by Rachel Lacey
“You’re welcome.”
“Since we’re no longer working together in any sort of professional capacity, could I stop by and take you to lunch tomorrow? Or Friday?”
“I’m pretty busy these next few days, but I’ll let you know.” Eve picked up her briefcase, pausing in the doorway. “Just for the record, I still want to keep things low-key until after your episode airs. I’m not saying we can’t be seen in public together, obviously, but we should be discreet here at Dragonfly and especially at my office.”
“Okay,” Josie said, trying not to read too much into Eve’s words, because keeping things low-key until after her episode aired sounded an awful lot like Eve thought they would still be together next month and that she wouldn’t mind kissing Josie in the middle of Dragonfly on a busy Saturday night after the Do Over segment was behind them.
And that felt…almost too good to be true.
“I’ll text you,” Eve said.
Josie nodded. “Or call me. Or, you know, just show up.”
“Okay,” Eve said with another small smile, and then she was gone.
As it turned out, Josie was too impatient to wait for Eve to make the next move and texted her on Thursday morning to ask again about lunch, but Eve replied that she was busy with clients. By Friday evening, Josie was feeling pretty glum about things. She missed Eve. Their work schedules made it almost impossible for them to see each other, and she hated it.
“Why the long face?” Adam asked, sidling up beside her as she unloaded the dishwasher behind the bar.
“Just wishing I didn’t have to work all weekend, I guess. Eve works weekdays, and I work nights and weekends. It’s…not ideal, to say the least.”
“How are things going for you guys otherwise?” he asked.
“Good,” she said, then sighed. “Really good. I mean, I can’t stop thinking about her, and it’s killing me that I hardly ever get to see her. I just want to be able to spend time together like regular couples do.”
“Well, hey now, there are plenty of couples who have to work around challenging work schedules. I’m more interested in the fact that you’re calling yourselves a couple, because the last time I checked, you guys were just casually hooking up.”
“I’m probably getting ahead of myself, but we feel like a couple when we’re together. Honestly, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
“You’re falling for her,” he said, looking delighted.
“I definitely could, if I let myself.” She paused with a glass in each hand. “That’s crazy, though, isn’t it? I mean, we’ve only known each other a month, and we weren’t even sleeping together most of that time.”
“When you know, you know, right?” he said with a dramatic lift of his eyebrows. “That’s what they say.”
“Knock it off.” She whacked him with a dish cloth. “You’re supposed to discourage me here. Eve’s very much a loner these days, and she’s been through a lot. She’s going to need to take things really slow, if she’s ever ready for anything serious at all.”
He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Then you take things slow, but keep that big heart of yours in check, Jo. I don’t want to see you get hurt if she bails on you.”
“I’ll try,” she told him.
“Are you guys gossiping without me?”
Josie turned to find Kaia standing at the bar, and her mood instantly lifted at the sight of her friend. “Adam was giving me relationship advice, if you can believe it.”
“And I missed it?” Kaia leaned her elbows on the bar, listening with wide eyes as Josie and Adam caught her up to speed. “Wow. Things with Eve have gotten way more serious since the last time I talked to you.”
“Well, they have and they haven’t,” Josie said. “We’ve only gone out a few times. I’m probably blowing it way out of proportion in my head.”
“Hey, you can’t help how you feel. I hope it all works out for you guys.”
“So do I.” Josie poured a beer for Kaia and set it on the bar in front of her. “How are you? Any news from that girl you went out with a few weeks ago?”
Kaia shook her head. “Never heard from her, but I’ve got a date with someone else tomorrow night.”
“Fingers crossed,” Josie said.
“Yeah.” Kaia sighed, staring into her beer.
“What’s that look for?” Josie hadn’t talked to Kaia as much since Dragonfly opened, and suddenly, she was worried she’d missed something important, because her friend didn’t seem quite like herself tonight.
“I just…I guess I miss you guys,” Kaia said, her gaze flicking to Josie’s.
Josie felt a pang in her chest, because she knew immediately what Kaia meant. Adam was working here with her now, which meant they were seeing more of each other…and less of Kaia. In fact, Josie had been so busy with work and Eve that she hadn’t texted Kaia all week. “Shit. I’ve been a lousy friend, haven’t I?”
“No, you haven’t,” Kaia said. “You’ve had a lot on your plate lately.”
