CIERRA WASN’T EXACTLY sure when she snuck back upstairs. Maybe two or three in the morning — the time was hard to tell. She was still reeling from what had just happened. The floor beneath her feet seemed wobbly, as if she were walking along one of those ladders in action movies — little more than rope and simple plywood over a cliff, with a raging current flowing below toward a steep waterfall drop-off.
With gritted teeth, she slowly creaked the door open, relieved to find Mia fast asleep and turned over on her side; muted snores murmured out of a half-open mouth.
Thank God, Cierra thought to herself. At least she had one less thing to worry about. It was difficult — no — impossible for her to make sense out of what just happened or how she felt about it. About Erik. What had come over her? He was her employer’s little brother. Well, not that little.Ugh, Cierra thought and face palmed as she quietly lowered herself into bed.
After changing into her plaid shorts and a roomy T-shirt, she lay awake in bed, staring at the beamed ceiling. For six years, she’d only slept with one person. Now, she’d slept with two people in the span of a few weeks. The quickness of it all, it felt unlike her. But maybe itwaslike her, given she had never had the opportunity before. Something inside her felt like she’d done something wrong. That she wasn’t allowed to explore and giveinto passion. But then the other part of her mind askedWhy not? Where had all that caution landed you before?
But she’d been around men like Erik. Worked with them and had seen them in Harry’s friends. Men like Erik didn’t take women like Cierra seriously; never again would she be with someone whose family would most likely look down on her forever. Besides, before tonight, it’s not like there was anything between them but friendly jokes and side conversations. It couldn’t be anything more than that.
The thoughts came fast at first but quickly lulled in their passing.It was a mistake. A one-time thing. It won’t happen again.These were the mantras Cierra recited until finally falling asleep.
When Cierra woke up just a few hours later, the sky was still a deep teal blue, and the harmony of the woods was quiet. Mia’s dark hair lay draped across her pillow to Cierra’s left. To Cierra’s right, her iPhone glowed with a lime green notification — a missed text.
Ding.Make that two texts. From Julian.
Being that she needed to get breakfast going fairly soon, Cierra grudgingly wrapped a thick cardigan around her shoulders, picked up her phone, and tiptoed to the bathroom. Sitting on the bathtub’s hard edge, Cierra opened the message.
Julian: I get why you’re upset with me. I’ve been a real asshole and I’m sorry. When you asked me the other day about if I’d changed my mind, I got nervous. Please, I know I don’t deserve it, but can we talk about this?
Cierra’s shoulders slumped. Her phone fell onto the frayed bathmat, and she leaned over and buried her head in her hands, although she would have preferred screaming her lungs out into the woods. It was almost seven thirty in the morning, and seeing Erik at breakfast was inevitable.
Shit.
In lieu of a cold shower, she splashed some cold water on her face and marched toward her meal of shame.
Despite her feeling like the walking dead on account of getting no sleep, breakfast service itself went off without a hitch, and she was able to use up most of the leftover food, which was a bonus. Figuring out how she was going to mix sea bass with green tomatoes distracted her from Erik long enough to get food on the table, and it was a hit. There was a moment during breakfast, though. Cierra had accidentally caught his gaze during the meal, and he looked back with bright, almost hopeful eyes.
Oh, no.
In the cold light of day, she was reminded of the most glaring reason Erik was off-limits: her erratic boss, who happened to be the only barrier between her and a twelve-dollar bus ticket back home, was way too protective for anything with Erik to be a good idea. Not that Cierra was the gold-digging harlot her boss was on the lookout for, but she understood that given her position, there was no other way someone like Zelda would likely see it.
And besides, she wasn’t sure where she and Julian stood. To say her heart hadn’t skipped a beat at the sight of his message would have been a bald-faced lie.
While scrubbing a pan after breakfast had finished, and while most of the weekend party was packing up, a familiar deep voice murmured behind her, sending the sudsy yellow sponge flying out of Cierra’s hand.
“Jesus! You sure scare easy . . .” he said. Erik mischievously glanced behind him toward the doorway and into the kitchen, before motioning to grab her hips.
“No! No,” Cierra whispered through gritted teeth.
“Why? No one’s coming. Last night was . . .” He leaned in again, but this time Cierra side-stepped him, sending him stumbling toward the cupboard.
Regaining his composure, he looked at her with concerned eyes. “Um, okay, did I do something? Because if I did, I’m sorry. What’s wrong?”
Hadhe done anything?
“Yes, Erik. You did something.” Cierra then shook her head. “Wedid something. And I know it didn’t mean anything, and we were just a little drunk. Listen, I work for Zelda and your brother . . . last night shouldn’t have happened.”
“Cierra, ugh.” He put his hands up to his forehead. “Of course . . . that was so messed up of me, of course—”
“No, Erik. You’re fine. Listen, we’re friends. We just had a moment—"
“Amoment?” Erik’s voice was filled with a hurt confusion.
“I’m still processing last night and . . . that was really unprofessional of me.”
“Oh. Okay, uh, yeah . . .” He took a few steps back, rubbing his chin. “So, what should we do?”
Great question, she thought. As if she were remotely close to an answer.
