Page 49 of The Breakup Broker

"Don't finish that sentence." I grabbed a chocolate croissant, needing sugar before this conversation. "I might have done something stupid."

"Define stupid," Maddy said, sliding a massive latte toward me.

I took a fortifying sip. "I may have slept with Henry."

"May have?" Ivy's eyebrows shot up.

"Okay, fine. Did. Definitely did." I buried my face in my hands. "Multiple times."

"Multiple!" Maddy crowed, drawing looks from other early-morning customers. She lowered her voice. "Details. Now."

"It was..." I searched for words that wouldn't sound downright pathetic. "Perfect. Intense. Everything I remembered and somehow more." The croissant crumbled in my nervous fingers. "And probably a horrible mistake."

"Why?" Ivy asked softly. "If it was so perfect?"

"Because it was amazing. He was amazing. Sweet and passionate and..." I swallowed hard. "He said it was forever."

"And that's bad?" Maddy looked confused.

"It's terrifying! Five years ago, he walked away without a word. Now he's talking about forever?" I grabbed anothercroissant. "What if I let myself believe him and he disappears again?"

"Or," Ivy said, "what if he means it?"

"God," Maddy sighed dreamily, "I can't remember the last time I had sex that warranted this level of panic."

"Right?" Ivy agreed. "My last date spent twenty minutes talking about his cryptocurrency investments."

"At least yours didn't describe his relationship with his mother as 'very close' while showing you pictures of their matching Christmas sweaters," Maddy countered.

Despite myself, I laughed. "You two aren't helping."

"We are," Ivy said. "We're reminding you that good men—especially good men who know exactly how to make you scream their name?—"

"I never said anything about screaming!"

"Your face says it all, honey." She smirked. "The point is, good men are rare. And when one shows up, ready to fight for you, maybe don't run away because you're scared."

"I'm not running," I protested. "I'm being cautious."

"You're hiding in a bakery at dawn," Maddy pointed out. "That's the definition of running."

"I'm not hiding," I insisted, reaching for my third pastry. "I'm ... strategizing."

"With carbs?" Maddy grinned.

"They're brain food." I licked chocolate from my fingers. "And I need all the help I can get right now."

"Okay." Ivy leaned forward, all business. "Let's break this down. The sex was clearly amazing?—"

"Mind-blowing," I admitted.

"Obviously. Your hair's still doing that post-sex thing it does."

I frantically patted my head. "What thing?"

"That 'I've been thoroughly ravished' waves thing," Maddy supplied helpfully. "Very romance novel heroine."

"I hate you both."

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