Page 62 of What Happened Last Night

Hours later, as we were doing the dishes after dinner, I got the call. Raine and Neal’s son had arrived just fine. His name was Sam.

It felt, strangely, like the entire band had had a baby.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Luna

I was more nervous about Will coming to family dinner than he was. He was sitting calmly in the passenger seat on the drive to Bend, looking out the window. He was quiet, but Will was always quiet. It was me that was silently freaking out.

“They’ll like you,” I said for the millionth time. “Once they get to know you. I know they will.”

Will turned and looked at me with a concerning lack of fear. Instead of discussing my family yet again, he let his gaze move down, over the dress I was wearing.

Yesterday—Saturday—I hadn’t seen Will at all. He’d been busy, I had no idea with what. Since I was his assistant, I already knew what he did every minute of his work day. It seemed like too much that as his girlfriend, I would know how he spent every minute of his personal time, too. And that went both ways.

So we’d spent yesterday apart, Will wherever he was, and me with Katie. I’d spent Saturday night alone and had gone to bed early. I hadn’t heard from Will, but when I woke up this morning, I’d had a text on my phone from a very early hour. Like last time, I’d run out front in my pajamas and found a gift on my doorstep.

This time, it wasn’t a unicorn. It was a dress.

It was a vintage dress from the sixties in pristine condition, olive green with white trim on the sleeves and accessorized with a shiny white belt. It gave off an airline-stewardess vibe that thrilled me to the bone. Not only was it gorgeous, it fit me perfectly.

I was wearing the dress now. I never dressed up in work clothes for family dinner, but some long-ago woman had hung this dress in her closet, barely worn, and I was glad she had, but that wasn’t me. I was going to wear this dress until it fell apart, or I died of old age, whichever came first. It was surprisingly comfortable, and it made me feel beautiful and confident. Thinking about this dress made me feel halfway ready to endure tonight.

“Do you honestly like it?” Will asked, the first hint I’d seen that he wasn’t entirely in control of his doubts. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Luna. If I give you something that isn’t your taste, you can just tell me so.”

I shook my head, focusing on the road. We had perfectly clear weather for the drive to Bend this time. I had been surprised when Will hadn’t insisted on driving, but had agreed to my suggestion that we take my car. “Will Hale, you will pry this amazing dress from my cold, dead hands.”

“I’d rather not,” he replied mildly.

“I know you’ve seen me naked, but I’m trying not to be creeped out by the fact that you know my size so well.”

Will’s smile was a little smug. He was wearing dark jeans and a crisp gray button-down that was untucked, the hem of the shirt skimming the line of his hips. I could see a triangle of pristine white T-shirt notched in the vee of the button-down. His watch glinted on his wrist. I wanted to rip his sexy clothes off him and lick every inch of him. It seemed that the more time I spent in bed with Will, the hotter I found him.

“You forget,” my boyfriend said, answering the words I’d forgotten I’d spoken, “that I spent some time trapped in your closet with your dresses. I may have used the time to inspect a tag or two.”

My mind spun on the fact that he’d done that before he’d even kissed me. “You really do play 4D chess. The rest of us are lagging behind you.”

“I pay attention to the things that matter to me,” he replied. “You matter to me.”

I swallowed hard. It would look bad if we arrived at my parents’ with my eyes red from crying. They’d jump to the wrong conclusions. “Okay, well, please don’t think you have to buy me things to get me to like you, okay? I already like you.”

He was silent for a moment, as if I’d surprised him. “I like buying you gifts,” he said. “It isn’t about money. It’s about giving you something that makes you happy, even if it’s just for a minute. The happiness is the point.”

I nodded, because suddenly I understood him a little better. “You couldn’t make Lizbeth happy.”

He looked out the passenger window again, as if I’d hit a nerve. “I tried, at first. I really did. It was never going to happen. It wasn’t her fault—it wasn’t anyone’s fault. But I got used to being with someone who wasn’t happy, no matter how the people around her tried. It felt normal for a long time. Which is terrible when I look back on it now. Like my life was in black and white.”

“She didn’t make you happy either?” I asked.

He shrugged, the motion smooth and elegant. “She didn’t even ask herself that question. Honestly, I don’t think Lizbeth believes in happiness.”

Oh. Well. My family was a curse, but at least they all cared about my happiness in their suffocating way. If I called any one of them in a moment of need, they’d come running, no questions asked. Will didn’t have that from anyone, even his long-time girlfriend.

The next time Lizbeth called—which would happen eventually—I was definitely telling her that Will was dead. She could fix her own problems in New York, with her money and her beauty and her therapist and her fiancé. She wasn’t going to dump her problems on Will ever again without caring about his feelings in return.

“Okay,” I said, trying to keep it light. “I’ll allow you to buy me unicorns or vintage dresses. But please don’t ever buy me something expensive.”

He looked at me again. “You mean, like the state of Oregon?”

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