Chapter 23

It was a long dragging evening that led into an endless tossing night. She checked her phone a thousand times in case he had anything to say to her, then dying when it showed nothing on her screen. She replayed that kiss over and over in her head. Trying to remember every tiny detail of how it felt. She couldn’t focus on work or anything in particular. She couldn’t eat her home-baked lasagna or even enjoy playing with Muffin.

Listless. Restless. Agitated.

She scooped Muffin up in her arms and lay on the couch to rub his soft velvet face against hers in a gentle manner. The lump in her chest and throat was un-shiftable. She tried to watch a movie and burst into tears when the leading couple kissed passionately before he told her he loved her and turned it over.

She texted Abby some pointless chit-chat and talked briefly about nothing to distract herself. Trying anything to shift her focus and calm her rattled emotions. She could not tell Abby about the kiss. She was