took out my phone and sent Emily a text.
Me: I’m at the bakery. Heads up, Caleb is with me, but he’s not staying. I just want to show him our place. Giving you a little warning … ya know, in case you’re braless.
Emily: Are you insane? Invite that man for dinner.
I glanced up and saw that he was also on his phone, so I turned back to mine to type.
Me: But it’s our night.
Emily: Whitney, don’t make me go all Samantha Jones on you.
Me: Okay, but just dinner, and then it’s us and reruns.
Emily: See ya soon.
I put my phone away and waited for him to look up. “Emily wants you to come for dinner. If you say no, she’s going to kill me, and then she’s going to gut you.” I scrunched my face and added, “So, don’t say no.”
He dropped his arm over my shoulders as we moved up a spot in line. “We can’t let that happen, can we?” His mouth pushed into the top of my head, where I felt him breathe me in. “To thank her, you know that means I now have to buy one of every cookie they make.”
They had five cases packed full of at least a hundred different varieties.
I laughed at the thought. “You’re kidding?”
“When it comes to food, I have no limits.” His stare dropped to my lips. “And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep that smile on your face.”
The scent of burgers filled the hallway as we got closer to my apartment, my stomach grumbling from the aroma and the fact that the coffee I’d had for breakfast was the last thing I’d swallowed. Time wasn’t something I’d had much of during today’s shift at work.
“Mmm,” Caleb groaned as I opened the door. “Smells delicious.”
“My girl can cook.” I grinned as I led us inside, immediately seeing Emily in the kitchen, dancing in front of the stovetop, the music too loud for her to hear us. “Honey, we’re home.”
As she turned around, she was still using the spatula as a microphone, her hair tied into a messy bun, a bra under her white tank top. I could tell she was a few beers deep, letting me know we’d had similar days.
“My two favorite peeps,” she said, turning down the volume and then throwing one arm around me and the other over Caleb. “Super happy you agreed to dinner.”
“I’m sorry to crash girls’ night.”
“No biggie,” she replied and backed up, seeing the two large boxes in Caleb’s hands that were double the size we normally brought home. “Did you buy dessert for the whole building?”
I laughed, as I’d pretty much said the same thing to him when he placed his order. “Where’s the booze? I need to catch up.”
She grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed them to us in exchange for the cookies, lifting the top to peer inside. “Oh, yes, that’s a whole lot of love right there.” She frowned as she glanced up. “My poor ass.”
“And mine too,” I replied.
She set the boxes on the counter. “Dinner will be ready in five. Now, get out before your bad-cooking juju makes everything burn.”
Caleb was chuckling as I circled his hand.
“I’m going to show him around.”
“Don’t stop for a quickie, or the food will be cold by the time you’re done.”
He smiled at me, our thoughts aligning.
“That man is only capable of doing one thing quick, and that’s the speed in which he drives.”
She looked at us from over her shoulder. “Caleb, send me some of your single friends who can drive that fast.”
I was still giggling when I brought him farther into our tiny apartment. “This is it.” I nodded toward the small high-top with four stools and the couch and coffee table. “Dining and living room all in one, and through here”—I started walking toward the hallway—“are our bedrooms and the bathroom.”
“This place is great,” he said from behind me, the walkway too narrow for both of us to fit.
I stayed in the entrance of my bedroom while he went into the intimate space, looking at my framed photos. Some were from the holidays Emily and I had spent together—one from our trip to Cancun and another from Chicago, where we’d gone to a concert. As he held the one of my immediate family, taken when David had still been alive, I said the names of each of my siblings out loud, so he knew who everyone was.
Once he placed the picture back, he lifted