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“Thanks so much,” Chloe said, giving me a smile, still speaking quietly. I took a step closer and saw that there was a tiny blond girl asleep on the couch in kitten pajamas next to her, thumb in her mouth and her head on Chloe’s lap. “Astrid had a nightmare,” she explained with a shrug.
“Funny how the only thing that seems to make the nightmare better is watching Moana,” Wylie said, raising an eyebrow.
“She’s just a girl who knows what she wants,” Chloe said, smiling down at her daughter.
Russell yawned, and then a second later I did too, like I’d just been given permission. And just like that, I felt how tired I was. I’d been fine seconds earlier, but now it was like the events of the day—everything that had happened and just how long I’d been awake—were catching up with me all at once.
“Bedtime for you two as well, it looks like,” Wylie said with another yawn. He glared at his son. “That one was your fault.”
“Sorry,” Russell said with a laugh.
“I’m heading up,” Wylie said as he stood, taking Andy with him. He nodded down at Astrid. “Want me to grab her?”
“I’ll trade you,” Chloe said with a laugh as she scooped up Andy and kissed him on top of his head. Wylie picked up his sleeping daughter. She blinked twice but then closed her eyes again and settled herself onto Wylie’s shoulder.
“Night,” Wylie called as he headed toward the staircase.
“Good night,” Chloe said as she followed behind him, giving my arm a squeeze as she passed me. “You have everything you need, Darcy?”
“And more,” I assured her. “Thank you so much.”
“Coming, Russ?” Wylie asked.
“I’m just going to walk Darcy to her guesthouse,” Russell said, and Wylie headed up the staircase, waving with his free hand. “Um,” he said, turning to me. “If that’s… okay?”
Only a little while ago, I would have said that I’d be fine on my own. A little while ago, he wouldn’t have offered. But now… I nodded.
Chloe shot me the tiniest of looks, one eyebrow raising up a half centimeter. “Night, guys,” she said as she headed toward the stairs. “Thanks for bringing me home, mates!” she added in an Australian accent, making Andy wave as they disappeared from view.
I turned to Russell. “The dog is Australian?”
“Chloe seems to think so. When she does his voice, that’s how he always sounds. I blame Bluey.”
We walked to my guesthouse and climbed the steps to the front door together. Russell looked tired; his hair was sticking up in every direction. It suddenly seemed inconceivable to me that I hadn’t known him when I woke up this morning. Because it felt like I could close my eyes and sketch his face from memory if I had a piece of paper. And any artistic talent.
I wasn’t mad at him anymore—but I also couldn’t imagine myself kissing him again. That felt like it belonged to a whole other version of me.
“So,” I said as the silence between us started to stretch on. Like we were both trying to find our way in this new version of things, without a dog to chase or a destination to walk to or anything to distract us. “Thanks for walking me back.”
“Well, it’s a dangerous yard. Lots of hazards… rogue Great Danes…” Russell smiled and took a tiny step toward me. And for just a second, I hesitated. But then I stepped back.
“I think we should be friends,” I said, and Russell’s smile faltered a little.
“Friends?”
“Just friends,” I said firmly.
“We could be… more than that?” he asked, his voice tentative. “I mean…” He glanced toward the pool, and I wondered if he, in that moment, was having the same flashback I was. A few hours ago, at the much less glamorous pool of the Silver Standard, my legs wrapped around his waist, the feeling that we couldn’t get enough of each other.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. And you’re starting school. And…” For just a second, I thought about trying to tell him. About the movies, and what I’d so foolishly believed about one magical night, and people being meant for each other, and love at first sight. Since I knew now that all of that was fake, getting a friend—an actual friend—out of all of this seemed like a great bargain. “It’s just for the best.”
Russell looked at me for a moment longer, then gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Okay,” he said with a nod. “Sounds good.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding back.
He started to walk down the steps, then paused at the bottom one and looked up at me. “Sleep well, Darcy.”
“You too, Russell. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
