Page 40 of Like First Love, Again

Twenty-One

Without a second of sleep, not a single moment, Tori eased into Monday morning rush hour with a grin she continuously tried to suppress. Tried and failed. If her back wasn’t sore and Mia’s lingering perfume weren’t wreaking havoc on her nervous system, she might’ve convinced herself the whole thing had been a dream.

She wanted to close her eyes and drown in the memories of last night. Lose herself in the way Mia’s mouth felt against hers. The way the sunrise had revealed the green in her eyes, her kiss-swollen lips, the faint freckles tossed across her nose. But with traffic crawling around her, Tori forced herself to focus on the road.

Even with dark sunglasses on, the sun was brighter than it had ever been in Tori’s entire life. She couldn’t find the will to be annoyed. She’d trade irritated eyes for Mia’s kiss any day. Laughing to herself because she was definitely living in some vivid fantasy, Tori leaned against the headrest.

Over and over, she replayed the words Mia whispered against her parted lips. Inhaled the desperation in her kiss and the way she promised she wanted to find out what they could be.

It was crazy, Tori decided. Absolutely impossible. And yet, she couldn’t deny that Mia hadn’t let her go until it was nearly six in the morning. Until Tori absolutely had to go home to shower and change for work. And even then, goodbye had been repeated and intense and unending.

Tori’s chest ached as if Mia was still pinning her against her driver’s side door. Like Mia’s nails were still scraping her scalp and her sighs were ravaging Tori’s sense of responsibility. With her hands on Mia’s hips and Mia’s teeth on her throat, Tori had considered cancelling her mid-morning meetings. She’d considered wiping her entire damn schedule to stay with Mia.

But Mia had convinced her she’d regret her momentary haste. Promised that she wasn’t going anywhere. Tori’s stomach heaved. Mia wasn’t going anywhere today, but they had less than a month before she had to go home. Before Mia had to go back to her home and career and?—

Tori stopped herself before the anxiety in her chest converged into a black hole and swallowed all the light in her body. She refused to let thoughts of the ending ruin the beginning. Not when she was cautiously stepping into something she’d wanted for so long. She wouldn’t crush the joy of being with Mia just because she was afraid of losing it. Because it might not last forever.

The noise of her phone ringing through the Jeep’s speakers pulled Tori out of Mia’s kiss. Clearing her throat and the hearts in her eyes, Tori straightened and took her client’s call.

By the time Tori strode into work, she’d slipped completely into broker mode. She had a lease agreement to review, a negotiation for retail space to finalize, and a call with a developer about zoning variances to return. She was going to head straight for her office, but came to a screeching halt in front of the reception desk instead.

Sitting on top of the poured concrete desk was an old-fashioned metal Thermos. Taped to the side was a little folded triangle. The sight of her initials in Mia’s handwriting sent Tori’s racing heart into free-fall.

“Ms. Falcon dropped that off for you,” the receptionist said while doing her very best to conceal her smile.

Tori couldn’t stop hers until after it sprung onto her lips.

“Leaving you little gifts at work,” Larissa said, strolling into the reception area and making zero attempt to hide her delight. She handed the receptionist a file and leaned against the desk. “And you look like you were up all night.” She wiggled her brows in a way that was so over the top, it wasn’t as obnoxious as it would’ve normally been.

Reaching for the cylinder, Tori kept her expression neutral. “Good morning to you both,” she said, tone as dry and detached as she could make it. Turning away from both of them, she took a few steps before she tossed a look over her shoulder. “I’ll thank you both to stay out of my love life.”

With a bark of laughter, Larissa glanced at the receptionist as if to saytold ya. The receptionist grinned and replied with a conciliatory shrug.

“Hear that?” Larissa was still vibrating with amusement. “There’s a love life!”

Tori had only managed to peel the note off the side of the container and wonder where the hell Mia had found notebook paper when Larissa was suddenly at her side.

“You see? This is why you’ll never learn,” Larissa joked, hand on Tori’s shoulder. “The universe keeps rewarding your reckless choices.” She followed Tori into her office, but didn’t sit down.

Running her thumb over the corner of the paper, Tori was dying to know what was in the note. She imagined Mia’s mischievous expression when the idea popped into her head. Pictured her hurrying to Tori’s office to beat her there.

“I don’t know.” Tori twisted the top off the canister and took a sip of the espresso. It was stronger this time, though a little too sweet. “Can’t say I’ve ever won a cosmic lottery,” she added before taking another mouthful and wondering whether Mia had made the Cuban coffee herself.

Larissa made a point of looking at Tori from top to bottom like she might see Mia’s fingerprints on her skin. When she seemed to linger on Tori’s sleep-starved eyes, she offered a lopsided smile. “That concealer is doing the Lord’s work today. Why’s that? Not because you were running with me this morning?—”

“Oh, shit.” Tori’s eyes slammed shut. “I’m so sorry. I completely forgot?—”

“Listen, it’s fun to see that you miss shit like the rest of us mortals.” Larissa laughed. “But I bet it would be even more fun to know what the hell kept you from running club this morning.” She looked at the note in Tori’s hand. “And what you did to get that cutie to look all smitten.”

“You saw her?” Tori tried to keep her tone neutral. Tried not to vault over the desk and grab her by the shirt and beg her to spill, to interrogate her until she shared every detail about having seen Mia. How she’d looked. What she’d said.

Larissa’s grin crept up one side of her face like ivy. “I did,” she replied, intentionally coy. “She looked…pleased.”

“Pleased?” Tori repeated too fast. “Pleased like how?” She used her best nonchalant voice, but it lacked an ounce of chill.

“I don’t know, bro. I’m not the one who spent the night with her.” Larissa’s eyes were alive with curiosity. “What did you do?”

Overcome by the visceral memories of Mia’s kiss and the sound of her breaths, Tori dropped into her chair. She did her best to put the impossible night into words while Larissa sat and listened like she wished she had popcorn.

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