Page 141 of My Only

Hassani walking into the house after 2 a.m., confirming my worst fears that he’d been out with her? Proved he didn’t see what I saw.

Why did it feel like I was the only one who could see so clearly that Harper was a problem?

I had just finished cleaning the stovetop when my phone chimed. Thinking it might be Hassani, and deciding I would answer if it was him, I grabbed my device only to see another one of my favorite people calling.

“Hey, Carmen Sandiego,” I answered, sliding onto the stool at the kitchen island.

Aunt Laurie hollered a laugh, which made me laugh too.

“Oh, don’t you start that, Favorite Girl,” she teased.

I giggled some more. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing much,” she replied. “I’m just here, sitting on a beach in the Maldives, sipping a little wine and watching what is possibly one of the most iconic sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life.”

I smiled, resting my chin in my hand. “Yeah, that really sounds like nothing much, Aunt Laurie.”

She laughed, making me smile even harder. “How about you?”

What I wouldn’t give to just be honest. To tell her how lonely I was feeling. How much I missed my husband, who had been working non-stop. To admit there was a co-worker who didn’t respect boundaries—who I knew was trying to be more than just his colleague.

Instead, I said, “Just finished cleaning. I’m listening to the morning rain while taking a little breather to talk with you.”

“And I am so honored, Favorite Girl.”

I nodded. “The honor is all mine.”

“You know,” she started, “I’m dating someone new.”

I lifted my head. “Oh?”

“Good man,” she added. “A little younger.”

I arched a brow. “How young?”

“He’s legal.”

I snorted a laugh.

“He doesn’t speak much English,” she said. “Met him in Ghana a couple of months back. Exchanged numbers. And I recently returned one of his phone calls before a flight to Thailand.”

I smiled as I listened, loving the escape into Aunt Laurie’s world for a little while.

After her divorce, when she returned to her jet-setting life—this time, more for leisure than work—I knew she would be fine. This was the Aunt Laurie I remembered. The world traveler who practically lived out of her suitcase and loved every moment of it.

I was glad I at least got to dabble in that lifestyle long enough to know it wasn’t for me.

“I’m shocked you’re in a relationship again,” I told her.

She laughed. “If I can barely call it that, Favorite Girl. He doesn’t talk much, but we understand each other better than most people who do.”

“Interesting.” I tilted my head. “How?”

“You don’t always need words to know when someone loves you,” she said softly. “Sometimes… it’s just the way they show up.”

I blinked at that.

“My lover shows up in his own way, and always in ways that benefit me. Like now.” She snickered. “He’s getting me another glass of wine at the beach bar. Got me this glass of wine the first time, and I didn’t even have to tell him what kind I wanted. He knew from watching what I order. Remembering it without me reminding him.”

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