Page 46 of Tailored for Them

We were more comfortable staying the night at each other’s houses.

Each night, whether we were saying goodbye and going to our own apartment or snuggling in bed together for a sleepover, we would check in with each other.

“I like you.”

“I like you, too.”

It was a brief conversation.

Easy.

Until it wasn’t, because last night, I realized I wanted to change it up just a smidge.

Because falling in love with Nicole Young was one of the easiest things I had ever done.

How to tell her, though?

Would she trust me when I finally said those words to her?

I didn’t want to rush her. Her trauma and how her last relationship ended would probably play a role for a while. It’s difficult for people to heal from being cheated on. The trauma could last years.

Knowing that, I still wanted to be there for her through it all.

I focused back on Violet, her picture filling the screen on my cellphone. I had forgotten that she and I scheduled this call this morning. When my phone started buzzing, I tried to slip out of Nicole’s arms without waking her.

That obviously didn’t work, because Nicole was tiptoeing around my call.

I cleared my throat and spoke to Violet, “The first question they’ll probably ask you is, what kind of behaviors does Gracie struggle with at home and in school?”

Violet gnawed on her lip, and even though Violet was attractive in her own way, I realized how that movement didn’t do anything to my insides, unlike when Nicole bit her bottom lip. I usually ended up wanting to bite it myself.

“Since we’ve moved, her mouthing has increased a lot.” Violet’s gaze drifted to the side as if seeing the behaviors she remembered. “She is quicker to bite her arm or her shirt when she’s stressed.”

Violet was starting the process of trying to see if Gracie qualified for one-on-one support in her kindergarten class. She asked me for pro tips on what to expect when the district psychologist called to ask her about Gracie’s behaviors, because I had learned a lot about this through my line of work.

I nodded, watching Nicole return from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. “Does Gracie elope?”

Violet shrugged, “Yeah, eloping has increased too. But she’s also improved in so many other ways—” I lifted a hand to cut her off.

“That’s not what I asked you.”

Nicole raised an eyebrow at me as she took a sip from the glass, leaning against the wall and crossing one of her slender ankles over the other. Her toes were painted bright yellow.

“What?” Violet’s voice made me focus back on my video call.

“Don’t offer them more information than what they ask for.” I forced my eyes away from the beauty standing in my apartment and back on my blue-haired friend, “All I asked was if Gracie eloped. All you need to respond with is ‘Yes.’”

Violet nodded, “Yes. Gracie elopes.”

“At home? At the store?” I pressed.

“Both. And also—wait—” Violet’s brows pinched, “Do I go into detail here? Or will that also kill the deal, so to speak?”

“It doesn’t hurt to expand when you’re making it sound like Gracie’s eloping is a real problem you deal with often.”

Violet nodded, “I feel a little bit like I’m lying. I mean, Graciedoeshave all these behaviors, but focusing on those feels unfair to all the progress she’s made in other areas.”

“I know.” I shifted back, propping my feet up on the coffee table and holding my arm out toward Nicole. She raised both of her dark eyebrows at me this time, tentatively stepping toward me.

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