chapter 25

Rachel

“We need to hang out tonight,” Taylor said in between puffs. “I hardly ever see you anymore since you’ve moved out.”

“You come over every other day,” I reminded her. I set the phone down on the nightstand and set it to speaker. Then I unfolded the sheet and spread it over the bed. When I climbed onto the bed to smooth out the wrinkles, I imagined Bernard there, with a hungry look in his eyes, and blushed.

I loved spending a few hours in his bed while Ron dozed off in the guest room.

Every night, it got harder and harder to scoop Ron up into my arms and make my way down the dark hallway. And each morning, when I saw Bernard in our kitchen, bent over the stove or leaning over the counter while he checked his emails, my heart gave an odd little lurch.

Months later, I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was in our lives.

It still felt like a dream I’d landed in the middle of.

And never wanted to wake up from.

The three of us had fallen into a routine where we had breakfast in