It had taken him several months to do all the work, but he’d repaired the brick and rebuilt the front porch, and he’d taken the interior from chopped-up rooms with stained floors and crumbling plaster to a bright, open space with restored woodwork and plenty of light.

The last time she’d been there he’d been trying to decide on tile for the downstairs powder room. He’d been torn between a modern glass subway tile and an old-fashioned penny tile that mimicked what might have been installed when the house had been built in the nineteen-twenties.

She wondered idly which one he’d chosen.

Any one of her girlfriends would have welcomed her with open arms and a sympathetic ear—well, any of them except Becca, who had plans—which was why she’d come here instead. She didn’t want to talk about it, at least not yet, and it would be easier to avoid questions at Cade’s.

Mostly because he wasn’t there.

She glanced at the clock on her dashboard, noting that it was just past six. His phone would be off if his scene had already begun, but she knew he’d check his messages when he turned it back on, so she dug out her phone and tapped out a quick text.

I left Kyle. Hope it’s ok if I crash in your guest room, she wrote, and, hoping that would be it, turned off the ignition and climbed out of the car.

She was popping the trunk when her phone dinged with an incoming text.

“Shit,” she muttered, and dug it out of her pocket.

What happened?

It’s complicated, she typed back, and hoped that would be enough.

A new message popped up within seconds. Are you okay?

She smiled. Of course he would ask that first, she thought with a sigh, and responded quickly so he wouldn’t worry. I’m fine. Pissed off, but unhurt.

You still have your key? The alarm code?

Olivia sagged with relief. Yeah.

I’ll be home late, or possibly tomorrow. Lock up behind you.

Tomorrow? “Go, Becca,” she murmured with a little grin. It was impossible to keep secrets in the kink community, so even though Cade hadn’t said a word, she knew his play date tonight was a threesome with Becca and her partner, Nick. It was Becca’s fantasy to be with two Doms, and after months of discussion and planning, she’d finally given Nick the green light to make it come true.

She felt a little twinge of envy for her friend. Thanks, Cade. I’ll cook breakfast, she told him.

I’ll hold you to that, he responded, and added pancakes, bacon, and eggs emojis.