“You don’t have any brothers or sisters?”
“No. Just me.”
“Were you ever lonely?”
There was a beat. “My parents worked really hard to be around, so I was never alone.”
I could guess at what she wasn’t saying and felt a wave of awe for this incredible woman who had spent her childhood lonely but refused to accept any pity for it. Remembering my childhood, I said, “I used to hate those maths problems. I always hoped for a multiple choice answer and just picked C.”
She laughed, a little tension draining out from between the angles of her shoulder blades. “I bet you still passed every test.”
“I was consistently lucky,” I added, just to hear her laugh again. Then I gently asked, “Are you close with them? Your parents?”
“We talk. They live up in Madison and don’t ever visit, but I try to spend the holidays with them.” She smiled softly. “What about you?”
“Yeah, we’re definitely close. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, but we talk a lot, and I have brunch every weekend with my sister. They’re the main reason I want to renegotiate the contract. It’d be nice to give back to them after all they’ve done for Sarah and me.”
Audrey considered me quietly, and I was held captive by her intense gaze. I took my time to appreciate the flecks of gold that sparkled in her eyes, hinting at a treasure I’d only myself started to glimpse. I hoped I would have the chance to discover all of it.
Eventually, she leaned in and kissed me. “They’re lucky to have you.”
I cupped her cheek in one palm. “I already told you, I’m the lucky one.”
15
Audrey
Iknocked again.
Then, louder.
Finally, I called through the door. “I come bearing coffee.”
“It better be strong.” Tiff ripped the door open wide, her hair a wild mess where it had been thrown into a bun with little concern for how it looked. She was wearing her usual ripped jeans and tank top, which I could only imagine were thrown together in the same thoughtless fashion as her hair.
I held the coffee out to her. “Three extra shots. Your usual.”
“Thank fuck. You ready to go?”
A naked body shuffled down the hallway behind her. “Uh, yeah … Are you sureyouare?” I gestured at the retreating bare ass.
“Oh, Diego knows his way out. Right, D?” She raised her voice as she called down the hall. A muffled response confirmed.
I shook my head in amusement as she shut the door behind her and took a long sip of coffee. “I’ll warn you, I’ve barely slept, and this is my first caffeine of the day. I may need a minute before I can offer any sage advice.”
My phone pinged, and I smiled, guessing who it was. Jackson and I had been messaging pretty steadily since we’d swapped numbers last week. Just flirty little texts back and forth, nothing deep or meaningful. I was determined to keep this strictly about sex. But I couldn’t help the grin that overtook my face as I thought of him, and Tiff caught on immediately, as I’d known she would.
“And who has you so happy on a Saturday morning? That wouldn't be pretty boy, would it?”
“You know his name is Jackson.”
“Uh-huh. And I'm sure it means nothing that he's messaging you at,” she mimicked looking at a watch, even though her wrist was bare, “ass o'clock in the morning on a weekend. Are you sureyoudon't have a sexy naked man you could be attending to?”
“Okay, firstly, eight a.m. is a perfectly normal time for adult humans to be awake, thank you very much. And secondly, no, he’s busy at the moment, but now that we’re able to message, it’s easier to set something up.”
“Finally. I have better things to do than play matchmaker with you two.”
“Like Diego?”
