Page 33 of What Happened Last Night

“Agreed.”

“She liked to have fun, throw parties. After the kids moved out, they took trips together and saw the world. They fell in love all over again.”

I nodded. “I think they kept the wedding-gift crystal in the box because secretly they both hated it, but neither was willing to admit it to the other. For fifty years.”

She laughed, and I felt better than I had the day I first realized I had a million dollars in the bank. My heart did a weird somersault in my chest.

She put the suit back on the rack. “I’m not going to buy anything today. Do you want to come over for coffee?”

To Luna’s apartment? To see where she lived? Yes, yes I did, and not because I had ulterior motives. “That sounds nice,” I said.

Her cheekbones flushed, as if she was worried she’d given me the wrong impression. But she didn’t back down from her invitation. “All right, I’ll send you my address. I’ll meet you there.”

FIFTEEN

Luna

My freakout in the car on the way home was a minor one, all things considered. It could have been worse. I could have taken the nearest interstate exit and sped off toward California, or driven into the ocean. Instead, I gripped the wheel with sweaty palms all the way home.

What had I been thinking? Was I crazy? I was crazy. Asking him for coffee at my house on my day off? He was going to think I wanted to sleep with him. I did want to sleep with him! But not now, not today. It wasn’t appropriate. Or was it? What if I slept with Will? Maybe I should seize the day, YOLO style. Or maybe he wasn’t thinking about sex at all and was just humoring me. Maybe the idea of sex with me would repulse him or make him laugh. Or make him fire me. Or maybe he’d say yes. Oh, my god, I was insane.

I only knew what I’d been thinking when the words had popped out of my mouth. I’d been thinking that I didn’t want the day to be over yet. That I didn’t want us to go our separate ways, then see each other at work like we always did. He’d looked so relaxed, and he’d spoken so easily, even though the topic was a hard one. Will had no idea that when he loosened up like that, when he let go of his reserve, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He was always the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

Get a grip, Luna.

When I parked my car, I realized I’d had no time to worry about whether I’d left any embarrassing clutter lying around in my apartment. I’d also forgotten about Aunt Reggie. I was a freaking adult, and if I wanted to have a man over for coffee on a Sunday afternoon, I had every right to. In fact, I had every right to drag Will into bed and make high-decibel noise for hours and hours while we—

No, we weren’t doing that. Just coffee. My boss and I would sit politely on either end of my sofa, cups in hand, and have a nice conversation. Then he’d go home.

He’d parked on the street, and as I walked to the door of the duplex, he strolled up the sidewalk behind me. The drizzle had stopped—briefly—but the sky was still ominously cloudy. How he made dark jeans and a dark sweater, the cuff hitched above his watch, look like walking sex was beyond my powers to explain. He gave me a curious look from his hazel eyes as he got closer.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Shh.” I hushed him. If Reggie heard a man’s voice, she’d be all over it. I braced a hand on the doorframe and leaned toward the front window, peeking in. It was dark and quiet in there.

“What are you doing?” Will whispered curiously.

“My aunt isn’t home,” I said, relieved. I wasn’t sure what story I’d have told her if she was there. “Let’s go upstairs.”

That sounded seductive when it came out of my mouth, but it was too late. The words were out. I unlocked the front door and led him up to my apartment.

When we were inside, Will closed the door behind him and looked around. “Do you have some weird rule where you’re not allowed to have men over? That’s pretty outdated.”

“It isn’t a rule,” I said, taking off my Keds and dropping my cardigan on a chair while I looked around, hoping my apartment wasn’t too awful. “It’s just that my aunt and my mom are joined at the hip, and if my aunt senses testosterone anywhere in my apartment, she’ll instantly call Mom. Then she’ll call my other aunts. My brothers will know, then all of my cousins. Then I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Will toed off his sneakers. “That seems like a lot of pressure for a cup of coffee.”

“It is. It’s just easier if I keep all of them out of my business.” I gestured toward the sofa. “Make yourself at home. I have coffee, but I can’t remember if I have sugar or milk or—”

“Whatever you have is fine. I don’t take sugar. I can drink black.” Will shook his head in mock disappointment. “You’re my assistant, and you don’t know my coffee order. I haven’t trained you well.”

“Ha,” I said dryly. He had never asked or expected me to fetch coffee, one of the many things I appreciated about him. That and his butt in jeans.

Oops.

Pushing the thought forcefully away, I crossed to the kitchen and started on coffee. I glanced in the fridge. “It turns out I have milk. Do you want some?”

“Sure.” He hadn’t sat down. He was standing in the middle of my apartment, looking around. “This place is nice.”

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