hers, but mine, too. They’ve mixed, become something more than just sweat.
Cate pulls down her skirt and top as she drags in her breaths. “We should cover ourselves up. I don’t want Owen or Bradford to walk out here, looking for you.”
Instead of listening to her, I cup the back of her head and kiss her thoroughly. “The windows are fogged up, princess. We’re safe from prying eyes for a few minutes.”
A chill runs through her body. She looks at me, passion still thick in her eyes. “I like when you call me that.”
My mouth curves upward. “What, princess?”
She bites her lip and nods. “Yes. It’s a little… dirty. You only say it when you have sex on your mind.”
Her cheeks color. She twines her fingers with mine. I rub little circles into the palm of her hand with my thumb. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
She looks down at our clasped hands. “This is nice.”
“The fucking?” I ask.
“No,” she says, frowning at me and shaking her head. “I just meant… when we don’t fight, it’s nice to just… be together.”
My lips quirk. “See, I think that the fighting feeds the flame. Like if we didn’t bicker, our sex wouldn’t be as hot.”
Her brow furrows. “What would happen if we didn’t fight, then? Do you think that we would just… lose interest in each other?”
I pull her hand, moving her incrementally closer. “I don’t think I will ever lose interest in you, princess. Maybe you’ll drive me crazy. Maybe I’ll say the wrong thing and you’ll run. But lose interest in you?” I kiss her, long and slow, flicking her tongue with mine. “I don’t think we’ll ever have to worry about that.”
Then I roll her over, so that I’m on top of her body. I start kissing her again, my fingers sneaking up to her breasts, pushing the fabric away once more.
“Luca!” she says. I can tell despite her breathy tone that she’s complaining, so I bury my face in the crook of her neck.
“What?” I murmur.
“Can we please go home first?” she asks. I catch her nipple with my fingers, rolling it, making her moan.
“Not a chance in hell, princess.”
I kiss her, silencing any further protests.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cate
The next morning, I slip out of Luca’s bed. Without even looking at the calendar, I already know why my heart is so heavy.
It’s the last day of January.
Five years ago today, I lost my entire family. One distracted driver who was looking at his phone. One foggy afternoon in the hills surrounding Seattle. And one curvy road…
Together, those things made me an orphan. I can’t bear to think of it, much less talk to another person about why I’m forever broken and desolate. I almost weep just thinking about it.
That’s why I am better alone, today especially. So I steal out of Luca’s bedroom and to my own, getting dressed. I stuff a huge wad of tissues into my coat pocket and shoulder my purse, then leave Luca’s house quietly.
I order myself an Uber, just as I have the four years before on this date. As I watch out the window silently, the Uber navigates through fog and a little rain, toward the highest point in the city. It’s early on a Sunday and the weather is bad, so there is hardly anyone out. It’s so foggy as we climb the final stretch that I can barely make out the road ahead.
I can see the street beside me, though. That’s all that counts. When I see Dorie’s Market coming up, I say so to the driver.
“Do you mind stopping right here?” I ask. “Please, on the right. I can walk from here.”
“Of course,” she says cheerfully. She pulls over, letting me out. “Have a great day.”
I say nothing, my chin wobbling. It’s still hard to accept that other people don’t know that this monumental, world-changing thing happened.
My mom and dad died and no one is the wiser. Everyone just carries on with their humdrum little lives as if nothing had ever happened.
I take a deep breath, my feet carrying me toward the little market. I push open the door, cringing at the sound of the bell overhead. Dorie’s Market is just the same as it was five years ago. It’s still stocked high with canned goods and a small produce section. It still smells most strongly of lemon, like wood polish maybe.
And most importantly to me, it still has fresh flowers. Right between the heads of lettuce and the berries