Page 45 of First Love, Second Draft

Mona, her mug frozen a few inches below her lips, stared back at Gracie. “Wow.”

Yes. Wow. Because it would’ve been a great kiss too. Just like every other kiss she and Noah had ever shared in that giant ridiculous tub.

But apparently it wasn’t thoughts of kissing Noah that had caused thewowfactor for Mona. She lowered her mug to the table. “You stood. You’re standing. Gracie, you’re standing all on your own.”

“I am?” Gracie looked down. “I am.”

Her tea-sloshing monologue had somehow launched her onto her feet. Without help. Without thought. Without... pain?

She shifted her weight from foot to foot. Winced. Okay, a little bit of pain. Especially when she lowered herself back to the chair with an ungraceful plop, which rattled the table.

Mona dabbed at the splash of coffee running down the side of her mug. They were going to be out of clean napkins before a trace of beverage made it past their lips at the rate they were going.

“Listen.” Mona finished cleaning off her mug and wadded her napkin. “One of the reasons I came over this afternoon was because I wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

“You are?” That was a new one from her sister.

Mona plunked her mug down, splattering more liquid onto the table. “Well, not really.”

And there was the Mona she knew.

“How dare you not tell me you’ve been fooling around with your ex? I had to hear about it from Lizzy when I swung by the Pumpkin Festival to see Matt earlier, and she didn’t even have the details right. She said you and Noah were fooling around in the shower.”

“We weren’tfooling aroundanywhere. How did Lizzy even know anything had happened at all?”

“Have you forgotten where we live? There are no secrets. Plus, I’m pretty sure that FedEx lady has a big mouth. She seems to know an awful lot just from delivering packages. Anyway”— Mona picked up her coffee mug and ran another napkin over the table—“you need to tell me these things. It really caught me off guard.”

“How do you think I feel?”

Mona’s red lips twitched as she slurped a drink, then quirked an eyebrow. “Clean?”

Not with the image of Luke standing in the doorway seared in her brain, she didn’t. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. The whole thing’s starting to feel like a love triangle, and you know how much I hate that trope.”

If Gracie never included one in her fictional stories, she wasn’t about to entertain one in real life.

“Did you at least try explaining things to him?” Mona asked.

“Who, Luke? Of course. He doesn’t want to talk about it either.” Maybe. After never finding the courage to send him a text message that night, Gracie had worked up the courage to call him the next morning—then lost all courage to leave him a voicemail when he didn’t answer.

“So you two just aren’t going to talk about it? Very adult-ish. Worked out so well for your relationship with Noah five years ago.”

“You do realize Luke and I are not in any sort of committed relationship.”

“Well, you’re certainly not now.”

“We’re friends. That’s all. I made it clear from the start that I probably wasn’t ready for anything serious.”

“Not if you’re still taking baths with your ex-husband, that’s for sure.”

“Was there another reason you stopped by other than to tease me about Noah? Because I’ve got a hero who accidentally time traveled ten centuries back too far, and I really need to figure out how to break him free from a dungeon before he dies of general malnutrition and dehydration.”

“Wow. You’ve really lost control of your story, haven’t you?”

On the page and in real life.

Mona flapped her hands. “Fine. I’m leaving. But before I go, can I just say one other thing? Something I can’t even believe I’m saying?”

“Why do I already know I’m going to hate this?”

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