“No problem.”

“Thanks. Give me about twenty minutes to round everybody up.”

“I’ll be in my office.”

I picked up my phone and texted Frannie. Thanks for the offer, but no need to drive us back. DeSantis can take us.

OK.

I glared at my screen and typed another message.

I’ll come get the kids in fifteen minutes.

OK.

I sat there stewing for a moment, then set my phone aside and tried to answer some emails. But only about three minutes had gone by when I gave up on concentration, slammed my laptop shut, and marched out of my office.

What the fuck did she want from me? I’d apologized. I’d asked her if she was mad. If she had something to say, why didn’t she say it?

She was being immature and ridiculous, and I was going to tell her so.

Frannie

We’d barely gotten up to my suite when he texted me that I didn’t have to drive him home.

Good, I thought. The less I had to see him, the better.

All day long, I’d done my best to pretend nothing had happened, but it was useless. He was all I could think about. And I didn’t know how to act around him now—there was this weird tension between us that hadn’t existed before. He didn’t seem too comfortable around me, either. I’d never seen him as grouchy and mad as he’d been by the time we’d left the house.

I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I couldn’t. Every moment in his presence was torture for me. All I wanted was to get to the end of this day so I could curl up in a ball on my couch and have a good ugly cry. I’d thought being with him that way would be a dream come true, but this felt like a nightmare.

When the hot chocolate was done, I ladled it into mugs for the girls, then let them squirt it with whipped cream and decorate it with sprinkles.

“This is like dessert before dinner,” said Millie, licking whipped cream off her spoon.

As soon as I got them situated at the counter, there was a knock at my door. I glanced at my phone, which told me it had been little more than five minutes since he’d texted he’d be up to get the kids in fifteen.

I went to the door and pulled it open, and there he was in the hallway, looking restless and agitated. His hair was kind of a mess, and his hands were fisted at his sides. Still, my heart went crazy at the sight of him.

“They’re not quite done yet,” I said.

“That’s fine. Can I talk to you?”

Shrugging, I opened the door so he could come in, but he shook his head.

“Out here in the hallway.”

“Oh.” I glanced at the kids. “Okay.” Making sure the door was unlocked, I went out into the hall and pulled it shut behind me. Then I leaned back against it and folded my arms. “What’s up?”

“Frannie.” He was in no mood.

“What?”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what? I’m doing exactly what you told me to do—pretending nothing happened. Going back to the way things were before. You’re the one who’s angry.”

“I’m angry because …” He gestured back and forth between us. “This isn’t how it was before.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, although I knew exactly what he meant.

“You didn’t freeze me out like this before. You didn’t refuse to look at me. We could joke around and talk.”

“Maybe I don’t feel like joking around.”

He crossed his arms. “Why not?”

I decided to be honest. Pretending was clearly not my thing. “Because, Mack. Last night meant everything to me and nothing to you.”

His arms came uncrossed and his solid chest stuck out. “That’s not true. It did mean something to me, Frannie.”

“Then why do we have to pretend it never happened? Why can’t it happen again?”

“Because there are too many complications. You know I’m in an impossible situation.”

“No, I don’t. Last night, you asked me what chances I would take if I wasn’t scared. I didn’t get the opportunity to answer you then, but I’ll tell you right now—I’d take a chance on you.”

His face softened, and his aggressive posture deflated a bit. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

Tears blurred my eyes, but I smiled. “Maybe I don’t. Maybe I am too young and immature. Maybe I’m stupid to think that you and I could ever be more than friends.”

“You’re not stupid, Frannie. And in another life, we could be.”

I shook my head. “There is no other life, Mack. This is the only one we get. Look, you probably have sex like that all the time, but—”

Mack’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? I haven’t had sex in over a year. And last night was fucking amazing. I haven’t been able to think about anything else all day long.”

Braver now, I came off the door and stood up taller. “Then I don’t understand why you can’t give me a chance. I feel something for you, Mack. I have for a long time—I’ve just been too scared to act on it.”

“You were right to be scared.” He came toward me, and for a moment, I thought he was going to take me in his arms. But at the last second, he reached beyond me for the door handle. Then he spoke low over his shoulder. “Don’t waste your chances on me, Frannie. I’ve got nothing to offer you in return.”

An hour later, I was a solid twenty minutes into my ugly cry when I heard knocking on my door. For God’s sake, now what? I grabbed a handful of tissues on my way to the door and blew my nose before opening it. My sister Chloe stood in the hall.

She’d been about to say something, but at the sight of me, her eyes went wide. “Jeez Louise,” she said. “What happened to you?”

“What do you want?” I asked, a little angrier than intended.

“Well, I was gonna ask your opinion on some new label designs, but maybe now’s not a good time.”

“It’s not.” I stomped back over to the tissue box on my kitchen counter and yanked another one out.

“What’s wrong?” My sister came in and shut the door behind her.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say “nothing,” since I didn’t usually confide in her about stuff like this, nor did she in me, but while I blew my nose, I figured, what the hell? Maybe we’d have a closer relationship if I did tell her these things. And maybe she’d have some advice.

“You can’t tell anyone,” I said.

She held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“I slept with Mack,” I told her.

Her chin about hit the floor. “You what?”

“I slept with Mack.”

“Holy shit. Holy. Shit. I gotta sit down.” She sank onto a chair at my table as I stuffed soggy tissues into the trash. “You slept with Mack? Like you …” She made a fist with one hand and punched the palm of the other a few times.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Chloe. I had sex with him. You can say it.”

“Whoa. I mean—whoa.” She blinked at me. “Sorry, I’m just really surprised.”