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Persy’s eyes went wide. “Does that mean you’re starting to remember?”
“No,” I sighed. “Casey told me a lot about us, our friendship and relationship, over dinner last night.”
“Oh,” they all said in unison, a knowing smile on each of their faces.
“Did it end with sex on the counter as usual?” Hannah arched blond eyebrows, her expression hopeful.
A shiver went through me at the idea of Casey’s big, strong body spreading me across the counter and making love to me. “No. I can’t. Not yet. I mean, he’s gorgeous and charming and sweet, but it feels wrong when I can’t remember him.”
“Gorgeous,” Persy repeated with an eyeroll and a smile.
“Charming,” Hannah said in the same tone, wearing the same smile.
“Sweet.” Gus pretended to gag, but again she wore the same smile.
My head fell forward and a small laugh escaped. “Am I insufferable?”
“Yeah,” Persy answered honestly. “But it’s adorable and hashtag goals for the rest of us.” She let out a long breath and reached for her phone, swiping before she handed it to me. “That’s my son, Titus. You guys have a mutual admiration society going on. You’re his honorary godmother, but he calls you Aunt Megan and he loves you to bits.”
The little boy was adorable, with white-blond curls and violet eyes just like his mom. I was in the photo with him, both of us covered in flour. “He’s adorable.”
“Damn right, he is,” Persy shot back with a wink. “And he made this for you.”
It was a hand-drawn get well soon card with two stick figures inside a kitchen wearing aprons. “What are we doing?”
“Baking brownies. His favorite—more now that he memorized your recipe. Thanks for that, by the way.” Her tone was sarcastic, but Persy wore a smile that said she wasn’t entirely put out about it. “My hips are not pleased with you at the moment.”
I blinked, then frowned. “But you’re gorgeous.”
“Thanks, but that was before my son found a way to convince Ryan to make brownies every other day. Here’s one for you, by the way. Orange and chocolate. Sounds terrible, but it tastes pretty good. His newest creation.”
“Wow.” I stared at the women around the table and felt a warmth settle over me. A kind of relief that there were people who knew me and loved me, other than Casey. “What a sweetheart.”
“He wants to see you, but I’m not sure how he’ll react if you don’t remember him. You understand, right?”
“I do,” I admitted. “It’s crushing to see that glimmer of disappointment in Casey’s eyes when I don’t remember him or details from our life together. It makes me feel guilty even though he says it shouldn’t.”
It was hard to feel like you were disappointing people all the time.
“He’s right,” Gus offered with a kind smile. “Head injuries are tricky and require time and patience. No one knows that better than your husband.”
“I know that, logically. But how can I not remember anything?” It seemed impossible. “This is the kind of thing that feels like a movie.”
“Or a soap opera,” Hannah offered with a laugh. “Remember how, like, every other week, someone had amnesia?”
Gus and Persy both nodded, wearing knowing smiles.
“Nope. I don’t remember that, either.” I didn’t remember anything, and it sucked. It totally sucked and I didn’t know what, if anything, I could do to get my memories back.
What if they hadn’t returned because I didn’t want them to?
“Uh oh, I know that look. What’s up?” Gus reached for my hand and held it between hers.
“Do you guys believe me about my marriage with Casey or do you think I was making it up?”
Gus laughed. “I know you’re not making it up. I’ve seen, hell, we’ve all seen that man stroll into the bakery and you go all googly-eyed seconds before he lays a kiss on you hot enough to set the building on fire.”
“It’s real,” Persy assured me. “Very real and very public.”
“Why do you ask?” Hannah wanted to know.
“What if I’m not remembering because I don’t want to?” What if my brain is protecting me from something?
“Let’s worry about that after a few weeks. You took a pretty nasty hit to the head, Megs. It’ll take some time,” Gus said, her voice filled with sympathy.
“It’s true,” Persy offered. “But you could also wake up tomorrow with all of your memories, or some of them. The brain is kooky like that.”
“Kooky?” Hannah laughed. “Is that the medical term?”
“It’s the layman’s term, smartass.”
Hannah laughed in response, the sound throaty and contagious, and I couldn’t help but join in. If these women were my closest friends, my inner circle, then I would trust them.
I would trust the process.
And I would trust Casey.
Casey
“It’s time for you to go.” Suzie appeared out of nowhere, arms folded over her dark blue blazer, brows pulled into a frown as she tapped the watch on her wrist.
