Well, mostly fun. Thinking about Astrid made her stomach hurt, but the wine was helping keep the ache at a distance.
So was the fact that Delilah was in the bathroom right now, changing into . . . whatever she slept in. Pajamas? A nightie? Nothing at all?
Claire squeezed her eyes shut. She’d already completed her nightly routine—teeth, face, lotion—and was now keenly aware that she was wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top with no bra. She hadn’t even thought about it when she was changing in the bathroom a few minutes ago. The wine, the constant laughing at dinner, it had all distracted her from this very moment when she and Delilah would both slide in between the sheets, their skin inches away from each other, and— Ruby.
She needed to call Ruby.
It was only ten thirty, and she was almost positive her daughter would still be up, probably stuffing her face with raw cookie dough and watching an R-rated movie. For once, she was glad for Josh’s lax rules. She sat up, ignoring the sound of running water in the bathroom, and tapped Josh’s name on her phone’s favorites list. Ruby didn’t have her own phone yet, and Claire refused to cave to her whining about it. She shuddered to think of her daughter on social media, but knew it was coming, looming like a storm just offshore.
“Hey,” Josh said.
“Hey.”
“How’s the spa? Please tell me you got a massage. Or five.”
“Ha ha. And yes, I did.”
“Five?”
She felt a smile tug at her lips. “One, but it was a very good massage. Can I talk to her?”
“Oh, um . . . well. No, not exactly.”
Claire sat up straight. “Excuse me?”
“She’s indisposed.”
“Indisposed? What does that mean?”
“It means she can’t come to the phone.”
There was the hint of a laugh in his voice, and it made her wish she could transcend space and time and strangle him right here and now. Her pulse started racing, her mind swirling with all the scenarios of why her daughter was indisposed at ten thirty at night.
They’re at some wild party with Josh’s baseball bros from high school.
They decided to take a road trip and Josh left Ruby at a gas station.
Josh completely forgot that she was spending the night and dropped her off at Claire’s house and someone kidnapped her off the front porch and now Ruby was in the clutches of— The bathroom door opened, and Delilah stepped out dressed in nothing but an oversize white cotton tee that fell at mid-thigh, her hair up in a clip. The sight jolted Claire back into the room and cleared her head. Delilah gave her a weird look—Claire was definitely huffing like a hyperventilating rhino—and froze on the spot.
Claire waved a hand as if to say I’m fine.
“Josh, put my daughter on the phone right now.”
“Claire.”
“I don’t care where you are or what the hell you’re doing.”
“Claire.”
“I swear to god, I will take a dull knife to your manhood if you so much as—”
“Jesus, Claire, she’s asleep.”
Claire stilled. “Asleep.”
“Yes.”
“In a bed?”
“Seriously? Yes.”
“In her bed at your apartment?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
She closed her eyes, warm relief spreading through her body.
Quickly followed by a chilly irritation.
“Then why the hell didn’t you just say so?” she said. “Goddammit, Josh.”
“I’m sorry. I was just playing around. I didn’t think you’d freak out that much.”
She let a beat of silence pass, because this guy. She chanced a look at Delilah, who was still standing by the bathroom door watching her with a concerned expression on her face.
“Okay, fine,” Josh said. “Now that I think about it, I probably should’ve realized you would freak out. I’m sorry, really.”
She inhaled deeply for what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, her shoulders dropping. Delilah must’ve taken that as a sign that things were okay, because she stepped close to the bed and rested one knee on the mattress. Her shirt inched up a bit, which Claire definitely did not notice.
“It’s all right,” Claire said, suddenly exhausted. She dropped her head into her hand and pressed her fingers to her temple.
“Want me to wake her up?”
“No, no, I’ll talk to her in the morning.”
“Okay. Hey, the oven’s off.”