“Why not? Well, I suppose you look a bit lame in that Elmo t-shirt with beer all over it. But I’m pretty sure he knows you’re here. What will I say?”
“Just tell him I’ve got amnesia or something, and I can’t remember the last five years of my life.”
Gracie narrows her eyes. “You’re being ridiculous. I think you should talk to him. Give me one good reason you don’t want to.”
Gracie knows me better than anyone. There’s no getting out of this without telling her the truth. “He’s the frigging CEO of Knightwell, and I don’t want Seb or Ryan to tell anyone. Seb, I can trust not to run his mouth, but Ryan, I’m not so sure.”
She looks at me long and hard before the grin returns. “And there was me thinking you led this boring life, and all this time, you’ve been hooking up with the drop-dead CEO.”
“Christ, Gracie. Keep your voice down.” I hear movement from the other room, and I push Gracie toward the door in a panic. “Please, Gracie, just tell him now is not a good time.”
“Okay, chill.” She rolls her eyes. “But for what it’s worth, Vi. He seems keen, like I think he may have it bad.”
I saunter back into the living room with a strained smile, as if I didn’t just have a full mental breakdown over the kitchen sink.
“Did you go to Mexico to get the beers?” Seb says, as I plonk the fresh bottles on the coffee table. I flip him the bird, resuming my position behind the cushions. But my mind is elsewhere. Thetruth is, I’m scared. It’s taken me a long time to drag myself up from my knees since Mom passed. Life is normal again. Gracie is doing well. I’ve got a good job and an even better group of friends. I’ve started having fun again. And now Chase has come out of nowhere like a tornado to blow my world apart. And even though I’ve been smothering it in denial, last night, he showed me a side of him I could easily fall in love with.
The doorbell goes again, and my blood pressure spikes so high I spill more beer.
“Jeez, this zombie movie really got you rattled,” Seb says as I leap to my feet, sprinting to the front door like my life is about to unravel.
“Millie,” I say, exhaling the giant wedge of trapped air. “Boy, am I glad to see you.”
“Everything okay? You look a bit spooked?”
“Zombies,” I say, waving toward Seb as if that explains it.
“Are they forcing you to watch horror again?”
“It’s fine. I won’t sleep tonight, anyway. I’ve slept most of the day away.”
Her eyes hold mine for a long second. “How was the retreat?”
I look away. “It was okay, but I’m glad to be home.”
There I am withokayagain. Pinocchio’s got nothing on me today.
I quickly usher her through to the living room. Sometimes, it seems like Millie can read my mind. Ryan scoots up closer to give Millie space to sit.
He leans in, a grin curving his mouth. “Sorry for forcing you to watch zombies, Vi.”
“It’s alright.” I smile. “I’m used to it. I work with one every day.”
Ryan snickers, snapping off a beer cap with his teeth and handing it to me.
“To Zombies,” I say, clinking my bottle against Ryan’s just as someone is getting their head ripped off on the small screen.
I stare into space for the rest of the movie, not really watching but wishing there was a way I could somehow erase last night from my mind.
Gracie catches my eye from across the room and mouths, “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” I mouth back with a smile.
There’s that word again—okay.
Perhaps, if I say it enough times, I’ll actually believe it.
Chapter eighteen
