“This is nice,” she finally says, leaning up to hug me. “I feel like things are back to where they should be. Finally. I’m sorry for fucking it all up in the first place.”
“It’s fine,” I tell her as I hug her back. “Seriously.”
Before Jacey can pull away, the door opens and Nora steps in.
Of course. Because Jacey still has her arms wrapped around me. Perfect.
The look on Nora’s face is chilling.
I step away from Jacey immediately, and reach for Nora.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I greet her. “Jacey and I were just catching up.”
Nora nods slowly, not smiling. “I see that.”
Jacey looks from Nora to me. “Uh. I need to go in to the Hill and see Maria. I’ll be back later. My flight takes off in the morning, so I’ll need to get some sleep.”
Neither Nora or I answer, so Jacey slips away.
I stare at Nora.
“That wasn’t what it looked like.”
“No?” Nora’s eyebrow is arched.
“No.” I shake my head. “It was just a hug between friends.”
Nora stares at me for a moment, her eyes big and sad. Then she nods, the clouds clearing from her face. “Okay.”
“Okay? Just like that?”
She nods. “Just like that. I trust you. And there’s better ways to spend my time than to be suspicious of you.”
“Babe, we’ve always got time to talk about shit. If you feel bad about something, you need to tell me. That’s how people sort things out. Time is cheap. We can afford it.”
She stares at me sadly and for a minute, I’m bothered. What the hell is with her?
But then she smiles.
“You’re right. But I’m fine. Jacey is an old friend. It’s fine.”
It’s fine. Two of the most dangerous words in the female vocabulary, I’m sure. But I have no other choice than to accept it. So I nod.
“Good. Now… we have the cottage to ourselves again for the evening. How would you like to spend that time?”
Nora smiles, a slow smile that finally reaches her eyes, then she reaches for me.
“I’ve got some ideas.”
***
Nora
I’ve got to soak him up. Every bit of him, as much as I can. I’ve got
so little time to absorb him, to remember him, to take his goodness and make it mine.
He runs his hands over my hips, and I lift them, granting him access to the most sensitive part of me. When he does, I forget how William’s fingernails bit into me earlier. Brand eclipses it, erases it, eradicates it.