Page 38 of Love Like Lightning

“Oh, no. That’s just Tiny.”

“Tiny?”

“I got a kitten,” she says casually. I can practically see her waving her hand like it’s not a big deal.

“A kitten?” I yell into the phone. “I’m sorry, I love you, and I want to hear all about this incredibly random development, but we have more pressing matters.”

“More pressing than Tiny? You haven’t seen a picture, but do tell.”

“So remember what we were talking about before I came back to Ever Lake, about Henry?”

“Yes…”

Taking a deep breath, I work up to telling her what I have to tell her. I still can’t believe I’ve gotten myself into this mess. Small town or not, what are the chances?

Oh, God. If I could have just waited one night, I would know what I know, and I wouldn’t have jumped back into bed with Henry.

“You slept with him already?” Simone’s shocked voice rings through the phone, clearly impatient with how long I’m taking to spit it out.

“Yeah…” I can’t seem to force the words out of my mouth, and I half hope she can just fill in the blanks. As unlikely as that is.

“Oh wow, night one. How was it?”

“It was great. More than great, actually—” I stop myself, feeling my body warm at the thought. Tiny shivers run down my back. “He helped me unpack my things. Ironed and hung stuff up for me.”

“What?”

“Yeah, it was bizarre, but also surprisingly really nice?”

I can’t talk about him like this. What I want to tell her is that the whole thing, the whole night, made me feel comfortable and taken care of. It was great sex, but also great company. And I can’t. I just can’t.

“That’s awesome. You’ve got a good, consistent hookup buddy for the duration of your visit. And you didn’t have to put away all your shit or pretend that hanging up something in the bathroom while you shower does anything about wrinkles. Win-win.”

“Can’t happen again.”

“What do you mean? Of course it can. You clearly enjoy him and are sexually compatible. Just let him know that you’d rather not sleep with him if he’s sleeping with other people and explain that you’ll be leaving in a few months, so no strings are necessary.”

“I can’t do that, Simone—”

“Gia, I love you like a sister, I do. But you make things too complicated. It doesn’t have to be that serious, I promise.”

“Simone…” I try to stop her in her tracks, but she’s on a roll now, and the easiest way to get through is to let her run out of steam.

“Okay, fine, if not him, find some other cute Colorado guy to get you off. You deserve to have some fun with a guy who’s the complete opposite of the type you usually go for. I just don’t want you to look back on your twenties and wish you had done the carefree thing. And no offense, but you finding your boyfriends through my doofus brothers or our other cousins has clearly not worked out. They always end up being stuffy finance guys or guys who wish they were stuffy finance guys. Talking about the fucking stock market all the time. I can’t deal anymore. I can’t relate to them, and I want to like whoever you end up with.”

“You relate to me just fine,” I remind her. It’s not like my job is all that exciting to people either.

“You don’t prattle on about your job the way those guys do. And when you do, you’re usually talking about the businesses you’re helping in the process. Also, you’re my best friend. Of course I relate to you.”

I pause for a second, waiting to see if she has anything else to say before finally getting to the point. “It’s not that simple, Simone, and let me finish. You remember that I said we were working with a family-run lodge?”

“Yeah, but you and the broody boy usually pick family businesses.”

“Right, but I mentioned that this older couple has their kids working for them.”

“Sure…”

“Henry, he’s…he’s one of the kids.”

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