Annie’s face changed.
Only slightly, but the softness disappeared around the edges.
“Rachel?” I asked.
“Probably.”
“You should check.”
“I don’t want to.”
“She may have deployed the Coast Guard.”
“Rachel prefers private aviation.”
“That feels less reassuring.”
Annie sighed and rolled onto her back.
The sheet slipped lower.
My attention followed it.
She noticed.
Her mouth curved.
“Good morning,” she said again, in an entirely different tone.
“That’s manipulative.”
“Is it working?”
“Yes.”
I leaned over and kissed her.
Morning kisses were different from nighttime ones.
Slower.
Sleepier.
Less interested in pretending there was anywhere else to be.
Annie touched my face, and for a few minutes the phone stopped mattering.
Then it began vibrating continuously against something in the other room.
We both froze.
“That sounds urgent,” I said.
“It sounds dramatic.”
“Same thing in management?”
“Often.”
