No. Her cheeks burnt at the memory. There was no way she could tell Lisa. Not her best friend, who had known her since high school as this loud and goofy girl and had slowly watched her become…someone else.

The look in Lisa’s eye made her turn away and pour another glass of wine. She had to rock forward to reach it and felt like a turtle stuck on her back. The thought made her giggle.

Lisa was watching her with delight. “Something funny?”

“My butt is stuck in the beanbag.”

“Well, you look elegant.”

“Oh, I feel it. It’s a good way to cap off today’s hangover shame.”

“Should I be jealous? What fabulous new friend have you been going out with, Miss Antisocial?”

Cora’s mouth fell open. “I’m not—”

“Oh, please.” Sipping her wine, Lisa grinned. “How many Facebook friends do you have?”

“Not relevant. I don’t have Facebook.”

Holding her hands up, Lisa grimaced as wine sloshed in her glass. “I rest my case.”

“Nope. Facebook means nothing.”

“How many contacts on your phone?”

“About…” Cora stopped her fingers from ticking off names when Lisa’s laugh rang out. Sometimes her friend was infuriating. “What?”

“If you can count them on your fingers, you’ve proved me right again. Now, spill: who’d you go out with?”

Wriggling down into the beanbag again, Cora gave up her attempts to defend herself. It was common knowledge she kept to herself. Why bother fighting it? “No one. I went alone to a bar like a loser.”

“Wow.” Lisa’s eyebrows raised. “I’m impressed.”

“Why?”

“Alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Like, alone? In a bar?”

“Yes.”

“With no one? Just you and your wine and a dirty bar full of drunks? Alone?”

She clenched her jaw. “Yes, Lisa, alone. Though if you must know, a work colleague was there and we drank too much tequila and I don’t really remember much after that. Except that I got a good hug. Which I needed.”

“You hugged your colleague?” If Lisa’s eyebrows raised any more, they’d leave her head altogether.

“I think. I don’t really remember it. I was drunk and sad. She took pity on me.”

Those eyebrows returned to their original location. “Oh. She. I was starting to think you had a spicy affair forming.”

Cora barked a laugh. “An affair? Me?”

“Well, you never know. A rustic hug, his stubble rubbing along your neck…oh, or your cheek.”

“Maybe you need to go on a date.”

Lisa laughed and didn’t deny it, but Cora was already thinking that maybe a smooth cheek, soft against her own would feel good. She blinked and turned her attention back to Lisa.

That was new.

Deja vu crept over her, and she had no idea why.

* * *

There had been no more flirting with Lauren for two weeks.

Not that there had really ever been flirting.

So really, what Frazer meant was that she’d avoided Lauren for two weeks, like a teenager after an embarrassing date.

For two weeks, Frazer ducked around corners and stayed away from communal areas. After a very brief run-in outside the hospital in which Frazer had flashed an apologetic look and said something about being super busy the next few months, evasion finally succeeded. She just tried to forget the slightly disappointed look that had flitted across Lauren’s face.