I feel the exact moment she understands what they are. Her breath hitches softly.
“What happened?” she asks, her voice small now.
I smile. “I’ll tell you mine when you tell me yours.”
She stiffens. “You mean Reid and me? Nothing much happened. It was no big deal. We dated, and then he ghosted me.”
“Really? That’s all it was?”
She nods.
I shake my head. “Yeah, I’m not buying that for a second.”
“Why not?”
“Because, mon cher, you’re not the type to cry like that over some guy ignoring you. You’re more the type to cuss him out and move on, and maybe punch him in the throat if you should ever bump into him somewhere.”
She snorts softly. “Well, I did cuss him out. In my head.” Then she pauses. “Did you just speak French to me?”
“Yeah. One of the things they teach you in chef school is how to speak French with a very pretentious accent.”
“That’s a joke, right?”
“Yeah, but I do actually speak French. Went to culinary school there. Was even on a TV show and everything.”
“Nice.”
I wonder if she’s putting the pieces together yet. Most people on social media know who I am, and I’ve dropped enough hints… but either she hasn’t caught on or she simply doesn’tcare. Honestly, either way works for me. I prefer women who don’t give a damn about my résumé.
She yawns. “You have food here?”
“Yeah. It’s gotta be dinner time… I’m starving. Wanna come?”
“Nah, I think I’ll grab dinner in here. Is there room service?”
“Not usually, but I can get something brought up for you—if you’re not fussy about what shows up.”
“Thanks,” she says, squeezing my hand, looking at me with a sincerity that hits deeper than I expect. “For everything.”
I nod and tell myself the feeling in my chest is nothing. Just an itch. Nothing more.
CHAPTER 7
Sierra
Ican’t sleep.
Partly because it’s far too early in the evening. Usually, I’m wide awake and working around this time, but I already checked, and the Wi-Fi signal isn’t conducive to work.
That’s probably because they want to enforce a technology detox so everyone can focus on their healing.
Stupid.
I can heal just fine with a good Wi-Fi signal.
At least they didn’t take my phone, so there’s that.
I stare at the ceiling, wide awake, replaying everything that just happened. In less than twenty hours, I’ve met my ex, cried in the arms of one stranger, and then got into bed with a different stranger.