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“At Daragh’s house, just a block away. She’ll be home before seven.” She takes a container of dumplings and stuffs one into her mouth. “So, give me a quick rundown on what’s going on with you and the mountain man. We have to PG-13 everything once our baby sis is back.” She tucks her feet under her. “You seem kinda down.”
I take a sip of wine before answering. “We were doing so good. He took me on a romantic overnight trip on his yacht last week . . .” I trail off, thinking back to the evening.
Grace perks up, swallowing her food. “Are you telling me this dude has his own boat?”
I nod, dejectedly. “With a captain, a private chef, the whole nine yards.”
“Sounds like some amazing romance under the stars.”
“Oh yeah, lots and lots of it.” I roll my eyes. “Scorching hot, hard, steamy.”
“And then?” she asks, breathless.
“We ate dinner, did some other activities,” I air-quote the last word, smirking. Grace’s eyes widen like saucers. “Eventually, we decided to go inside the cabin. You’ve never seen anything like it. The bedroom was outrageous. Shiny mahogany furniture, chaise longue looking out a big ocean-view window. And the activities,” I air-quote again,“just went on and on. We couldn’t get enough of each other. I felt sore for days after.”
Grace giggles, covering her mouth like a schoolgirl. “Oh my, you are making me blush, M.”
I wave at her, dismissing her pretend embarrassment. “It felt like we broke through whatever walls he had up, you know? I thought he finally accepted the difference in age and experience between us, and that we could be lovers regardless.”
I pause, my heart heavy, wishing that things would be that simple with Jack.
“At some point, we fell asleep. And then the next thing I know, I’m awake and his hands are wrapped around my throat. He was in the middle of a flashback, drenched in sweat and staring right through me.”
I shudder at the traumatic memory, tears prickling. Grace gasps, covering her mouth.
“He came back to himself pretty quickly, but it was terrifying. Then he bolted out of the room without a word, leaving me stunned and heartbroken. He didn’t even look back.”
“Jeez, I'm sorry, Mads. No wonder you need some girl time to process that shit.”
“He’s been icing me out ever since. Now I’m not sure anymore if I was imagining that we had a connection in the first place, you know?” I take another long sip of wine, reveling in the giddy lightheadedness while tears flow freely down my face. “He is clearly doing all of this just to please his father.”
My sister wraps me in her arms, and I sob on her shoulder for what seems like a long while.
“So . . .” Grace pulls back, hesitating as my breathing becomes steadier. “Regardless of how things stand right now between you two, did you happen to, uh, take care of birth control like we talked about? Things with Jack have been very,” she pauses, smirking, “intense at times, it sounds like. Little sis is still too young for the obligation of motherhood.”
I roll my eyes affectionately. “Yes, Mom, I'm staying safe and healthy, don't you worry.”
Grace nods in approval. “Good. As your wiser older sister, I have to ask. But no judgments from me in the romance department. I haven’t been putting my arm implant to good use anyway,” she says, almost wistfully.
I recall Grace's blush at meeting Cade. Though judging from her deflated reaction now, I gather no hot Navy SEAL action occurred there.
“Cade is smoldering hot, isn’t he? I noticed the looks you two were exchanging. Has he tried contacting you?”
Grace smooths her hair self-consciously. “He is more than smoldering hot, little sis. Blazing is the word you’re looking for. But kind of pointless. I don’t want to get attached again, like I did to Rick. And then, a relationship would kill my writer’s drive and inspiration. Remember? No, no, this shop is closed for business.”
I wave aside her excuses. “The thing with Rick went down more than a year ago. And not everyone is going to be as soul sucking as he was.”
She swats me with a throw pillow. “That ship has likely sailed anyway.” She sighs. “I haven't seen McSteely since he came by to help you move your things downtown.”
Just then we are interrupted by the front door bursting open and a bubbly Aria bounding inside, grinning ear to ear. Her dark hair is wildly disheveled from the blustery fall winds outside.
“Hey, you guys!” She waves cheerily, dropping her heavy backpack stuffed with textbooks and immediately makes a beeline for the takeout.
Grace nudges the containers her way. “Just in time for some wontons, baby girl! How's the BFF?”
“Ugh, Daragh is the best!” Aria enthuses through a stuffed mouthful. “We were studying cellular mitosis stuff for our bio test next week.” She rolls her eyes dramatically. “I swear Mr. Ford gives us college level work, it's crazy hard! But me and Daragh motivate each other, and she lives just a block away, which rules.”
I smile softly at her glowing happiness in this new friendship and the challenging academic environment she thrives in.
