"Trish." She gives me the look. The one that says she's not moving until she gets all the details out of me. I've only known Amy for as long as she’s been with my brother, but she’s one of my best friends. She’s also one of the people who I go to whenever I need a friend. "Come on and spill. I’m dying to know what happened."
I sink down onto the swing, tucking one leg underneath me. I’m trying to determine how much I really want to tell her, because I’ve never been the type of person to kiss and tell. Right now though, I want to. I want to be that girl who has gossip, who has the type of time they want to tell their friends about. "It was just really nice," I finally say. "To have a night that was just for me. No Cora's schedule, no work drama, no thinking about Derek or any of it. Just me, and a man who…" I pause, searching for the right words. "Who actually wanted me there."
She reaches out, rubbing my knee. “I love that for you.”
"You know what I haven't felt in a long time?" I continue. "Wanted. Like genuinely, can't-keep-his-eyes-off-you wanted." I shake my head a little. "I forgot what that felt like. I think I convinced myself it was just something I'd imagined. That version of myself that people flirted with? She didn’t seem to exist anymore." I laugh softly. "Turns out I didn't imagine her. She's still in there somewhere."
"She never left," Amy says, and she means it. And I know that because she never says things she doesn’t mean. "You just had a lot of other things on your mind. Now it’s time for you to shine, girl. Let that man make you shine."
"Mark looked at me last night like—" I stop myself, feeling almost foolish saying it out loud. But Amy is watching me with an expression that says she understands what I’m about to say, so I finish the thought. "Like I was the only person he wanted to give attention to."
She squeals, rocking the swing. "Good. You deserve that."
I smile back, my stomach doing slight somersaults. "I feel like I got a little of my shine back, I think." The words come out quieter than I mean them to, a little raw around the edges. Especially after what I’ve dealt with the last few years. "I knew I needed it, but I didn't even realize how much I'd lost until last night when I felt it again."
Amy opens her mouth to say something, but the front door swings open before she can, and Gunner fills the frame with his arms crossed and his expression somewhere between annoyed and resigned. He’s my brother and I love him, but he hates being left out, so this doesn’t surprise me at all.
"Cora is still asleep on the couch," he announces. "In case anyone was wondering."
I blink, it’s the afternoon. She normally doesn’t sleep this long. "Still?"
"Her and Rosa were up until almost midnight." He blows out a breath, rolling his eyes. "It was a long night. I don't know what those two were fed before Amy dropped them off and then went back to help you get ready, but they were absolutely feral until about eleven-thirty, and then they passed out hard."
Amy tips her head back and laughs. "I was asleep, I have no idea what happened."
"She was snoring while I was on couch duty, and got water for both of them, more than once. I hope my wife realizes she’s going to have to make that up to me." He points at her, but there's no annoyance to it. They’re good together, and he never holds a grudge with her. "I want it on the record that I did not sign up for a slumber party. I signed up for watching my niece, for a nice quiet night.”
"You love it," I tell him.
He looks at me for a long moment. "Don't push your luck. I'm still annoyed that you went out with my friend, and neither of you have told me anything. Yet, you’re out here gossiping with my wife."
"I told her nothing." I tease, lifting my hand up to cross my heart.
"You told her something." But he steps back from the door and holds it open. “You told me nothing,” he corrects. “I’m about to head into the station.”
Which means he wants to make sure I’m okay to leave. He’s always taken that upon himself since I had Cora. He wants to make sure that we’re safe and sound. So I give him a grin, and follow him inside.
Cora is curled up on the far end of the sectional, one of Amy's throw blankets pulled up to her chin, her hair splayed across the pillow. She looks so small like that. Like she’s a little baby, not the seven year old she is. It reminds me of how hard she used to sleep when she was younger, and how she doesn’t sleep that hard anymore.
My chest aches for the little baby she was.
I cross the room and crouch down in front of her. "Hey, bug." I brush her hair back from her face. "Time to go home."
She stirs slowly, the way she always does. She’s hard to wake up, but then she hits the ground running, and doesn’t stop until her head hits the pillow again. Her eyes flutter open, unfocused for a second before they find me. "'Mama."
"Heyi, baby. Did you have a good time?"
She nods against the pillow. Her eyes are already trying to close again.
"Rosa's still asleep," Gunner says from the doorway, keeping his voice low. "In her room. Those two didn't stop talking until they physically couldn't stay awake anymore. Which, as I’ve told you was around eleven-thirty."
I laugh as I look over at him. Gunner doesn’t mind doing anything for anyone else, but he’s going to make sure you know he’s doing it.
"Sounds about right." I stroke Cora's hair back again. "Come on, bug. Let's get you up. We've got things to do today."
She makes a sound that isn’t words but communicates her feelings on the matter very clearly.
"I know." I pull the blanket back gently. "You had a long night, but we gotta go home. Up you go."