“I’m so sorry, Kai,” Adam said, leaning over the bar to pull her in for a hug. “Working two jobs made me an asshole.”
“No, it didn’t,” Kaia said with a laugh. “You guys have both been really busy getting Dragonfly up and running, and Josie’s spending what little free time she has with Eve, which is amazing, but I just have no idea when we’re going to all hang out together anymore.”
Josie felt tears pushing behind her eyelids, and she pressed her palms against them. “My work schedule is killing me, you guys. I thought it might be different once Dragonfly opened, but so far, it’s not.”
“You’ll get there,” Kaia said with an understanding smile. “And I’ll be here when you do.”
“Brunch tomorrow?” Adam suggested. “Just the three of us.”
“I’m in,” Kaia said.
“Yeah.” Josie blinked back her tears. “Me too.”
They fist-bumped on their plans before Kaia finished her beer and headed out. The Friday-night crowd was starting to pick up, keeping Josie and Adam busy. He’d come a long way as a bartender, and she was so glad she’d taken the chance on hiring him. She enjoyed working with Lauren during the week, but nothing compared to having one of her best friends behind the bar with her on the weekends.
“Hey,” he said as they bumped into each other while filling beers. “I wanted to mention, since you’re so worried about your schedule, I was chatting with Lauren the other night, and she mentioned she’d be interested in picking up an extra shift if I ever needed a night off. But what if you gave her an extra shift so you could take a night off? Or, if there’s room in the budget, hire her to work Friday nights with me. Maybe you don’t have to be here every night, you know?”
Josie stared at him, blinking slowly. “Yeah, you know what? I’ll run some numbers and see if that’s a possibility.”
Maybe she could afford to give herself a night off, and surely Lauren and Adam could handle the bar on their own once a week. That had always been Josie’s dream, after all, letting other people run the bar while she operated her kitten rescue upstairs. It had always felt frustratingly out of reach, but now, maybe…maybe it didn’t.
She mixed drinks and chatted with customers, too busy even to check the clock until things finally started to slow down after midnight. By two, the crowd had thinned considerably. The front door opened, and she glanced at it automatically, inhaling sharply as Eve stepped through. She had on jeans and a black T-shirt, a very casual look for her.
She slid onto her usual stool at the end of the bar, watching quietly as Josie approached. There was something heavy in her expression.
“Hey,” Josie said, reminding herself at the last moment not to lean across the bar and kiss her. Not for a few more weeks anyway…
“Hi.” Eve’s lips curved in a soft smile.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Just tired.”
“It’s late for someone who worked all day. What brings you out at thi
s hour?”
“You,” she answered simply, resting her hands against the bar. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Oh.” The thought of Eve lying in bed, missing her…well, it was enough to make Josie weak at the knees. “You found me.” She leaned in closer. “I’ve been missing you like crazy all week.”
Adam came up behind Josie, resting an arm over her shoulders, drawing a thinly veiled look of annoyance from Eve at the intrusion.
Josie looked at him in surprise. “What’s up?”
“Let me close tonight,” he said. “I’ve watched you do it enough times, and I can totally handle this crowd on my own from now until then.”
“Wait, what?” What in the world was he talking about?
He lifted his eyebrows meaningfully. “I’m saying, I’ve got this. You two should get out of here.”
“Oh,” she said as her brain finally clicked up to speed. “Really?”
“Yes,” he assured her. “Go.”
She looked at Eve, whose expression was unreadable, then back at Adam. “Okay, but text me if anything comes up, promise? I’ll just be upstairs.”
He laughed, shooing her away. “Get out of here already.”
“Okay.” She slid out from behind the bar, completely giddy at the freedom to do so. “Thank you.”
Eve gave him a grateful look as she turned to follow Josie toward the back stairs. She’d barely closed the door to the stairwell behind them before Eve was in her arms, mouth pressed against Josie’s, kissing her like she’d been as starved for Josie’s touch as Josie had been for hers. They stumbled up the stairs and fell inside Josie’s apartment, kicking the door closed behind them.
24
Josie hurried down Forty-ninth Street, her heart giving a little leap as she spotted Eve leaning against the building ahead. She had on a figure-hugging brown dress that shimmered in the sunlight, accenting the golden highlights in her hair. Mondays had become their unofficial weekly date night, and this one was starting early. Eve had taken the afternoon off work so they could attend an event at one of her favorite galleries together.
