And…she doesn’t have a clue.
“I know,” I said. “He asked me not to call you that, which I completely ignored.”
“He did?”
“Yep. I think he just hated our relationship, and that was another red flag. And what was his fucking deal with the name? Why did he care? We have a history. You were always my Gracie girl.” I chuckled. “And then I started calling you ‘GG’ for short, which just turned into ‘Jeege.’ The dude acted like I was calling you ‘lover.’”
Her head fell back with a laugh. “He was very threatened by our relationship. I think he was happy that it was more challenging to talk to you with the time difference when I was living here. But I made it clear that we’re a package deal.”
“Well, we always make it work, don’t we? But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was a little worried about this one.” I shifted in my chair, looking away for a second at the thought.
“How so?” she asked, popping a grape in her mouth.
“I figured if you married the dude, I’d slowly be cut out.” I rubbed a hand down the back of my neck as two plates of pasta were set down in front of us.
“Never going to happen, Cutler Heart.” She smiled as she forked her rigatoni, then looked up at me before she ate it. “Everything is always better when you’re here.”
“Of course it is. That’s my job. So, we’ll head home in a few days, and you’ll stay there until you move to New York at the end of September. That’ll give us the whole summer together.”
“Yes. It’ll be great. And you’re going to teach me your dating ways.” She wriggled her brows and reached for her wine glass.I watched her hand hover over the glass, taking in the way her fingers curled around it. A faint scar on her wrist, from when she fell out of a tree we were climbing when we were kids, caught the light, and I noted it instantly. Like some mental checklist of our shared history. The way I’d jumped down when I saw her fall, breaking my own ankle in the process. We’d been through so much together.
Keep it together, Cutler. She’s your best friend.
Your best fucking friend in the world.
“I’ll teach you whatever you want me to, Jeege,” I said, careful to keep my tone casual.
“Good. I mean, we’ve always been able to talk about everything, right?” Her eyes had that spark again—the one that always made me notice details that I shouldn’t. Just like the tiny crease at the corner of her mouth when she smiled.
“Absolutely. Why do you think I’m here? We don’t keep secrets. We can always tell each other anything. That’s the deal we made years ago. There’s nothing you can’t say to me.”
She sighed and sat back in her chair, chewing on her lip, deep in thought. I sipped my wine, noting the way her shoulder shifted, and how her hair fell slightly over her collarbone.
Then she leaned forward, glancing around, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Okay. There’s something I want.”
I set my glass down and straightened in my chair, giving her my full attention. “Tell me.”
“I want to be a better lover.” Her gaze locked with mine.
Boom.
Mic drop.
I felt it immediately, a rush I wasn’t supposed to feel, blood pulsing in my ears, pounding to…other parts of my body. My imagination was spinning, but I held myself rigid, forcing my face into a neutral mask.
“Really?” I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.
“Yes. I think that’s step one of my fresh start. I’m definitely lacking in that area. And, according to every woman who’s ever slept with you and then cried to me when things ended—you’re quite talented in the bedroom.”
There was a time when I’d enjoyed that lifestyle, casually dating and having a good time, but that hadn’t been the case for a while.
I had a feeling it had a lot to do with Gracie.
Her leaving.
Her coming back home.
Things were about to get interesting.
