Page 78 of Julian

“I am not gone over a man,” I protest weakly.

“You went from emotionally constipated to glowing in under a week. That man wrecked you.”

Heat floods my entire body because unfortunately—

She’s not wrong.

I stare down into my drink to hide it, but Abby practically vibrates with satisfaction.

“Harper,” she whispers dramatically. “Did you sleep with him?”

I choke on my martini.

“Oh my God,” she gasps. “YOU DID.”

“Abby,” I hiss, glancing around, even though nobody is paying attention to us.

“How many times?”

“ABBY.”

She grabs my wrist across the table. “I need details immediately or I’ll die.”

I drop my head into my hand, laughing helplessly now because there is no escaping this conversation.

Part of me doesn’t want to because the second I let myself think about him again—his touch, smile, desire for me—it consumes me.

Abby catches it instantly. Her expression softens beneath all the teasing.

“Oh no,” she says quietly. “You’re really in this.”

I look up at her. And for the first time since I got back to New York, since the plane landed and reality started creeping back in, I let myself say it out loud.

“Yeah,” I admit.

The word hangs there between us… True.

Abby stares at me for a beat longer, then slowly leans back against the booth cushions, processing the magnitude of it.

“Well,” she says finally. “Tell me everything. I need chronological order. And don’t you dare skip ahead to the sex. I want to enjoy each step, so really build that anticipation, please.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m invested,” she replies. “Now start talking.”

I laugh and sink deeper into the velvet booth. “Okay, okay. So… from takeoff to touchdown, it was unreal.”

“That’s not enough detail.”

“I’m getting there.” I shake my head, still half disbelieving myself. “The villa overlooked the ocean and there was this insane infinity pool and a yacht and—”

“A yacht?” Abby cuts in. “That’s like Bezos/Musk–level rich people behavior. Continue.”

“And everything was just…” I search for the word and fail. “Beautiful. Like offensively beautiful.”

Abby grins. “What else?”

“We spent the entire trip relaxing. Out on the beach, by the pool, on the yacht. We had long meals and just talked and talked and talked.”