Butnoneof that prepared me for meeting Turner in real life. Six feet plus of silent brooding, post-red-eye exhaustion, and jawline so sharp it could cut drywall.
"I’m never coming out of this room again," I say.
"Yes, you will. You’ve got to eat sometime."
"I’ll DoorDash and eat under the bed." I sigh loudly. “What am I supposed to say when I go out there?”
I heard noise coming from the kitchen a little while ago. Meaning: he’s awake and in motion.
“Say hi?”
I make a strangled noise in my throat. "Hi? That's your big plan?"
"It’s a solid opener. Better than 'sorry you saw my nipples and my ass cheeks.’”
I roll my eyes. What planet is she living on?
"You’ll be fine. He probably doesn’t even care.” Nova turns her head several seconds and shouts, “Babe—would you come in here for a second, I have to ask you something!”
I groan.
“Nova, could we please leave Luca out of this?”
Too late. Footsteps shuffle. A door creaks. And then Luca’s face appears in the background of the video call, slightly disheveled and holding a banana.
“What’s up?” he asks, already chewing.
Nova points at me. “Poppy needs male perspective.”
Chew, chew. Swallow. “I’m listening.”
Nova grins. “Okay, hypothetical situation. You walk into the kitchen, and there’s a girl standing there in nothing but a thong and a lace bra, flipping eggs. What goes through your mind?”
Luca shrugs his giant shoulders. “Honestly? I’d assume I died in my sleep and went to heaven.” He pauses. “Why? Did something happen?”
“No,” I say at the same time my best friend says, “Yes.”
“Would someone tell me what’s going on?” Luca laughs. “You two are so weird.”
Nova sighs. “Skaggs saw her naked. I mean—she was wearing a thong, butbarely.” She looks at me. “Do I have that right?”
I nod. “Yup.”
Luca whistles low, then shakes his head. “Damn. Poor guy probably short-circuited.”
I groan. “That makes me feel worse, thanks.”
But Luca holds up his hands. “Nah, listen. Turner’s a good dude. Like,goodgood. Polite. Old-school. Opens doors, says thank you, doesn’t sleep around. He’s only ever had long-term girlfriends. The guy still uses coasters.”
“He does,” Nova concurs. “He’s actually super adorable.”
Luca nods. “So whatever happened, I promise you—he’s not being creepy. He’s probably embarrassedfor you.And himself. He’s probably upstairs composing a formal apology.”
Nova grins at me. “See? One less thing to panic about."
"Great. Only four hundred things left."
They both laugh.
