We stared at each other for exactly one heartbeat too long.
Then Jeremy appeared like he’d been summoned by the universe’s sense of timing. I used his distraction to yank my shirt the rest of the way down. Thankfully, I already had my bra and panties on. Wiggling into the leggings wouldn’t take long, but I was already retreating for my closet.
“Good morning, Miss Frankie,” he said pleasantly, handing Coop a neatly folded stack of clothes. “Fresh for you, Mr. Cooper. I took the liberty.”
Coop looked down at the clothes. Then up at Jeremy. Then back at the clothes.
“…Thank you, sir.”
Jeremy nodded, utterly unbothered, then turned his attention to the bed where three cats sat watching the hallway like they were waiting for a starting gun.
“Breakfast?” Jeremy asked mildly.
The reaction was immediate.
Tabby launched herself off the bed like a missile. Tory followed at a dignified but urgent trot. Tiddles brought up the rear, yawning as he went, but still somehow moving faster than physics allowed.
They vanished down the hall after Jeremy like he’d been feeding them their entire lives.
Rachel reappeared in the doorway just in time to see the cat parade disappear.
She blinked. “Wow. Betrayed.”
I laughed—an actual laugh this time—and clapped a hand over my mouth like it might escape if I didn’t contain it.
Coop grinned at me, relief written all over his face. “I think Jeremy is a magician. We’re just never looking in the right direction.”
Rachel shook her head, smiling as she tugged on my borrowed t-shirt. “Okay, bathroom’s all yours again if you want it, but I’m dressed and emotionally fortified.”
I took my time deciding on flats rather than socks and sneakers. It wasn’t suffocatingly hot outside, which was practically balmy for this time of year. My stomach rumbled and I would kill for coffee, but I was reticent to abandon the safety I’d found in here. The air still smelled faintly like soap and sleep and people who cared enough to stay.
I knew I was lingering.
I knew the day was waiting.
Eventually… we’d have to face it.
But not yet.
Not just yet.
Outside the door, muted voices drifted past—then hesitated a beat before they moved on.
Coop tilted his head toward me as he tugged his shirt on. Archie. Jake. Bubba. I’d known the other two guys had also stayed over, but hearing them this close was still oddly grounding. If a little weird.
Coop’s phone buzzed. Then mine. Then Rachel’s.
Then all three almost in unison.
I knew that rhythm now. It had become uncomfortably familiar over the last few days.
Coop grimaced at his screen, and I didn’t need to see it to know—something else had dropped.
I didn’t ask if I wanted to know. I didn’t.
But—
“Coop?”
