“You’re also very pretty.”
“Thank you, random woman in the audience.”
“You’re welcome, speech lady. Please go on.”
She settled back in. “I learned a lot in that first year and had more than a few rude awakenings. Some I plan to tell you about this morning.”
“I can hardly wait.”
“Excuse me, ma’am. Are you planning to heckle me from a countertop throughout this whole presentation?”
“I’m just so riveted.”
Caroline laughed and dropped her pad to her side. “You realize, when I give this thing, all I’m going to hear in my head are these comments as I remember how adorable and sexy you look right now.”
“That sounds like a win-win. I should pop popcorn for the rest. Do you have those microwave bags?”
“You should get over here is what you should do.”
“Ooh la la.” I didn’t have to be asked twice, especially since I’d been undressing her with my eyes as she spoke. I hopped down and closed the short distance between us, taking off my top as I walked, tossing it to the floor, and watching her eyes feast. I loved that part. My cheeks went hot, right on cue. My nipples tingled as her gaze settled on them. We didn’t have sex every time I slept over, but damn near it. Our physical connection was certainly undeniable. When we kissed, it was effortless, satisfyingly off the charts of comparison to kissing any other woman. We were in sync in so many ways, it was frightening. And the aspects of life we differed on—cultural upbringing, stations in our careers, and how one should properly eat a slice of pizza—brought the necessary tension, tossing gasoline on our fire. We’d not had the talk about what it was that was happening between us, but I already knew. I wasn’t just in lust. And this was no longer someone that I simply looked up to and crushed on. I was starting to fall, and it had my head spinning in a wonderful, terrifying, grateful jumble. I thought she might be feeling the same. I hoped she was. The alternative was too much to consider, which meant I put everything I was feeling into my everyday actions, holding nothing back.
Except the words, of course. Those were held back.
No time to dwell on what was still unsaid. Her hands landed on my breasts, and we were off in a flutter of urgent longing. The rest would have to wait.
Lord, help me.
Chapter Thirteen
You interviewed the mayor of San Diego!” Aunt Yolanda yelled. “Little Skyler is sitting with my mayor.”
I shrugged like it was no big deal, meanwhile enjoying every last bit of this praise as she pampered me with fresh tamales and that hibiscus tea I’m addicted to. No one made iced tea like Yolanda Matamoros. “We’re old pals now.”
“What did your mama say?” she asked.
I shifted. Honestly, she hadn’t said much. We’d touched on it briefly before she moved our conversation on to all that she’d been up to at the law firm. My mother meant well, but she’d never been one to dwell on my successes. Success was expected if you worked hard enough, and she worked harder than anyone I knew, a price I paid growing up. Before my mother started law school, Sarah had frequently spent nights at our place, babysitting me to earn extra money while my mother worked and studied. When my mother moved away for law school, I’d been left in Yolanda’s care. “She’s very proud of me,” I told my aunt, exaggerating.
“Of course she is. I bet she’s telling everyone.”
I nodded, my heart dipping a little, because I wasn’t so convinced. I nodded vehemently anyway and tried to look excited. “She really, really is.” I decided to change the subject. “I heard Emory is doing better with her treatment. Getting used to it.”
She shook her head. “Yes, but the light is not there in her eyes. I think this diagnosis is hitting her harder than she anticipated.”
I covered my aunt’s hand. “She’ll get it back. She lives with Sarah and Grace. They’ll take care of her.”
“Sarah says they’ve been arguing. She’s been helicoptering around Emory and feels like Emory is shutting her out.”
“Oh no.”
Yolanda sighed. “My heart hurts for both of them.”
Mine did, too. I loved my cousin, but a part of me had always identified more strongly with Emory. We had similar upbringings, setting aside the large amounts of money she’d been born into. I knew what it was like to have a parent who kept me at arm’s length. But Emory Owen, to me, was invincible, which was why this whole thing reminded me of my own vulnerable place in this world. Bad things happened. And if they could happen to Emory, they could happen to any of us.
“I didn’t mean to bring down the mood,” Yolanda said. “Not when you have so much to celebrate. Oh, I bought you a toilet seat cover. Fuchsia. Do you like fuchsia? I can take it back if you don’t. They have blue.”
I laughed. “What? Why?”
“When I visited last, you didn’t have one, and it’s a nice thing. Not a necessary thing. Those are the kind of gifts I like to give. What about the color?”
My heart warmed. I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Aunt Yolanda.” I reminded myself that I didn’t have just one mother, and I needed to remember that. “I love fuchsia, and I love you.”
* * *
“Why do you think Rory always wiggles his hips when he’s waiting for his coffee to brew?” I asked Carrie, whose head rested on my shoulder. I needed to get up for work shortly, but there were pressing questions to address first.
“I know what you’re talking about. It’s his coffee dance, and it’s in rhythm with the machine’s sputter.”
“Yes!”
She laughed. “I’m not sure he even knows that he does it. It’s like he’s celebrating the coffee’s impending arrival in his cup.”
“Aww. Rory can be a lot, but that’s actually kind of sweet. He loves his coffee that much.”
Beneath the covers, Carrie moved her hips side-to-side and did her Rory impersonation. “Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.”
“Oh my God, that actually sounds like him.”
“It should. I’ve spent close to a decade next to that guy.”
“When is it that you’re leaving for your trip? The conference.”
“Two weeks. I’ll miss you. It’s a shame you can’t come with me.” A pause. “Well…now that I’m thinking about it, can you?”
I thought on it. “Really? I might be able to put in for the conference. Or take time off on my own.” I pushed up onto my elbows and frowned. “Are you sure you mean it?” I didn’t want to overstep if she was just talking out loud, but taking a trip together and getting to be there for Carrie’s big speech would be nothing short of amazing.