Lullaby 285

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As soon as Elissa opened her front door, she found Tanya Foster standing there with her hands pressed together in a mock prayer, wearing a grin that screamed pure mischief.

“My bad! I heard the elevator and figured it was you, so I wanted to give you a proper welcome home.”

Tanya’s apology was earnest, but she was already snickering as she nudged, “So… how far did things go with you and Rowan tonight?”

Elissa flushed with embarrassment. “Just the first step.”

Tanya blinked, confused. “Huh?”

She never would’ve pegged Rowan as the bashful type. Honestly, it always seemed like he was the big bad wolf and Elissa the naive little lamb. But apparently, their romance was moving at the pace of a high

school crush.

Kicking off her shoes, Elissa hurried over to the kitchen counter, poured herself a glass of water, and tried desperately to change the subject. “Didn’t you say you’d be landing tomorrow morning? What are you doing back tonight?”

She’d actually planned to get a good night’s sleep and pick Tanya up at the airport in the morning.

Tanya shot her a look. “Have you forgotten what day it is?”

Elissa’s brain, still fogged, lagged behind. She asked reflexively, “What day?”

“March 10th,” Tanya replied, poking Elissa’s forehead. “Hello? It’s midnight soon, which means it’ll be your birthday. No way was I missing that.”

Rowan, with his endless to–do lists, probably wouldn’t even remember Elissa’s birthday. Tanya refused to let her best friend spend the night

alone, waiting for another year to begin. She had to be there. She always

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would be.

Elissa finally caught on. “But if you arrived tomorrow morning, it’d still be my birthday.”

Tanya rolled her eyes as she grabbed a beer from the fridge and collapsed onto the couch. “Not the same, and you know it.”

She was dead tired. She’d stayed up all night yesterday, rushed through court today, and then raced back to Vistapeak City just to make it home

in time.

Elissa could tell Tanya was exhausted. She slipped on her slippers, hurried over, and started massaging Tanya’s shoulders and legs. “You’re a saint, honestly. Are you hungry? I can order takeout.”

Tanya looked thoroughly satisfied with Elissa’s doting. “No need, your girl already ate before coming home.”

Elissa perked up. “With who?”

Tanya hated eating out. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she’d rather go hungry than eat by herself in a restaurant–she called it ‘wilderness

survival.’

Tanya’s expression shifted, and she glanced toward the door before answering honestly, “With Rex.”

“Oh…” Elissa pouted, feigning annoyance. “So Rex knew you were coming home tonight, but I didn’t?”

“Ungrateful, aren’t you? I wanted to surprise you!” Tanya pinched Elissa’s cheek. “Besides, I never told him. No idea how he found out.”

Ever since that incident that landed her in the police station, Rex always seemed to know exactly where she was. She hadn’t even made it out of the airport before she spotted him waiting at arrivals, looking smug as

ever.

After a quick shower, the girls curled up on the couch, watching a reality show. Tanya hugged a bag of chips, crunching away, while Elissa, never much of a snacker, watched quietly. When something funny happened,

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they’d burst out laughing at the exact same moment.

It was one of the reasons they were so close–their senses of humor matched perfectly.

Halfway through the show, Tanya’s alarm suddenly went off. She didn’t even bother to silence it, rummaging around until she produced a beautifully wrapped gift box and practically launched herself at Elissa.

“Happy birthday, darling! May everything go your way–and good luck with your research!”