Page 118 of Vacation Friends

“I don’t recall his name. John something another. But he was at the fundraiser.”

“Did he recognize you?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t seem to until I mentioned it. But he did say something weird.”

Garrick’s fingers twitched around hers. But when Cecilia glanced at his face, his expression was still calm.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked. “What was that?”

“He asked if I was working that job as a side hustle. I’m still not sure what he meant by that.”

His cheek twitched. “It’s probably nothing. It’s best not to read too much into these kinds of things.”

Cecilia nodded. “I agree with that. I . . . I was just curious.”

She didn’t mention the wink he’d given her.

It still gave her the creeps.

“Maybe he thinks I take care of you all the time so you don’t need to work. Would you like that? Would you like it if I took care of you all the time?”

Something about the way Garrick said those words made her heart stutter.

She hated to admit it, but she loved that idea. It had been so long since she’d had someone to look out for her. And doing life on her own, though satisfying, was also exhausting.

“I don’t even know what to say.”

He glanced at her and grinned. “Don’t say anything right now. Just think about it. Think about our future and what you might like for it to look like.”

Cecilia would very much enjoy doing that.

His phone buzzed just then, and he glanced at the screen and frowned.

Instead of answering like he sometimes did, he put the phone away.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“It’s fine. Just a work thing I don’t really want to deal with at this very second.”

She could understand that.

In fact, nothing would make her happier than having him not think about work for this entire weekend.

Cecilia would do her best to ensure that happened.

That night, Cecilia rolled over in bed and noticed that Garrick was no longer there.

She ran her hand across the empty sheets. Then she noticed the bathroom door was closed and a light on beneath it.

She glanced at the time.

It was only nine p.m. They had turned in early for the evening.

She smiled as she remembered their time together.

Things between them in bed still weren’t amazing. But she could live with it, knowing there would be a learning curve.

Especially now that she knew he might want to take care of her in the future.

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