Page 93 of In Plain Sight

I followed Ivy into the house and washed my hands in the main floor powder room, then met her in the kitchen.

“Are you staying for dinner?” she asked, handing me a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie.

I took a bite of the cookie and shook my head. It was still warm and soft, exactly the way I liked them.

“Are you sure? I promise I won’t put you to work again.” She popped a piece of cookie into her mouth.

“I have plans,” I said after I swallowed.

“Really?” Her eyebrows flew up in surprise. “Your mom need you to do something?”

“No, I’m…hanging out with a friend.”

“A friend?” she asked incredulously. “Since when do you have those?”

“Ouch.”

“You know I didn’t mean it that way.” She shot me an apologetic look.

“I know,” I said, cutting her some slack. She wasn’t wrong to be surprised.

“Are you meeting up with the guys from work?”

I started to nod but hesitated.

Ivy wasn’t just my best friend; she was family, and I didn’t feel right lying to her about Luka.

“What?” she asked suspiciously. “I know that face. You’re trying to decide if you’re going to tell me something.”

I took another bite of my cookie so I wouldn’t have to answer her right away. How much should I tell her?

She put her coffee down and crossed her arms. “You can’t chew that bite forever. Eventually you’re going to have to tell me.”

I swallowed and tried to look breezy and relaxed. “I’m hanging out with Luka.”

“Luka? From work?”

“Yeah.”

“Just you two?”

I nodded.

She started to say something, but I cut her off.

“If I tell you something, do you promise to not freak out and make a big deal about it?” I asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Luka and I… We’re kind of seeing each other.”

“Oh my freaking god!” she shrieked, clapping excitedly. “Shut the front door!”

“Good job not freaking out or making a big deal out of it,” I deadpanned.

“Yeah, I’m not even sorry.” She snatched my cookie out of my hand and put it on a napkin. “Tell. Me. Everything.”

I toyed with one of the silver rings I wore when I wasn’t at work, spinning it around my finger. “Everything?”

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