Ryann woke, as usual, at six the next morning, confused for several seconds by her surroundings. Unlike the hotel, Maddie’s bedroom was pitch-dark, with heavy blackout curtains over the windows. Maddie’s soft sleeping sighs didn’t change at all as she got up to use the restroom and rinse her mouth.

She’d been in this room last night, of course, before and after, but hadn’t paid much attention, too excited to get back to Maddie to examine it in any depth. The bathroom was small but nicely appointed, recently remodeled. The tiles on the walls and over the tub were a cerulean blue with a subtle but gorgeous mosaic of waves done in lighter blues and whites around the room. The linens were a light gray, which matched the paint and floor tiles. It was also very clean in here—far cleaner than her own bathroom would have been with no notice.

She vaguely remembered Maddie mentioning that she’d been restoring her historic home since she bought it, and she was pleased that this was all her work. She herself had avoided buying a place in New York for exactly this reason—she hated the thought of fixing things herself or of having people in her place to do it for her. Maddie, on the other hand, had purposefully bought a place she could make her own. She didn’t remember a lot about the outside of the house when the cab had dropped them off last night, except that it was quite small. Room enough for one. Her heart sank a bit. She turned the light off before rejoining Maddie in the warmth of the bed, hoping to doze a little longer.

She hadn’t meant to fall so deeply asleep and was startled awake when Maddie opened the curtains.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead! We’re meeting everyone at the festival in a little while.”

She sat up, rubbing her face, and Maddie helpfully put some pillows behind her back as she stretched. “Hmm? What time is it?”

“Almost eleven.”

“What?”

Maddie laughed. “You must have been exhausted. I’ve been up a couple hours, just puttering. I was quiet at first, but I was less and less subtle as the time passed. I played some music and dropped a pan like half an hour ago—sort of on purpose—but you didn’t even move when I checked on you.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I was wiped after all that last night.”

Maddie leaned down and kissed her. “I bet you were.”

“You perv!” She swatted at her with one of the other pillows.

Maddie laughed and jumped back. “What is it with you and pillow fights?”

She shrugged. “No one gets hurt?”

“Says you. Now get up and come to the kitchen for breakfast. You can use my robe if you want.”

“No breakfast in bed?”