Page 55 of Phoenix

Chapter 14

Nora

I slide the keycard through the door and push it open.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” I whisper.

Walking farther into the room, I see the bed is a rumpled mess with just a tuft of red hair poking up from under the blanket.

“Wake up.” I slide under the blanket with her and poke her arm. “Psssst.”

“Ugh.” Amelia groans from the pillow.

I laugh. “I’m sure you’re exhausted, what with all the wild sex you had last night, but I need a girl talk.”

“Who says I had wild sex?” she asks, face still buried in the pillow.

“Well, your sex hair, for one. For two, your clothes are tossed about all over the room. For three, we could hear you in the hallway.”

“Shut. Up. Are you kidding me?” she says, now facing me but covering her face in mortification.

“I was impressed actually. Good job, Grayson.”

“I wasn’t even thinking. I shouldn’t have been so loud.”

“If you weren’t thinking, that means the sex was good.”

“You have no idea.” She rolls to her back, stretching.

Oh, but I do. I have the soreness to prove it.

“The boys are next door in my room, so I came down to talk.”

“You okay?” she asks.

“I am, but first, I want to know how your meeting went.”

“Oh my God, Nora, it was perfect! They are giving me the contract!” she says, with a smile bigger than I’ve ever seen.

“Amelia! That’s great! Congratulations! I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you. I’ll be writing for their website and putting together recipes for the printed publication. It’s a dream, Nor. I’m so excited.”

“You should be. Seriously. You earned it. After everything you’ve been through, your life is finally what you deserve.”

She leans over to give me a hug. “You’re the best friend I could ever ask for.”

“Ditto, babe.”

“Now, what did you need to talk to me about?”

“Well, it’s about Case...”

“Oh my God! Did you finally give in? The poor guy is so smitten with you!”

“What? No. Not that.” The lie falls too easily from my lips. I don’t know why I can’t just tell her, because deep down, I want to. I want to gush about how incredible it was, but a bigger part of me wants to keep it private. Something just for him and me.

“Then...?”

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