Part of Your World(34)

“I like to read,” I said, grinning. “It’s the only way I get to live somewhere that isn’t Wakan. I read three, four books a week. A lot of audiobooks. That way I can work and read at the same time.”

“I’ve never done an audiobook,” she admitted.

“Oh, you should. It’s like a movie for your ears. You could listen on your drive down to see me. Which is when again?”

“Daniel, you know how much I love watching you work. But I’ve got my country’s five hundredth anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I’m swamped.”

A line straight out of The Princess Bride. I was cracking up.

God, I liked talking to her. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d liked talking to someone this much. I liked seeing her more, but this was a close second for sure.

I checked my watch. “I gotta feed Chloe.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding a little disappointed. “I guess I should hang up with you then.”

I set my brush on the lid of the can. “Nope, I’m taking you with me. Took me a week to get you on the phone, I’m not hanging up with you now.”

I didn’t hang up with her later either.

We talked for five hours straight.





Chapter 14

Alexis



We were on our way to our girls’ weekend.

The men had gone north to Grand Marais, so we went south. Some bed-and-breakfast Gabby had booked.

Gabby was driving, and Jessica was in the passenger seat. I was sitting in the back of the black Escalade like the kid. Jessica was the grumpy dad and Gabby was the perky mom.

Gabby had a cheerleader thing about her. She was thirty-four, blond, and stood only five feet tall. She was a pediatrician. Of the three of us she was the only one who was in a happy relationship. Philip was totally devoted to her.

Gabby turned to Jessica from behind the wheel. “You’re sure Marcus didn’t care that you didn’t go? It’s his birthday.”

“The man hasn’t touched me in six years,” Jessica said, her tone bored. “He barely remembers I exist. I don’t think he cares where I do it.”

Gabby looked in the rearview mirror at me. “So Jessica told me what happened. Neil is such a jerk. I had no idea. Seriously, why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

I blew a breath through my nose.

These were my friends. I spent more time with them than I spent with Bri, mostly because of the couples thing. We vacationed together and worked together and lived on the same street. But I couldn’t talk to them about everything, like I did with Bri.

Gabby was a little gossipy and could be a tiny bit shallow. Jessica was moody and tended to be negative.

I loved them, but I saw them for what they were.

“It was hard to explain,” I said, shutting down the discussion. Gabby already knew everything I’d told Jessica.

Gabby gave me a mischievous smile. “So this guy you’re seeing…”

This was another thing I couldn’t discuss with them.

I’d kept my relationship with Daniel as close to my chest as humanly possible. I gave them no details other than he lived far away. But I knew their interrogation was coming. We had a whole weekend.

“I’ve only seen him twice,” I said dismissively.

“Yeah, but what’s he like?”

I shrugged, looking out the window. “I don’t know. He’s nice.”

“What does he do?”

“Uh, he’s in property management,” I said vaguely.

“Is the sex good?” She glanced at me in the rearview, and her eyes sparkled.

Good didn’t brush the surface of how amazing the sex was. But if I told her the truth, she’d want more details.

I shrugged again. “It’s okay, I guess.”

“There’s an antibiotic-resistant strain of chlamydia going around,” Jessica said flatly.

Gabby made an ewwwww noise.

“I’m using protection,” I said.

“When do we get to meet him?” Gabby asked.

“It’s seriously just a hookup thing.”

It wasn’t.

Well, not entirely. I guess technically if it was just a hookup thing, we wouldn’t talk like we had last night. The time had gone by so fast, I didn’t even notice how late it had gotten, and I’d only hung up with him because Neil came home, and I saw the light flick on in the office.

I really liked talking to Daniel. It was easy, and he made me laugh. Surprisingly enough, we had more in common than I thought.

Gabby made a left into a gas station. “I need to use the restroom. Anyone want coffee?”

Jessica got unbuckled. “I’ll go.”

My phone started to vibrate. Bri was calling.

“I’ll wait in the car,” I said, answering it. “Hey.”

“I just got stood up. Again,” she said. “Do you think they’re showing up, seeing me, and then bailing? Or are they not coming at all? I can’t decide if I’d rather be so hideous I’m causing them to flee, or so boring they literally forgot we had a date.”

“You’re not boring or hideous,” I said, watching Gabby and Jessica go into the gas station. “It’s their loss.”