Chloe arches a brow and smiles at me. “And?”
“Well, he certainly took my mind off Colin, put it that way. He blindfolded me, tied me up, edged me, then gave me two of the best orgasms of my life.”
“Oh my lord, good work Luke.”
“Then, he took the blindfold off and all of the emotions I’d pushed down erupted like a tidal wave. Full weeping, wailing, sobbing. Poor man. He was really good though, ideal in a crisis. He just kept soothing me and rocking me, like a child. I felt so much better until the mortification set in and I scarpered.”
“Oh babe,” she replies, patting my leg.
“Not my finest moment. I was going for devastatingly sexy, independent fuck-buddy energy… and instead I served up full meltdown.”
We reach a red light and Chloe turns to look at me.
“It was never going to be a simple fuck buddy thing though, was it?” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s known you since you were literally a teenager. He was there when you went through hell losing your parents. He was Nick’s only real friend when we were growing up. He knows you. He cares about you. Even if it’s just sex, there’s always going to be more there than just a fuck buddy thing.”
I mull over her words as she pulls away again.
“Yes, I suppose so. But he’s always been so distant. Like, he’s been around but I’ve never really known him, you know? Forinstance, we didn’t know that he was a secret sex god with a club dedicated to kink and shagging until mere weeks ago.”
She snorts a laugh.
“True, he’s always been a bit of a closed book. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been watching you. You’re a heart-on-her-sleeve girl and I love that about you. You’re easy to love, even by someone who you’d never suspect of loving you.”
I wrinkle my nose.
“Luke’s amazing but he doesn’t do relationships. He’s doing me a favour because I basically brow beat him into taking pity on me and showing me his kinky little kingdom.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Chloe replies. “He wouldn’t be doing this with you if he didn’t want to. Something tells me Luke rarely does anything without purpose and intention.”
I mull over her words. When I lost my shit, he was so calm. I hadn’t cried like that in years and he didn’t even flinch. And that was worth more than any insane orgasm.
Could Luke Pullman actually feel something more than lust for me? And if he does… What the hell am I supposed to do about it?
CHAPTER 32
Emmy
Three days later,a new group chat pings up on my phone.
“Priya’s Baby Shower” is announced, surrounded by emoji bows and baby bottles. Priya’s sister has four children of her own and you’d think the novelty of a baby shower might have worn off by now, but she’s clearly going hard on making her little sister feel special, and I can’t begrudge her that. I mean, Ican. But I won’t.
The group lights up immediately as friends and family express breathless excitement over the big day, set for three weeks from now. There’s anextensivegift list, a Pinterest mood board, and a colour-coded spreadsheet for snack contributions. We’ve all been instructed to wear something pink.
I put my phone down and stare at the ceiling, briefly considering faking my own death or pretending to have jury duty. But I love Priya, and I’ll swallow my own snobbery for one day in the name of sister-in-law duty. Even if it means wearing pastel and pretending to care about nappy cakes.
Five minutes later, Chloe texts me:
Chloe
Kill me now.
You in the shower group?
Chloe
