Page 58 of Changing Tides

“And that was it. He left, and I went to bed. About an hour later, Leia crawled in with me.”

“That’s it? He just left?”

“Yep. He said he didn’t want Leia to find him here in the morning.”

“He’s a giver,” she says. An impressed smile on her lips.

I place my hands over my face. “I feel so bad. He was hard as a rock when he left,” I mumble.

“Please, he probably relieved himself before he even made it home,” she scoffs. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to let you make it up to him.”

I look up. “He did text me this morning. He wants to take me to dinner tonight. Just the two of us.”

Her hands go into the air. “Thank goodness. Use me before I have to go back to real life.”

“So, you don’t mind?”

“Nope. And you’d better not sneak back in here until morning,” she commands.

Amiya takes a nap to recover from the hangover while Leia and I spend the afternoon at the beach.

I explain that Sebastian and I are going to dinner and she and Amiya are going to make homemade pizzas and finish watchingMoana.

“Okay,” she replies.

“You’re okay with that?”

She looks at me funny.

“I like pizza andMoana,” she says like it’s no big deal.

We head back to the cottage so I can shower and get ready for my date.

My date. Oh God, that sounds … scary.

Once I’m showered and I finally decide on a flowy white boho maxi dress and tan sandals, I head to the kitchen and open the fridge to find a Tupperware dish holding chicken salad and grab the loaf of bread from the counter.

“What are you doing?” Amiya asks as she catches me mid-bite.

“I’m pre-feeding,” I say once I swallow.

“Pre-feeding?”

“Yeah, he’s taking me to that nice restaurant on the beach that everyone raves about, and I want to enjoy my meal,” I explain.

“Come again?”

I put the sandwich on my plate and wipe my mouth.

“If I’m too hungry when we get there, I’m going to inhale my food, but if I’m not hungry, I’ll take the time to savor it.”

“You’re a little insane—you know that?” she asks.

I do.

I finish my snack and help her get the ingredients together to make the pizzas before I call Leia in from the garden. I tell her to behave for Amiya and kiss her good night in case she is already asleep when I return.

She promises to listen to her aunt, and as I leave, she is already sitting on top of the island while the two of them begin constructing their pies.

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