“Oh. Right.” She opened the bathroom door for her and watched as Anja stepped inside and closed the door between them. “Goddammit.”

“Meow?” Muesli answered.

With a sigh, Susanne pushed away from the wall to finally put him outside. If only she could lock out the memory of their kiss as easily.

Anja turned on the faucet, bent over the sink, and scrubbed her face with cold water, as much to remove the lipstick as to cool her overheated cheeks and to clear her head. She watched the water swirl down the drain. It looked like the mini tornado wreaking havoc inside of her.

When she straightened and reached for the towel, her gaze went to her reflection in the mirror above the sink.

Her cheeks were flushed and her lips red and a little puffy. They still tingled from Susanne’s kisses. If she had ever been kissed like that, she couldn’t remember. She could barely remember her own name when Susanne had kissed her. God, the things that woman could do with her lips and her tongue.

Enough. She wrenched her shirt over her head and shook it. Confetti drifted to the floor, and when she put the shirt back on, the itching was gone. What stayed, though, was the feeling of Susanne’s lips on her own that seemed to be imprinted on her body and mind.

But no matter how overwhelming, how good that kiss had felt, she had to put it out of her mind. Susanne was right. She should focus on Paper Love. At least that kind of love was safe and wouldn’t end up breaking her heart.

The buzz of the cell phone in her back pocket made her jump.

Grateful for the distraction, she pulled it out, expecting it to be Miri, back from her weekend in Berlin. But instead, the name of Nobby’s not-quite girlfriend flashed across the screen.

She accepted the call and leaned against the sink. “Hi, Ulrike.”

“Sorry to…” Static crackled, obscuring Ulrike’s voice. “…didn’t have the number for his niece, so I…”

“The connection is pretty bad. I can barely hear you.” Anja stuck her finger in her other ear, but, of course, that didn’t help. “Where are you?”

“…the hospital.”

That word came through loud and clear, as did the worry in Ulrike’s voice.

A bolt of panic ripped through her body, hot and cold at the same time. “Hospital? Who’s in the hospital? What happened?”

“Nobby fell when he came over after work. He…” An overhead announcement drowned out even more of Ulrike’s explanation. “Lot of pain… In the ER. Anja? Can…hear me?”

“Yes. Yes, I heard you. We’re on our way! We’ll be there as soon as we can. Hang in there!”

Ulrike didn’t answer. The connection had cut out for good.

Cursing, Anja shoved the phone into her pocket, ran to the door, and tore it open.