Page 76 of Only Lovers in the Building

The morning of the party, Lily joined Kylie on her excursion to a farmers market in Coconut Grove.

“I could never host a podcast,” Kylie said, as they wandered through the stalls.

“Why not?” Lily asked, her eye drawn to a crate of avocados. “Think of your friend and his cookbook deal and all that. It could work for you, too.”

“It’s not for me. I’d clam up,” she said. “Or I’d rattle on like an idiot. I could never just get to the point, you know?”

“I get it,” Lily said. “I was so nervous at the studio. I don’t think I could do it alone. Talking with Ben is so easy. It was no different with the microphones. After a while, I forgot they were recording us.”

“Uh-huh.” Kylie lifted a hefty eggplant from a basket. “What else are you and Professor Romero up to? Anything you’d like to share with the class?”

“I see what you did there, and it’s very cute, but I’m sorry to disappoint you. There’s nothing to share.”

“A shame.”

A damn shame, all things considered, but very necessary. Despite their love for words, she and Ben couldn’t get on the same page. When she wanted to toss caution to the wind, he reminded her of what was at stake. A great quality in a life partner, but they didn’t have their whole lives. They only had this summer.

“I’m halfway through the audiobook of Around Midnight,” Kylie said. “Sorry if I’m falling behind on the book club. I won’t be ready for tonight’s discussion.”

“Never mind that,” Lily said. “Ben and I are burning through these books like it’s our job, and in a way, it is. You guys take your time. How do you like it so far?”

“It’s hot, but there’s one thing that gets me.”

“What’s that?”

“Liz and Austin have the most amazing sex, like right out of the gate. They do and try things they’ve never done before. It’s orgasm after mind-blowing orgasm. I mean . . . what the fuck? Literally!”

Lily laughed. “I got an earful from Ben.”

“I’ve done it. After a few drinks, there’s no hotter guy than the one you’ve never laid eyes on before.”

“Or will ever again,” Lily added.

“Right? It’s fun and a little dangerous, but let’s be real. It’s never all that good! Half the time, you’re playing Twister with a man who doesn’t know what you like and can’t even ask.”

“Would we be having this conversation if we were reading a dragon-slayer novel?” Lily said. “Most likely, we’d be discussing the logic of a magic system. How does that help us in real life?”

“You have a point,” Kylie said. “I take back the snarky things I said about romance.”

Kylie had a point, too. The story was based on the premise that when you found The One, everything flowed. Good conversation, great sex—no effort required. What was that if not a magical system?

They moved to a stall of heirloom tomatoes. Kylie suggested a caprese salad, a favorite of Austin’s, the hero of Around Midnight. “Frederico loves it, too, but with a balsamic reduction.”

Ah . . . It had been a while since she’d mentioned the Italian architect.

“Most of us are Caribbean,” Lily said. “Would it kill you to fry a plantain?”

“Maybe next time,” Kylie replied, selecting tomatoes from the crate. “Let’s stay on theme tonight.”

“Do you miss him?” Lily asked after a while.

Kylie paused and closed her eyes as if she could feel the man she loved in the sunlight. “Every day.”

“I’ve been thinking about the advice I gave you, and I’d like to take it back.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes,” she said. “I was very closed-minded three weeks ago.” Lily hadn’t known Kylie well enough that first night, and her cookie-cutter advice hadn’t been helpful. “What if we’ve been reading this whole thing all wrong? He likes your cooking, maybe he likes you, too. But it’s tricky, you know? As your lawyer, I should remind you that the handsome, caprese salad–loving architect is your boss. He may not want to risk getting sued.”