He groaned. "That's not helping me let you go, April."
"Shh. You'll wake the kid." April slipped his cock into her mouth and ran her tongue around and around the tip until he was gripping the sheets. It only took a moment for him to come after she plunged his entire length into her mouth.
"You're...amazing."
"I know." She pushed the blankets off and sat up, reaching for the t-shirt he'd peeled off her the night before. He grabbed her hand and refused to let go. "Uh-uh. If you want more of that tonight, you'd better let me get on with my day."
He smacked her ass as she stood. "Then go, Sweetness. But you'd better keep that promise tonight."
She grinned over her shoulder. "I always do."
April walkedinto Riversong mid-morning still wearing a smile she couldn't quite wipe off, no matter how hard she tried.
Not that she was trying too hard. Why not let the world know how happy she was?
She'd dropped Kevin at day camp half an hour ago, kissed the top of his head as he scrambled out with his backpack half-zipped. He hadn't even looked back, too busy chasing his new camp friends across the park.
Now, as she stepped into Riversong, the familiar scent of espresso and cinnamon met her like an old friend. She excused herself as she squeezed past a knot of customers—so manycustomers this morning! Riversong had been shared from here to Timbuktu all over social media since the day they announced the party a couple weeks ago—and made her way to the counter.
"Look who's glowing," Hannah said, one eyebrow lifted, her hair piled high on her head like a crown. "Someone had a very good night."
April rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the grin anymore. "Do you always clock the exact moment I've been thoroughly debauched?"
"I don't even need a clock. You're basically levitating."
April laughed and ducked behind the counter. She noticed Rochelle wasn’t in yet today. A different woman sat in her usual window seat.
“Rochelle may have to fight for her spot today,” she told Hannah.
“I was just thinking that. Crazy-busy. We should have had an after-hours party a long time ago.”
“We’ll make it a monthly thing,” Sonny said as he set a custom-made Watermelon Sweet Tea on the pickup counter and shouted to one of their regulars, “Order up for lovely Lana!”
April grinned at Sonny’s good mood.
The line was long—just out the door now—but no one seemed to mind. Sonny was working the espresso machine, moving like a man half his age as he poured shots and frothed milk with practiced ease. The espresso machine hissed and steamed, filling the space with that warm, rich scent that made so many people’s mornings bearable.
April stood behind the register, greeting customers both old and new with easy smiles and quick jokes. The place buzzed with that Riversong kind of magic—Sonny’s favorite old jazz station playing overhead, laughter, clapping from someone who'd just won a game of checkers in the corner, the owner of Do’s and Donuts dropping off a dozen mixed flavors for the pastry cooler.She barely had time to take it in. The line kept moving. Regulars, tourists, a few college kids home for the summer. She passed change, scribbled names on cups, made small talk about the weather, thanked people for tips.
The next customer stepped up.
"Morning!" April said brightly, already reaching for a cup. She didn't recognize him at first—it had been almost ten years, and the time he spent in prison had not been kind. "What can I?—"
Her voice cut out. Her fingers froze around the cup.
Because standing in front of her, calm as you please, was Vince Romano.
He'd aged. Badly. He was ten years older than April but looked her age when they met. Now he looked like he had twenty years on her. The smooth confidence he'd worn like expensive cologne was still there, but his face had gained forehead wrinkles, and crow’s feet behind his dark glasses. Lines bracketed his mouth that hadn't been there before. His biggest pride—his hair—was still thick and dark, but heavily threaded with gray at the temples. His sense of style hadn’t changed. He wore a meticulously pressed and fitted jacket over a smooth silk shirt, and of course his Rolex Deepsea watch, which he liked to falsely brag he won off of James Cameron in a private poker game.
Oh yes, April remembered that watch well, but not for the Cameron connection. It had left quite a bruise on her face when Vince backhanded her.
Run. Grab Kevin andrun.
"Hey, looks like I found my jackpot," Vince said, and his voice was exactly as she remembered. Smooth as good whiskey going down. "Long time, baby. You’re looking good."
April couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. The cup in her hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
"April?" Hannah's voice came from somewhere far away. "You okay?"
