“Thanks. By the way, I don’twantto be prepared for the forest.” Kia wrapped her arms around herself, hiding the translucent bra. “Ever. Again. I don’t do forest. I made an exception for you because I need a small favor. Really, it’s more like a favor to both of us.”
“Youdoremember that you ruined my life, like, six hours ago, right?”
Kia looked up at her innocently.
“What do you want, Kia?”
“Alice Sullivan, will you marry me?”
chapter 7
Sullivan had abeautiful stone shower stall and a variety of expensive-looking bottles: organic bergamot bodywash, cedar shampoo and conditioner, cinnamon facial toner, Himalayan salt scrub, and several large bars of soap resting on teak soap trays. She wouldn’t have guessed Sullivan was a fancy-soaps person, but now that she saw the buffet of body products, it fit. You didn’t smell as good as Sullivan without product. And Kia was standing in Sullivan’s shower. She was touching a bar of soap that Sullivan might have rubbed against her skin, could have rubbed over her…
What was Kia doing?! What was happening? Had she been flirting with Sullivan and then blurted out her proposal? She was supposed to be logically, professionally laying out the argument for getting married. Had she ruined that possibility with the kind of line tipsy men at the Oklahoma State Fair tossed her way when she sprayed whipped cream on their cinnamon fried ice cream bread pudding balls?
I didn’t know you felt that way.Sullivan definitely didnotfeel that way. Although she had noticed Kia’s bra, but only because she was trained in first aid, and you couldn’t help a person without atleast glancing at them. Kia leaned back, letting the water hit her face. This would never work, but what was she supposed to do? She let the water cascade over her, blissfully warming her to the core. She stayed for as long as she could without Sullivan thinking she’d passed out in the shower. Then she turned off the water and stepped out.
As if on cue, Sullivan spoke through the door.
“I’ve left some clothes for you.” Sullivan’s footsteps jogged away.
On a decorative table next to the bathroom door, Sullivan had left sweatpants and a sweatshirt, tan with gray racing stripes down the arms and legs. Kia put them on and stepped into fleece clouds and the faint hint of cloves and sandalwood. Kia toweled off her hair—no salvaging her Afro, named Georgie because something so fabulous deserved a name—and stepped out of the bathroom.
Sullivan sat at her kitchen island, wearing flannel slacks and a gray button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, looking dignified, annoyed, and so, so, so hot. She’d gotten tattoos. Those contrasted with the whole I-quote-Yeats-and-draw-ferns-in-the-conservatory look, but it worked. Black-and-white geometric patterns extended beyond her rolled-up sleeves. They hid the scars and burns on her forearms. Chefs got hurt no matter how careful they were. The whole effect was tough and stylish, and it made Kia’s heart flutter.
“When did you get all tatted up?” Kia blurted.
“I went through a phase.”
“A phase?”
“Of having too much money and not enough hobbies.”
“Did you get them in Japan?”
Her eyebrows lifted in an expression that said,Are you here tomake small talk, kid?Except in school, amused admiration would have tempered the look. Now the look was tempered with,I hate my life.
Kia had brought a peace offering. She hurried to her bag slumped in the hallway. Thank god the bottle hadn’t broken and the to-go container hadn’t leaked. She set the muddy present on the table and opened it.
“Cayenne-pear Rice Krispies treat.”
“Of course it is,” Sullivan grumbled.
“With calvados. Your fave, right? They go together perfectly.”
“I’m not going to drink away my problems.”
“What problems?”
“You.And the shitstorm you brought with you. And why are you really here?”
It’d take a minute to get Sullivan on board. An untouched shot stood at attention on the table. Kia smelled it. Tequila. She took the shot and refilled the glass with calvados.
“Try it.” She set the shot and the Rice Krispies treat in front of Sullivan.
“No.”
“I have a solution to our problems, but first you have to try it.”
