Page 75 of Tattered Edges

“But I married her, didn’t I?”

The bartender waved, motioning for their attention and effectively saving Rory from a conversation that seemed too outlandish to finish.

He couldn’t possibly have been in love.

Not yet.

Sawyer

Myalarmsoundedwaytoo early Monday morning, and I groaned as I blindly reached for my phone, plugged in and resting atop one of Rory’s nightstands. I couldn’t say for sure what time I’d finally drifted to sleep, but I knew it was sometime after midnight. Judging by my heavy eyelids, my body wasn’t nearly rested enough to seriously entertain the thought of waking.

I’d lost a lot of time over the weekend—minutes, sometimeshoursjust gone. Vanished. Mysteriously sucked into the black hole that was Rory and me, together and alone.

As soon as I’d silenced my phone, I was on the verge of rolling over and seeking out Rory’s warmth when I rememberedwhymy alarm had been set for six o’clock. I forced my eyes fully open and willed myself upright.

It was ten o’clock Sunday night in Palo Alto and Diane was going to call me in fifteen minutes. This was the most realistic window of opportunity we had to connect before the work weekandbefore my date with Rory—a date I hadn’t yet told her about, seeing as news of Rory and me was far too big to communicate via text.

I drew in a deep breath, raked my fingers through my hair, and then found my way onto my feet. As I’d managed not to wake Rory thus far, I tiptoed into the hallway, closing his bedroom door behind me before slipping into his guest bathroom. I splashed a bit of water on my face and rinsed my mouth in an effort to rouse myself a bit more. After drying my face, I tried to make my hair a little more presentable, giving up when I was overtaken by a yawn.

I wanted coffee, but I had no idea how to use Rory’s moka, and I wasn’t nearly awake enough to try and figure it out. Instead, I headed for the couch, folded my legs against my chest, then covered them with the excess fabric of the sweatshirt Rory let me borrow. I then shot Diane a text, letting her know I was awake and ready whenever she was.

Her face was on my phone three minutes later.

“Oh, honey, you look exhausted,” she said in greeting.

I laughed groggily as I replied, “Thanks. It’s good to see you, too.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I feel bad, is all. I wish we could manage to catch each other during my morning and your afternoon.”

“You could move to New York. That might make it easier,” I teased.

“I’ll float the idea by Brady and see what he thinks.”

“Hi, Sawyer!” he yelled from somewhere off screen.

“Hey, Brady,” I called back, not nearly as loud.

Diane turned and told him, “She says hi, back,” before she refocused her attention one me and asked, “Where are you, by the way? I don’t recognize anything behind you.”

I was getting used to the way he made me smile every time I thought about him, but I usually couldn’t see myself when I did it. Having caught a glimpse of my face, I was startled to see how happy I looked.

“Oh, my—no!” she gasped.

My smile stretched into a grin, and she sucked in an excited breath.

“Seriously?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Is that his sweatshirt you’re wearing?”

I nodded and her mouth fell open, much like Victoria’s had when she found out.

“Honey! Look at you, you’re glowing.”

“He’s…he’s pretty great,” I blurted. “And by pretty great I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before, which sounds dramatic and cliché, but it’s true. And it sort of freaks me out, because Ireallydon’t want to mess it up—but I’ve got this feeling that, I don’t know, that maybe this might be something real. It’s only been a couple days, but it feels sosolid.”

“I think it’s great you’re already feeling so comfortable, although it’s not altogether surprising. You’ve never dated anyone who was your friend first. You’re not starting from lust; you’re starting from a place of established trust. It makes a huge difference.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way,” I murmured, instantly sure she was right. “Everything feels so new.”

“Hold on, I’m going to need you torewind.You said it’s been a couple days, but the last I heard—what, aweekago?—you were adamant he wasn’t interested.”

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