A lot of what Luna had to say went in one ear and out the other because pretty much all of my friend’s advice tended to hover on the very edge of ridiculous. But I’d have been lying if I said she didn’t have a point with this.
Graham was the last man I’d had sex with. Hell, he was the only man if I wanted to be technical. I wasn’t sure I could count the couple careless teenaged tumbles in back seats I’d had back in high school. Those guys were so clueless about what they were doing I’d never even gotten off during the five seconds they’d lasted.
If I was being honest with myself, I secretly hated that Graham held the title of the only man to give me an orgasm. And those few only came before I realized the monster he truly was. It might be nice to be touched by another man—especially one who didn’t make my skin crawl every time I looked at him.
“I can practically see the wheels turning behind your eyes. You’re considering it, aren’t you?”
“No! Well, maybe. I don’t know.” I pushed out a weary sigh and reached up to rub my eyes. “What happened to you wanting to take a tumble with the new guy, huh? You were practically floating around town just at the thought of it a few days ago.”
She shrugged casually. “Hey, what kind of BFF would I be if I stood in the way of my sister from another mister getting her freak on? But if I graciously step aside, like the incredibly magnanimous person I am, and you don’t take your shot with Mr. Dimples, I’ll never speak to you again.”
“I am way too sober for this conversation,” I lamented.
She shot up from her chair, bending at the waist to snatch up my glass. “Don’t, worry, girl. I got you.”
With that, she skipped back into the house and started preparing round two.
Chapter Five
Sawyer
My bed rattled and shook, making the drumline in my head beat against my skull even harder.
Damn Luna Copeland. Damn her straight to hell.
After a few years and countless Margarita Mondays with that evil woman, I’d learned a long time ago that I had to pace myself. Two margaritas were my limit, but she’d gotten one over on me by making the second one strong enough to choke a freaking horse.
Despite my efforts at self-preservation, I’d still ended the night more than a little buzzed, which, given my embarrassingly low tolerance, meant I was going to be in hangover hell this morning.
It was my own damn fault for drinking it even though there was so much tequila in the damn thing, I’d have ignited if I went near an open flame.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Renee jumped on my bed, bouncing as high as she possibly could while her shrill voice grated on my ears like nails against a chalkboard. “Wake up!”
After a pitiful groan into my pillow, I forced myself onto my back and pushed to sitting. “I’m up, doodle bug. I’m up.”
“Lu-Lu’s on da couch,” she said as she belly-flopped into the comforter.
I reached out and scooped her up, pulling her into my lap and swiping her silky hair out of her face. “I know, honey. Luna stayed the night last night.”
“She makes a loud noise in hew sleep. Like a dump twuck.”
I smiled, my girl’s constant joyfulness working wonders to soothe my pounding head. “Yeah? Why don’t you go wake her up while I hop in the shower? She loves it when you flop on her belly.”
Renee’s eyes went round with excitement. “Okay!”
I waited for a beat as she all but threw herself off my bed and blazed down the hallway.
“Lu-Lu! Wake up!”
That was followed a second later by a pained grunt from my best friend. “Dear, God,” I heard her wheeze and smiled at my evil brand of payback. “Be gone with thee, Satan!”
“I’m getting in the shower,” I called through the house. “You’re on kid duty.”
“I hate you so much!” she returned.
I threw my legs over the side of the bed as Renee prattled on loudly to her Lu-Lu, and forced myself to climb out and pad to the bathroom.
I cranked the water as hot as I could stand it and scrubbed at my body and hair until I felt somewhat normal. The whole bathroom was full of steam by the time I got out and scoured the last of the tequila from my mouth with my toothbrush.
I could have hurried so I could relieve Luna of her babysitting duties, but I figured this was the perfect payback for her heavy-handed pours the night before. So instead of rushing, I took my time exfoliating and moisturizing my face and body.
It was only once I was all fresh and dewy and feeling a million times better that I threw on an old pair of joggers and a tank top and headed out. I didn’t bother blowing my hair dry. Once I stepped out into the salty sea breeze, it would do whatever the hell it wanted anyway, and that usually meant going wild and wavy.
Luna looked up from her coffee mug as I came into view and hit me with a glower. “Took you long enough,” she grumbled before taking a hearty sip of the strong brew.
“And good morning to you too, sunshine.”
Renee swung around on her stool as I rounded the bar toward the coffee maker. “Mommy! Lu-Lu made me waffles!”
I looked from the plate of tiny, precisely cut squares of frozen waffles to my girl’s syrup-covered smile. Even hung over and grumpy, Luna was the world’s best babysitter. She loved Renee so much, there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do, including making the only version of breakfast she was any good at. If it couldn’t be toasted or microwaved, Luna didn’t want anything to do with it. “I see that, honey. Did you say thank you?”
“Yup!”
“Did you have a nice shower?” Luna asked crankily once I poured myself a cup of coffee and joined her at the counter across from my daughter. “You were in there long enough.”
I gave her a big smile I knew would only rile her up more in her hungover state. “I did, thanks. And it’s what you get for turning that last margarita into a triple. Or a quad. Is that what comes after three?”
“I don’t know,” she groaned, closing her eyes and massaging her temple. “I don’t know. My brain isn’t working right now.”
“I told you to stop after the third one. Not my fault you didn’t listen.” I leaned closer and gave her a sniff. “God, you smell flammable.”
“And my mouth tastes like someone lit a dumpster on fire.”
I let loose a giggle and patted her shoulder. “There’s a spare toothbrush in my medicine cabinet you can use. And you can borrow some of my clothes if you want to take a shower.”
“Yes. Please and thank you.” She started out of the kitchen with mug still in hand, calling over her shoulder, “Just so you know, I’m using all that sugar scrub you love so much.”
“We’ll be out in the workshop when you’re done.”
The workshop was another huge selling point for the cottage. It was originally a detached single-car garage that sat a little farther back from the house, closer to the beach, and faced sideways, overlooking the backyard and beach. It was closer from my car to the front door if I just parked out front, so I never used it for its intended purpose, making it the perfect place for me to work.