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“We didn’t just kiss,” I whispered.

Lais looked stunned as she pushed the rest of her food to the side, full attention on me.

“Grace Deveraux, did you finally,finallybreak that awful dry spell you’ve been having?”

“I did.”

“Hallelujah, hallelujah,” Lais chanted, and I burst out laughing. “That’s the best news ever. Do you have any champagne? Something we could celebrate with? I could have a Sazerac or five. In a pinch, even a tequila shot would do.”

“I have none of that,” I confessed.

“Oh, never mind. I’m so happy. It was high time you got some.”

I chuckled. “You’ve made your opinion clear on that. I just wasn’t ready.”

“And now you are?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

Lais frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“It was a very spur-of-the-moment thing. The hosts only had one cabin that was livable, so we had to share it.”

“This sounds like a movie.” We both giggled at her comment.

“That’s the perfect way to describe it.”

“How was it?”

I turned to her and sighed. “Fantastic. I didn’t even know sex could be like that.”

Lais’s face fell. “You’re telling me that bastard was bad in bed in addition to being bad at everything else?”

I pressed my lips together. “I don’t want to talk about Roger.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“It doesn’t even matter either. I feel vindicated now, like I’ve crossed something that was holding me back.”

“Well, we don’t need to talk abouthe-who-should-not-be-mentioned, but that man did a number on you, and I am just thrilled to see I’ve got my bestie back in all her glory.”

“Yeah. I definitely found my self-perseverance, my self-esteem. I feel like I can hold my own again, and I am so happy!” I was sipping my drink when Lais asked her next question.

“So, Zachary LeBlanc first won you over with his kissing skills and then with his sexual skills. When are you seeing him next?” She was so funny, and I just loved her. She’d stood by me through it all, and there was no better friend in the world than her.

“I’m not. I mean, I don’t think there will be a repeat.”

Lais didn’t reply right away. Instead, she began munching carefully on her cheeseburger again.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked, feeling a bit unnerved. Lais didn’t usually just go radio silent, so she had to be mulling over something.

“I just wouldn’t have thought that you’d want a onetime thing. Especially since this was pivotal—life-changing, even.”

I chewed on a fry, thinking about it. “Well, trust me, I’d planned this to be a zero-time thing. I just got my life back on track and need to focus on me.”

“I know that. But you can do both. This is the first time in a very long time that I’ve seen you so excited. Like there’s actually a little light in your eyes. I haven’t seen that inforever.”

I didn’t reply because I knew what she was saying was true.