Page 102 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“No, it’s fine.” I wondered if he could tell how relieved I was. A little space from him was exactly what I needed to get my thoughts together.

“Don’t get up,” he said when I started to move. “He looks comfortable like that.” He came over to the couch, running a hand over Gordie’s head. “Feel better, buddy.”

“I think he’ll be okay. Thank you, Andrew.”

“Don’t mention it.” He looked down at me for a long moment, his expression uncertain. I swallowed, feeling a little sick. Was it already going to get awkward between us?

“I’ll call you later,” he finally said, leaning down to kiss my cheek. And then he was gone, leaving me alone to panic over the ramifications of what we had just done.

When Jenny called and asked if I wanted to grab some lunch, I jumped at the chance to get out of the apartment. I got Gordie set up in his carrier—there was no way I was leaving him at home alone so soon after what happened—and went to meet her in Town Square.

“Riley!” she called from a bench on the green. “Over here.” She made a face when I got closer. “You look awful.”

“Thanks, Jenny.”

“I just mean you look tired. And stressed.”

I sighed, collapsing onto the bench next to her. “It’s a long story. Let’s just start with the fact that six different people stopped me in the five minutes it took to get over her to ask me about the show.”

“That sucks, Ri, I’m sorry. You want to head over to the mainland?”

“I don’t really want to take Gordie on the ferry.”

She eyed the carrier at my feet. “Is Gordie’s presence something to do with the long story?”

I nodded.

“Okay, how’s this. We’ll grab some sandwiches from Iris and chill on my boat.”

“Good plan.”

Iris wasn’t working in the cafe, which I was thankful for—I didn’t really need another Andrew reminder at the moment. We ordered our sandwiches and a few bottles of lemonade and made our way down to the marina. There were people out on the docks, but most of them seemed to be in from the mainland, so we made it all the way to Jenny’s boat without having to talk to anyone.

Jenny owned a little speedboat that her parents had bought her as a graduation present from college. It was handy for getting around the island and over to the mainland, and the cushioned bench seats in the front were perfect for lying out in the sun.

Unfortunately, it was also docked right next to Andrew’s boat. So much for avoiding any reminders.

“Okay, so what’s going on with the cat?”

“He choked on a chicken bone this morning.”

She slapped a hand over her mouth. After living with me for a few years, Jenny was well aware of my paranoia about choking. “You poor thing!” she cooed into his carrier. He stuck a paw between the wires and lazily smacked her arm.

“I wasn’t alone when it happened.”

She waggled her eyebrows at me. “Really? Who were you with?”

“Andrew.”

“Oh.” She settled back against her bench, disappointed. “I thought you had an overnight guest.”

“He did stay overnight.”

“I meant like, you know, asexguest.”

I held her gaze for a long moment—she was never super fast on the uptake when it came to stuff like this—until she gasped.

“Wait. Are you serious?”