My mother was already asleep when I gave up trying.
I lay there listening to her breathe and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow was Willa’s birthday and the reading of the will. Staff had been moving through the house all day. Important people would fill every room. The thought sat heavy. So did the ache Julian had left between my legs in the car. I couldn’t shut either of them off.
I slipped out of bed, pulled on the thin tank top and sleep shorts, and left the room. The kitchen was down the hall from the one my father used to stay in. Julian and Kai were in there now. I kept the lights off and used my phone while the coffee brewed.
Voices came through the wall. Low, then sharper.
“You don’t get to decide that for her,” Kai said.
Something hit wood. Footsteps moved fast. A door opened a
