Owen finally looked at me and held my gaze as the sky filled with explosions.
“I’m not sure I can.”
I slumped as a series of staticky fizzles went off over our heads.
“I’ll let you know,” Owen continued.
Relief washed over me. It wasn’t a hard no. For now, it would have to do.
Of course, the bedroom I was in had blackout blinds on the gigantic windows—everything was calibrated to give the occupant the most luxurious night of sleep ever—but I woke with the sun regardless. Our plan was to clean up and hit the road in the afternoon, a day early and before the holiday weekend traffic, so we’d have time to de-stress at home before the week began.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, feeling hungover even though I’d stopped drinking after the fateful glass of prosecco. The night flashed back like an episode recap on a Netflix show: hanging with Kai, the bay dunk, kissing Owen. I squeezed my eyes shut.
What the fuck was I evendoing? My life was messy enough; why did I keep wading in and making it worse?
I was in Owen limbo. Afterthatkiss and everything that went with it, I wasn’t sure how we’d find a way back to feeling okay around each other. I wondered how long he’d make me wait before he rendered his verdict.
I slid out of the billion-thread-count sheets and grabbed my phone and laptop, then headed downstairs. The sun was already popping up over the tops of the trees, and the birds who hadn’t gotten the message about spring mating season being over were singing their little hearts out. I put the coffee on and headed to the patio by the pool.
I had at least a couple of hours before Meredith and Coltongot up, possibly more given how wasted Colton had been when he got home, so I could knock out a bunch of words before the party rehash with Meredith. I opened up the document that consistently gave me migraines and scrolled to where I’d left off.
The pregnancy test. I’d managed to get their first time having sex on the page and now it was time to deal with the aftermath. In her hurry to find out if she was just late or if it was something more, Abby had missed the trash can when she tossed out the pregnancy test wrapper, leaving part of it on the ground, only to be discovered by Austin.
The scene took shape in my mind as I glanced across the manicured yard, and the next thing I knew, my fingers were flying over the keys. By the time I paused to drink my now-cold coffee, I’d added close to two thousand words, with no end in sight.
“Good morning?” Meredith called from behind me, her voice cautious.
I glanced over my shoulder at her standing in the doorway, hugging herself. I could tell by her hesitation that she didn’t want to interrupt me, but that she was also desperate to find out why the hell I’d been making out with Owen the night before.
“Hey there.”
“Can I...?”
She pointed at the chair across from me.
“Please.”
It was time for the debrief I’d been dreading. Not that I ever held back from sharing my feelings with Meredith, but this time I wasn’t sure how to catalog them, and worse, how she’d react.
“So.” She dropped into the chair. “What’s new with you?”
I laughed despite myself. “Not much. Just making bad decisions and waking up with an emotional hangover.”
“Not a real one? You were sober last night?”
I gave her a tight smile. “Oh yes. I remember every second of last night.”
She leaned forward and slapped the table with both hands, chastising and concerned at the same time. “What thehell, Brooke? You hooked up with Owen? I mean, I totally get it, and I approve, but what about the mighty Kai? I thought he was the final boss.”
I slumped down, embarrassed by my all-over-the-place-ness. “I don’tknow. I’m a trainwreck.”
“You do realize that this muse thing is pretty weird, right? I can’t say that I understand it now, given...” She gestured vaguely toward where Owen and I had been busted.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared across the lawn. “But it’s not weird. Leo crushed my heart, I needed to find a romantic spark so I could actually write a happily ever after, and Kai was it.”
“Yeah, heisyour usual type,” Meredith admitted. “Hot and charming. So how did it go with him last night?”
“He took my number and said we need to play.”
