Page 45

She pressed her lips together immediately, assuming a serious demeanor. “No, you’re right. Don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

“Let’s start watching something,” I said.

Lais and I chose a rom-com. I snapped a picture of the screen as the title appeared and sent it to Zachary. His reply made me laugh.

Zachary: Shudder. Rom-coms are at the top of my shit list. Have fun.

I expected him to continue texting, but he didn’t, and so Lais and I watched Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant for the fiftieth time in silence, sighing at our favorite scenes. We’d first watched this when we were teenagers, and we laughed at it still. There was something eternally romantic about those old rom-coms.

I yawned several times as the ending approached. Lais looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

“You’re already sleepy. I thought we were going to have a party tonight and watch several movies.”

“I thought so, too, but I had a long day.” And as Zachary pointed out, a short night, but I didn’t feel comfortable sharing too many details with Lais. Once upon a time, we did that—when we were in the throes of dating. But after I got married, I shared less and less. I was too ashamed.

“Then I’m going to go, but you still owe me that night out in the Quarter, okay?”

“How about next week?” I suggested.

“Either Friday or Saturday works for me. I’ll make you keep the promise.”

“I haven’t promised yet,” I pointed out, batting my eyelashes.

She put her hands on her hips.

“I won’t bail on you again, I promise.”

“No more swimming sessions in the Mississippi.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

I chuckled as she headed to the door. “Good night, Lais.”

“Good night,” she said before leaving.

I yawned again and rose from the couch, moving my body a bit because I’d gotten stiff. After I cleaned up our mess, which involved throwing what was left in the garbage and the dishes in the dishwasher, I hopped into the shower. It was my absolute favorite way to relax. My daily pampering routine. I’d once read that the average person showered in less than four minutes, and I couldn’t even comprehend what that meant. Mine were at least fifteen minutes long.

I applied lotion thoroughly after I came out. Even though it had been humid out in the bayou, my skin was still dry. As I massaged my inner thighs, I had flashbacks from last night. I almost couldn’t believe how alive I’d felt. How incredible Zachary had been with me.

After putting on my silk nightgown and fluffy slippers, I searched for my phone in the bedroom, needing to set the alarm, then remembered I’d left it in the living room. When I grabbed it from the coffee table, I noticed an unread message.

Zachary: Rom-com over?

Suddenly, I wasn’t just relaxed but happy. The sentiment caught me by complete surprise. How could I be happy just because he was texting me?

Grace: Yep. And Lais left too. She’s suspicious about why I’m so tired.

Zachary: You didn’t tell her about last night’s activities?

I giggled as I typed back, sitting on the couch.

Grace: I did, although I didn’t give her many details.

Zachary: Don’t remember them? Because I’m more than happy to remind you of every single one of them. I’ve committed everything to memory.

Oh, my bestie was right. This was definitely not the behavior of someone who only considered it a one-night stand.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Had I been too quick to label it?

Grace: Don’t worry. I remember every detail too.