Cecily lifts her chin. "Maybe."
"Are you saying I look like Malibu Ken?"
"I'm saying you look like Malibu Dom."
I shake my head at her. "Do you think your grandmother would've approved of me calling you Savage Cecily?"
Cecily nods. "Absolutely, yes." She twists the top off the wine and takes a long pull. "She would encourage me to drink my feelings, too."
I smack the counter. "Sit up here and drink your feelings while I make you dinner."
Cecily obliges, leaning sideways to awkwardly remove a small tumbler and pour some wine for me. She watches me look through all the cabinets and drawers, finding what I need to make chicken fettuccine alfredo.
I'm filling a pot with water when she asks, "Has your boss responded to your email yet? I'm sorry I forgot to ask."
"Don't apologize." I brush a hand over her thigh on my way past. "Today has been a hard day."
Cecily takes a sip, saying, "To put it mildly."
"Do you want to hear some good news?"
Cecily's eyes light up. "You know the answer to that."
"My boss said she prefers not to have me as competition."
Cecily sits up straighter. She leans forward, hands gripping the edge of the counter. "And that means?"
"She'd like me to open a Phoenix branch of the Whitaker Literary Agency." A thrill I haven't allowed myself to feel sweeps through me. Holding onto differing emotions simultaneously has not been without difficulty.
A smile breaks onto Cecily's face. The first genuine one I've seen from her all day. "Are you telling me my husband is going to live in the same city as me?"
I go to her, placing my hands on either side of her legs. "Exactly what I'm saying. We're going to have a favorite sushi place. Find the best donuts. Double date with Klein and Paisley."
Cecily holds my face in her hands, lightly scratching my scruff. "You'll appreciate the smell of rain again."
"That's the plan."
I finish cooking dinner, and Cecily carries the wine out to her patio. We eat dinner in the small space, balancing plates of pasta on our laps. The sunset is brilliant, the pink turning into ruby at the top and orange at the bottom.
Cecily twirls noodles on her fork. "It's hard to feel sad and happy at the same time. The happiness is a reminder that life goes on, but the sadness takes me back to yesterday, when she was alive."
"It'll probably be like that for a while."
"You sure you're ready to put up with all my grief?"
I tip my chin at her. "The past couple weeks should speak for me."
"True."
"I have one request, though."
Her eyebrows lift, waiting.
"Please get rid of Malibu Dom."
CHAPTER 55
Cecily
