Page 38 of Last Night Was Fun

“Yes!” Piper sang and clapped her hands. “Emmy booked us a booze cruise. The besties and I will be partying on a boat all night. No boys allowed.” She booped him on the nose and scrunched up her face.

“Please just don’t end up needing me to bail you out in Mexico,” Ben said with a teasing sigh and a glance at Emmy.

Emmy held up her hands in innocence. “I am not the captain. I’m only the party coordinator.”

“And it’s going to be one hell of a party,” Piper said, and bounced her brows before diving into her fresh mimosa.

Chapter8

We should

We should

We should

Emmy spent most of the next week rereading the half message her sister had sent. Axe Murderer hadn’t responded, and the thought she’d scared him off only confirmed her fear that meeting in person was a bad idea.

At the same time, work had become grueling. With the trade deadline fast approaching, they were buried day in and out. Requests would come down from the GM to their director, who’d then pass them to Alice, who’d pass them to the data analysts, and Emmy, Gabe, Pedro, and Silas would hole up in their cave cranking out predictive models to aid in decisions. Emmy still hadn’t had time to run Gabe’sfeelingsmodel, although she was curious about it. Trying to outdo each other and earn as many gold stars as possible, they stayed later than everyone else. Even with the office empty, they remained, glassy-eyed and glued to the dim glow of their computer screens. He returned from a long lunch one day clearly having gotten a haircut, and because he stayed late to make up for it, Emmy stayed late too. She refused to throw in the towel before him and ended up leaving the ballpark near midnight three nights in a row. It paid off when Alice commended her latest report in a department meeting, which earned her an approving nod from Director Allen.

The consequent icy glare from Gabe was a cherry on top, but in truth, all of it served as distraction from worrying she’d ruined things with Axe Murderer.

By the time she collapsed in bed on Friday night, Emmy thought she was too tired to do anything but sleep. Her leaping heart quickly corrected her when she got a message from Axe Murderer.

So, I’ve spent all week wondering if there’s an end to that last text...

She sat straight up with her heart in her throat and blinked at her screen. Her hands trembled. She had no idea what to say. She’d figured if he ever responded, he would gloss over that text, and they’d pretend it never happened, like eating an entire cake by oneself or spending a whole paycheck on a new handbag. Directly confronting it had not entered her mind as a possibility. Was he bringing it up because he knew what the message implied and wanted to go there? Did hewantto meet her?

The thought broke a clammy sweat over her skin. She almost went into cardiac arrest when he sent another message.

I’ve also been wondering if it was a butt dial and you’ve been trying to figure out how to backtrack it.

The sigh of relief that escaped Emmy could have inflated a blimp. She found herself smiling softly at her phone and much more relaxed about talking to him since he’d given her an out.

Hey. Sorry for the silence. Work has been wild this week. But you’re right. My sister actually sent that message. She took my phone to write to you and managed to text that before I stopped her, and I wasn’t sure how to come back from it.

Her heart had eased into a calmer rhythm, but it quickly picked up pace again when he didn’t immediately respond. What was he thinking? What was he going to say?

Eventually, he came back with:

You told your sister about me?

Emmy quietly laughed.

That’s what you took from all that?

Yes. I mean, it’s kind of a big deal.

He was right. It was a big deal she’d told anyone about him.

I guess you’re right. I did tell my sister. And my best friend.

Wow. Not to sound full of myself, but TWO people know about me?

She blushed and pulled her knees up to her chest, grinning like a schoolgirl at a sleepover.

Yes.

Well, I am honored. And if we’re making confessions here, I have to tell you that THREE people know about you.