Page 121 of One Touch

Don’t say incredible. Don’t say life-changing. Don’t say one of the best nights of your life.

“Intense,” I finished for her.

Lily’s eyes widened suddenly. “Oh my god, what time is it?”

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “Just after eight.”

“Shit!” She bolted upright, clutching the sheet around herself. “The wedding! It’s Elara and Cole’s wedding! I’m supposed to meet Elara to get ready! I’m the Maid of fucking Honor! More like the Maid of Dishonor.”

She grabbed her glasses off the bedside table. I watched as she scrambled out of bed, gathering her clothes from where they’d been haphazardly discarded the night before. Part of me wanted to pull her back into bed, to forget about weddings and responsibilities and just lose myself in her again.

But that was dangerous thinking.

“I’m so sorry,” Lily said, putting on her bra without bothering to pull the straps over her arms, then hopping on one foot as she pulled on her jeans. “I have to go. Elara will kill me if I’m late.”

“Of course,” I said. “I’ve got to do Best Man things for Cole, too.”

She paused at the door, her hand on the knob. “Ethan, about last night—”

“We were drunk,” I cut her off, not ready to deal with whatever she was about to say. “We can just forget about it. Pretend like it never happened.”

Lily smiled, but it looked forced. “Right. Okay. I’ll see you at the wedding.”

Just then, there was a shout. “Boo!”

Lily screamed.

Ava screamed.

She must have crept into the house, back from Cole’s. She stood there staring at Lily, who was standing there in jeans and a bra, while I lay in bed, bare-chested.

“Daddy,” said Ava quietly. “I was practicing my assassin sneaking. I wanted to surprise you.” She looked again at Lily. “Guess I surprised you both.”

***

Susie was waiting in the kitchen, very politely not mentioning the screaming that had just occurred upstairs.

“Did you two have a fun time last night?” she asked, looking from me to Lily, from Lily to me.

“It was pretty good,” I said, my jaw clenched.

“You don’t get much chance to relax and hang loose, do you?”

“No. It was a fun evening.”

“And the boat?” Susie asked, hands on hips. “Was it luxurious?”

“It had a very powerful engine,” Lily said, before blushing and saying, “Okay, I really need to head out. Good to have you back, Susie.” She gave Susie a quick kiss on the cheek. “Gotta get to the bride’s side.”

Susie nodded. She looked so tan and relaxed after her vacation. I probably looked the opposite: pale and uptight.

“You sure you can’t stay for coffee, Lils?” I asked, trying desperately to make it seem like nothing weird was going on.

“Yeah, sorry,” Lily said. “Duty calls.”

“You know what?” Susie said, “I’ll come with you. I’m in the bridal party, so I should head to Cole’s house. I don’t want to miss out on any fun! And it’ll give us a chance to catch up.”

“Yay!” Lily said, but I could see the worry on her face.

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