their family.

Eventually, Monti got out of the van and went inside. She was let in by a staff member who led her straight to the library. Instead of finding Athena there, she found a tray with tea. Frowning, Monti sat down in a wingback chair and steeped her tea bag as she waited. This was odd, even for Athena, who hadn’t shown any sign of knowing how to relax or even pause.

Monti rubbed her temple and closed her eyes. Where was that peace again? If she was going to have a few extra minutes, she might as well try a quick meditation. She followed her breathing, the gentle flow in and out of her lungs. She checked in with her entire body from head to toe, and then she stilled.

And waited.

The silence was deafening.

Which was the part she hated the most. She’d grown up with so much silence in her life that she’d become used to it, but those first few years had been loud. She might have been young when her parents died, but she vividly remembered the fights, the arguments, the yelling and thuds of fists being thrown against solid bodies.

She shuddered.

“Monti.”

Jerking with a start, Monti looked up into Athena’s curious gaze. Athena had her hands folded together in front of her, like she was just as scared of what Monti was capable of in the silence as Monti herself. Shaking her head to clear the memories from it, Monti forced a smile onto her lips.

“Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“Glad to know I’m not the only one who does that.”

Monti shrugged and glanced down at her tea, which had no doubt steeped too long. She took it anyway and sipped the no longer hot liquid. Athena sat next to her, making her own tea and holding the mug as she stared out at the window.

Guess they weren’t diving headfirst into a massage today.

“Kevin and I got married shortly after it happened.”

“Oh?” Monti didn’t ask a question. She hadn’t expected Athena to just come out with information, but perhaps they had broken the dam that had clogged her up for so long and now everything was going to spill. She was going to have to maintain proper boundaries for Athena then, because it was clear she was struggling with doing it herself.

If last night was anything to go off.

They’d almost kissed. Again.

Or rather, Athena had almost kissed her. Monti just hadn’t pulled away. She hadn’t moved to put distance between them, but had held that sweet tension firmly. Her heart raced at the memory, because she had wanted to lean in and kiss Athena, see if her kisses were as sharp as her words. Monti doubted they were. In fact, she was willing to bet that Athena’s kisses were desperate.