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Tuck appears at my elbow and shakes his head. “Neither of y’all is staying. We got this. Abel’s around, and Marianne has a whole crew already cleaning up inside.”
“Seriously.” Abel is already shouldering out of his jacket. “If you stay, I’m gonna be pissed. Someone around here has to get laid.”
“That someone is me,” Lady says as she and Joe scurry down the sidewalk. They were part of the last-minute invites after they pitched in to help today.
I look at Lu. “They don’t have to ask me twice.”
“Will you call if you need anything?” she asks Abel.
He waves us away. “Y’all get gone. ’Night.”
My body thrums on the walk to the dock, Lu’s hand in mine. I’m exhausted. Elated. Anxious.
Turned on.
“I think they’ll make it,” Lu says, breaking the silence between us. “Coop and Goldie. I buy how into each other they are.”
Digging the key out of my pocket, I unlock the dock’s entrance. “He’s crazy about her. I buy that, because Goldie’s excellent. They’re good for each other.”
“She calls him out on his bullshit.”
“He’s grounded, but he doesn’t try to change her. Make her into something she’s not.”
“Exactly.” I meet his eyes. Yes, we’re talking about Goldie and Coop. But in a way, we’re also talking about ourselves. Our relationship.
The lights on Dolly are on, but the crew is nowhere to be seen. Tom was supposed to come back tonight, but on account of the rain, Mom and Marsha decided to keep him another night.
Stepping on board, Lu and I immediately head below deck. We both sigh with relief when we’re hit by a wave of cold, crisp A/C.
Then, finally, it’s just us.
One more night.
One last chance to make her mine.
Lu kicks off her flip-flops and collapses onto the couch. Seeing her sprawled out like this, comfortable and at home, my heart squeezes.
“What?” She puts a hand on her stomach.
Shaking my head, I yank at my bow tie. “I like you bein’ here.”
Her expression softens, eyebrows curving upward. “How could I not like being here? Your life . . .” She scoffs, glancing around the yacht’s interior before her gaze lands on me. “You. It’s all a dream.”
My hand goes still at my neck. Do I do this right now? Put myself out there? I’m exhausted. Hard as fuck.
Ain’t exactly in a clear state of mind.
Then again, I’m too tired to be anything but honest.
“It’s not a dream.” I walk over to Lu. Put a hand on the side of the couch and lean in, my heart thumping. “It’s real. What I feel for you is real. I know you gotta get back to your life tomorrow, but I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t want you to stay.”
Her throat works as she searches my eyes. “Riley.”
“Legs.”
She smiles. Reaches up to put a hand on my chest. “It’s been five days.”
“I know.”
“I just got out of a years-long relationship.”
“I know. You still got feelings for him?”
“What? No! No, that’s not the issue. I’d love to stay, I just . . .” Her eyes are wet. She scoffs. “God, you’re overwhelming.”
I duck my head and kiss her neck. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is when I’m trying to make good decisions.”
“I am a good decision.” I pull back to look her in the eye. “You think otherwise, lemme keep proving you wrong.”
Lu blinks. “What you’re asking . . .”
“I’ll clarify.” My heart’s in my throat now, making it difficult to breathe. My voice comes out in a rumble. “I want you to stay, but I understand why you gotta go back to Charlotte. I’m not asking for an answer now. I’m asking you to think about it—a relationship with me. And while you’re thinking about it, I won’t be sleeping with anyone else. Hope you won’t be either.”
She scoffs again. “So we are in a relationship. Just a long-distance one?”
“If that’s what you wanna call it.” I lift a shoulder. “What we got, I’m not sure it needs a label. I feel it, and I’m pretty sure you do too.”
“Of course I feel it,” she replies softly. “And I don’t want to sleep with anyone else. But I think it’s the right call to take things slow. Patrick and I . . . you know, I talked to Goldie about it, and I think I fell out of love with him a while ago. And while I know, rationally, the perfect life we had was shallow—like, a total sham, obviously—I still need a minute to get my bearings. If I’m going to do this thing with you, I want to do it right. If I’m going to write the cookbook, I want to do that right too. And jumping in headfirst without a thought for the consequences . . . isn’t that what tripped us up the first time?”
