Chapter 13

They came back at one, as he had said. Dan and Mike first, then Cole in clean work clothes, hair still damp from a shower at his own place. He said good afternoon the way he said it every other day and went straight to the open kitchen floor. Emily stayed in the studio with a client call and a set of fabric samples and told herself the arrangement was working.

It was not comfortable. It was functional.

The subfloor went in by Wednesday. The vanities arrived Thursday, two days late. Cole spoke to her about blocking and lead times and the inspector’s next visit. He did not mention Sunday night. She did not either. When they passed in the hall he stepped aside. When she handed him a coffee he took it and said thanks. The air in the house stayed thick anyway.

She caught him looking. Once from the kitchen into the studio while she was on the phone, his gaze on her mouth. Once when she bent to unroll a rug sample and looked up to find his eyes already leaving. She looked back both times, then away. The looking was not a question. It was a fact neither of them was doing anything with.

Tuesday night she lasted until nine. The house was empty. Dan’s radio had been off for hours. She locked the front door, took the toys from the closet, and lay down on the air mattress with the memory of him still too clear. His mouth on her pussy. The way he had asked still yes. The weight of him when he pushed in. She worked the dildo in slowly and held the vibrator to her clit and came hard, furious at herself before the shaking even stopped. The toys had not taken his face out of the room. They had only given her a more accurate way to miss him.