A text comes through from Vin before I’ve finished the thought.
Sorry. I called you by accident.
I stare at it. I type back before I can stop myself.
It’s okay.
I watch the three dots appear and disappear and appear again.
How are you
Another pause. The dots again, then nothing.
Vin, do you need something?
No. Just checking in
I set the phone face-down on the bar then pick it up again. My new kitchen staff is struggling to keep up with the orders and Gavin is still at the hostess station chatting with Marco. Now is not the time for this. I slide the phone in my pocket.
It buzzes, and I can’t help myself.
I lied. I didn’t call on accident.
My throat tightens. I type back, quickly, before the soft, stupid part of my brain takes over.
Vin, you can’t do this.
The dots appear immediately.
I want to see you.
I glance into the kitchen then over at Gavin.Focus, Sophia. This is not your man.
I don’t want to see you.
I put the phone in my apron pocket before I can read his response. I don’t pull it out when the buzz comes again. Instead, I keep moving, keep my hands busy, keep my eyes on the food in front of me, but the orders are starting to slow and I’m running out of things to distract me.
“Hey.” Gavin appears at the kitchen door. “Any chance you can take a quick break? We could grab coffee across the street? Just20 minutes, I promise.”
I pull the phone out of my apron without reading Vin’s text and slide it into my back pocket.
“Twenty minutes,” I say, untying my apron. “And you’re buying.”
He smiles. “Obviously.”
I head out with Gavin without looking at my phone. Without responding to Vin.
It feels like a strong start.
13
VIN
It took me a long mother fucking time to find this basil. Not because basil is hard to find, but because it had to be the exact right kind, that Opalescent basil she used to make me pesto the first night at her house. It was so fucking good. Or maybe it was just her. She’s so fucking good.
I’ve been thinking about that night for a year. That night and all the nights when she let me take her, control her, own her, breed her. And then beg for more.
The plant is sitting in the passenger seat, terra cotta pot wrapped in brown paper. I’ve been parked outside the Arsenal for almost 30 minutes, trying to figure out how to do this.
