“But seriously,” Felicity adds, chewing thoughtfully, “they literally melt in your mouth.”
I smile. “They’re Alexander’s favorite. His grandmother taught me how to make them.”
“Aww, look at you,” she teases. “All mushy and dreamy just from saying his name.”
I shake my head, laughing. “You’re going to turn everything I say into teasing, aren’t you?”
She scoffs, thoroughly unimpressed. “You never tell me anything! You’ve been back for a week, and every time we talk on the phone, you dodge the subject.”
I take another sip of coffee to buy myself a few seconds. “I did tell you. I just didn’t give you the scandalous details you were fishing for. And I’m not going to.”
She grins. “Please. I don’t even need them. One look at you in person and I already know everything I need to know.” She gestures at my face. “You’re glowing, Ceci. And that only means one thing—the Italian stallion worked his magic and turned your world upside down.”
I avert my gaze and take a long sip of my coffee.
“I knew it!” she squeals, springing up from the rug by the coffee table and collapsing onto the couch beside me. “With all due respect, my dear friend, that man radiates BDE. I knew he was going to take very...verygood care of you.”
I laugh. “Yes, Felicity. You’re right. It was... incredible.”
But even as the word leaves my lips, it feels too small for everything Alexander made me feel—the way my bodyresponded to his, the way his seemed to answer mine so naturally it was almost frightening.
“Incredible doesn’t even begin to cover it,” I admit. “I’ve never felt anything like that. Never. I had a good sex life when I was married. Sometimes even great.” I hesitate, searching for words honest enough to say what’s on my mind. “Butnothingeven comes close to what happened with Alexander. There’s no comparison.”
Felicity doesn’t tease this time. She just watches me, eyes intent, waiting.
“It was... all-consuming,” I whisper, a breathless laugh giving me away. “I don’t even know how to put it into words. One second, I was drowning in doubt, wondering if I could really do this, if I should. And the next...” I shake my head. “The moment he touched me, there was no fear or hesitation, everything disappeared.”
I swallow.
“There was only him. The way my body reacted... as if it already knew him before my mind ever caught up—like...”
With a quiet huff, I set my mug on the table. “God,” I groan, tying my hair into a loose ponytail. “I work with words. And the one time I need them, they abandon me.”
“As if you’d been waiting your whole life for that moment,” Felicity finishes gently.
I turn toward her, and the understanding in her eyes makes my throat tighten and my lips curve into a grateful smile.
“As if your body and his were always in sync,” she continues. “Without instructions or effort. Just a touch you recognize as yours. Two bodies finding a connection that only exists for the two of you.”
“Yes,” I whisper. “That’s exactly what it was.”
Unable to hold back, I ask, “Is it like that for you and Oliver?”
She smiles and nods. “Yes and no. The connection was always there, but different. You already know how our beginning was. For a while, it was more physical. After the divorce, it became something deeper… fuller.” She exhales. “The only word that comes close istranscendent. Sometimes it feels almost... like an out-of-body experience.”
“Transcendent,” I repeat with a smile.
Felicity shakes her head, as if snapping out of a trance, and squeezes my hand. “For a second there, I felt like you were describing what it’s like to lose your virginity all over again.”
“Ugh. It was going so well until you decided to make it weird,” I groan.
She laughs loudly and reaches for cookies again. “No need to thank me for my little pre-trip gift,” she adds with a wink.
I roll my eyes at her, but the humor fades quickly. “You know what scares me? How much I know I’m going to keep falling for him.”
When she looks at me, confused, I try to explain.
“When I fell in love with Colin, it was like someone lit a bonfire and threw gasoline on it. It burned fast and bright... and then it was just embers. It stayed warm for a while, until it finally died after what he did.”
