Page 66 of Then Came You

“We had coffee.”

Savannah scowled. “Coffee? That late at night.”

“It was decaf.”

“Still. Wine or beer, I could understand, but coffee? What are you, sixty years old?”

“It feels like it sometimes.”

“So, after your coffee, did he go home?”

Gillian squirmed. She wanted to share her happiness with her best friends, but she didn’t want to get bombarded with questions, assumptions, and predictions of happily ever after. Her relationship with Sam was still new, and she believed in exercising caution. Savannah, being exactly the opposite, barreled right ahead.

“You did it, didn’t you?”

“Maybe I just slept good last night, and I have a lot of extra energy this morning.”

“Or maybe you did it, and that’s why you’re glowing!”

“Glowing?”

“Yes. Your face is flushed, your eyes are bright, and you’re wearing lip gloss. You’ve hardly worn lip gloss since…oh, never mind.”

Savannah looked away, but Gillian knew what she’d been about to say. Gillian hadn’t worn lip gloss or much makeup at all since Owen had died. Today she hadn’t thought twice when she’d swiped on lip gloss, and she’d worn it thinking Sam might stop by. Busted!

“Okay, you caught me. Sam and I…we…”

“Did it!”

“I prefer to use different words.”

“It doesn’t matter which words you use. It’s the same thing. Give me a hug!”

Savannah held her arms out wide, and Gillian stepped into them, mostly because she wasn’t given much of a choice. When Savannah enveloped her and squeezed, Gillian realized she’d needed this. Sam had given her plenty of hugs last night, but hugs from her girlfriends were important too.

After a minute, Savannah released her, but she didn’t seem ready to let the subject drop.

“So, how was it? Although, based on your behavior today, I probably don’t need to ask.”

Gillian smiled. “Let’s just say I’m in the market for some new lingerie.”

Savannah’s eyes lit up as they did at any mention of shopping. “You should check out the boutique across the street. They have a nice selection.”

The boutique hadn’t been open that long, but it figured that Savannah had already been there.

“Is it really expensive?”

“It’ll cost you more than a three-pack of Hanes, but Sam’s worth it, right?”

Gillian laughed because that was exactly the kind of underwear she’d been wearing this past year—the kind her mother probably bought in bulk from the department store. She thought they were comfortable, but she wouldn’t admit that to her fashionable friend.

Then some customers had entered the store, so Gillian had been saved from further discussion about her boring undergarments.

Now she smiled, thinking of all the pretty things she’d picked up at the boutique. She couldn’t wait to slip into the bra and panty set she’d planned to wear that evening. Suddenly she realized how long she’d been lounging in the tub, daydreaming! She spent the next twenty minutes shaving and washing up, including her hair, which she’d already washed that morning.

Afterward she wrapped her hair in one towel and her body in another and then padded into her bedroom. The minute she walked in, her gaze went right to the photo of Owen on her dresser. She’d wanted to stash it in a drawer before Sam arrived, but she picked it up and stared at it for a moment.

The picture had been taken when they’d been on vacation in the Smoky Mountains, and she remembered the day clearly. They’d gotten out of the car at a scenic overlook, and she’d asked Owen to pose against the beautiful mountainous backdrop. Instead of facing the camera full-on, he’d turned so she’d captured his profile. He’d had a soft smile on his face, and now she wondered what he’d been thinking.