Page 128 of Only Lovers in the Building

“He’s been stalking my social media for weeks. I decided to give him a try.”

Lily admired the younger woman’s can-do spirit. At her age, she’d have been sobbing over her last relationship for weeks.

Ben and Roxanna left with Oscar for the kiddy pool, just when Kylie came rushing back from her swim. “You won’t believe this.”

Lily, stretched out on a sunbed, looked up from her e-reader. “What is it?”

“Frederico is back!”

“From Italy?”

“Yes! He cut his trip short.”

Kylie showed her the text message she’d received seconds earlier. No pressure, but if you want to come back to work early that would be amazing. I’m home today.

“Hold on. When were you scheduled to return?” Lily asked.

“In two weeks.”

“Ha!” Lily settled back down. “Tell him Nice try. See you in two weeks.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Oh yes, you can,” Lily said. “What are you doing?”

Kylie scrambled around the cabana stuffing her personal items into her beach tote. “Leaving. I’ve got to stock his refrigerator.”

“Are you serious?” Lily asked, dumbfounded. “Look at where we are! We’re celebrating.”

Kylie tucked her damp locks behind her ears. “I don’t have anything to celebrate. This job is all I have.”

This wasn’t true, not by a long shot. However, she knew better than to argue with someone in that state of mind. Lily recalled how lost she’d felt the night she quit her job, crying into a eucalyptus-scented towel in the sauna. She’d relied on her position to shape her identity for far too long. Her ideas and creativity stretched beyond the corporate cadre. Yet she’d allowed them to move her around like a pawn. The night she walked out, she was ready to walk away for good. Then again, she wasn’t in love with her CEO, which had made walking away that much easier.

“Kylie, don’t do this. You’re settling for crumbs.”

“I don’t have time for your food analogies!”

Lily tried a different approach. “Don’t you see? He’s the black cat, and you’re the golden retriever.”

Kylie shoved a bottle of sunscreen into her tote. “I don’t understand you.”

“I think you do,” Lily said, flatly.

“I can’t get into this now, Lily!”

“What’s the rush? Can’t this wait until Monday?”

“He won’t be home then. If I want to see him—” Kylie caught herself saying the quiet part out loud. She could return to work anytime, but Frederico was home now. This was her chance to see his golden face again.

“All right,” Lily said. The kind thing to do was to let it go.

“Could you do me a favor?” Kylie asked. “Tell the others I had a work emergency or something.”

Lily made a face. “Jeremy, too?”

“Yes, Jeremy, too,” she said. “It’s work. He’ll understand.”

Without meeting her eyes, Kylie waved goodbye. She hoisted the beach tote onto her shoulder and stomped away on soggy flip-flops.