My hands still remember the heat of Levi’s skin. The shape of his mouth against mine. The way his fingers threaded through my hair as if he didn’t want to let go.
My shadows haven’t quite settled, either.
Irene is already at her desk when I walk in. She sips her tea slowly.
“Morning,” she says, eyes still on whatever paperwork she’s pretending to care about. “You’re late.”
“Four minutes is a rounding error,” I reply, setting my briefcase down with more precision than necessary.
She pauses.
I know what she sees. Pressed clothes, as always, but chosen in haste. Hair not unruly, but not fully styled, either. A flush clinging to my cheekbones. Like something cracked me open and didn’t bother sealing the edges.
“You look…relaxed,” she says suspiciously.
I adjust my cuff links. “I’m piloting a softer aesthetic.”
Irene takes another sip of her tea. “You’re glowing.”
“I assure you, it’s just moisturizer,” I lie.
She hums. “Must be new.”
I glance at my cuff. “I had…a night.”
She sets her cup down, slow and deliberate. “I gathered as much when your usual six forty-fiveA.M. brooding session failed to make an appearance.”
“You keep a log?”
“I have a memory,” she says. “And a keen sense for pattern.”
“Maybe I’m just evolving.”
“Maybe. Or maybe you’re finally tangled up in something that’s been able topenetrateyour armor.”
Her emphasis on that word nearly breaks my façade.
Besides, armor works until it doesn’t. Then, you realize it was just weight. I exhale. “Billing by the hour for that assessment?”
Irene shrugs one shoulder. “You couldn’t afford me.”
I watch the way she folds the edge of a document. Smooth. Unhurried.
“You ever take a day off?” I ask.
Irene doesn’t look up. “I took yesterday off.”
“To dominate a soup competition,” I say. “That doesn’t count.”
She hums, taking another sip. “Winning always counts.”
I shake my head. “You’ve worked beside me for decades and never mentioned you’re apparently the queen of soup?”
“It didn’t seem relevant.”
“You’re the reigning champion of a town-wide event. That feels extremely relevant.”
She raises a brow, unimpressed. “Historically, I wasn’t sure you’d care.”
