Page 79 of Julian

She waves that off impatiently. “That’s romantic and all but get to the sex talk.”

I laugh into my drink. “You’re exhausting and I’m not giving you details about the sex, although I’ll say it was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”

“And here you are glowing. You look like someone kissed your soul back into your body.”

Heat floods my cheeks.

She leans forward. “Tell me about Christmas dinner.”

I smile and giggle before I can stop myself.

“There it is,” Abby says triumphantly. “That giggle. That’s the sound of a woman fully gone.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me. Now tell me.”

I take another sip of my martini. “It was nice. He had an incredible spread set up outside overlooking the ocean.”

Abby groans dramatically. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“And I gave him the scarf.”

Her eyes light up. “YES. How did he react?”

I can’t stop smiling now thinking about it. “He loved it.”

“Like fake polite loved it or real loved it?”

“Real loved it,” I say. “He kept touching it while we talked.”

Abby slaps the table once. “I knew it.”

“And he looked…” I shake my head a little. “I don’t know. Like he was emotional about it.”

“That’s because men secretly lose their minds when women make them things,” Abby says knowingly.

“I almost lost my mind making it.”

“That’s because you insisted on learning to knit in three hours.”

“That woman at the knitting store hated me.”

“She hated your technique.”

“She hated my spirit.”

Abby snorts into her drink.

“But honestly,” I continue, “it was sweet. He really loved it.”

Abby watches me for a second, then narrows her eyes. “Okay. Then what.”

My stomach flips. “Then he gave me a gift.”

“Ohhhh,” she says and takes another sip, absolutely giddy.

I sort of shake my head. “Yeah, it was a nice one.”