It had been Josie’s idea, in a roundabout way. On Saturday morning, as they lay in bed together, she’d told Eve she wanted this date to be all about her. “Last Monday, you planned all the things I enjoy, and this Monday, I want to go to a gallery with you. I want to see the things you love, but I don’t know enough about art to surprise you with it, so you may have to plan this one too.”
Eve’s satisfied smirk told Josie that she didn’t mind a bit. She was good at planning things. And now they were at a fancy art gallery on a Monday afternoon, and Josie was positively giddy about it.
“Hi.” She leaned in for a kiss as Eve slid her phone into her purse.
“Hey yourself.” Eve looked so relaxed, so peaceful, so happy, Josie wanted to capture this moment and live in it forever.
“I’m excited,” Josie said as she smoothed her fingers over the silky fabric of Eve’s dress. “Are you going to buy anything?”
“Probably not,” Eve told her. “No more room in my apartment, remember?”
“Hey, speaking of that, what do you say if we go to your place later? The kittens have shackled me to my apartment lately, but it’s past time for me to see yours, don’t you think?”
Eve looked down at her feet. “Maybe.”
“I can’t stay the whole night, but the kittens are getting a lot more self-sufficient. They’re starting to wean onto solid food.”
“Really?”
Josie nodded. “They’re five weeks old now. Anyway, just think about it. I could probably bribe Adam or Kaia to check on them in a few hours, so I could stay out with you longer.”
Something hesitant still lurked in Eve’s eyes, and Josie internally slapped herself for dampening her carefree mood. She should have waited for Eve to invite her over instead of inviting herself.
“Anyway, no worries if you’d rather head back to my place,” she said, nudging her shoulder against Eve’s as she went for a joke. “Maybe you don’t want me to find out you’re secretly messy.”
“I’m not messy.”
Josie laughed, trying not to acknowledge the awkward reality that Eve just didn’t want her to come over, which meant Josie was in way over her head here. She’d let herself build this relationship up in her head, and Eve had obviously not done the same. She stepped backward out of her arms, keeping her smile firmly in place. Hopefully it looked more natural than it felt.
She turned toward the door, but Eve stopped her, grasping her wrist. “Josie, you caught me off guard, that’s all. We’ll go to my place tonight.”
“It’s fine either way,” Josie said, determined not to let it bother her.
Eve led the way, pausing just inside the door while Josie looked around the room. It was long and rectangular, with bright white walls covered in paintings. Half-walls crisscrossed the middle of the room to display more art as people milled between them, some of them with drinks in their hands.
“This is a new exhibit,” Eve told her. “The artist is from Chile. He’s known for his use of depth and color.”
“Is he here?” Josie asked, sliding a hand into Eve’s, a silent invitation for her to take the lead.
“Probably.” Eve led them toward the back of the room, where they got wine from the bar and met not only the artist but the owner of the gallery as well, an older man who Eve seemed to know well. She was in her element here, mingling with the same confidence and ease she exuded in front of the camera. This was her professional smile. Eve Marlow, entrepreneur.
Josie was proud to know not only that Eve, but also the one who wore T-shirts and jeans, who pulled a bag of kittens out of the trash and refused to give up on them, who’d taken Josie on her dream date, given her some of the best sex of her life, and came to the bar at two a.m. on Friday night because she’d missed her.
She and Josie wandered through the gallery, sipping wine and looking at paintings. This wasn’t something Josie had ever done before. Sometimes she noticed paintings in people’s homes or businesses and thought, Wow, that’s pretty, but she’d never given it more thought than that.
She liked these, though. As Eve had said, the artist used vivid colors, and if there was one thing Josie gravitated toward, it was color. Eve lingered in front of a painting of a sunset, the rays of the sun streaking the sky bright orange and purple.
“It’s pretty,” Josie said.
“It is,” Eve agreed.
“Thinking about getting it?”
She gave Josie an amused look. “I don’t have a place for it, and anyway, it doesn’t speak to me.”
“It doesn’t speak to you?” Josie felt her eyebrows creeping up her forehead, because that was about the most un-Eve-like thing she’d ever heard come from her mouth.
“I look for art that strikes a chord with me, something I just have to have,” she explained. “This one is nice, but there’s nothing special about it, at least not for me.”
“Oh.” Josie followed her down the aisle, fascinated by this peek into Eve’s mind.
They looked at paintings of cities and landscapes, buildings and trees, and even a few animals. Josie was seriously enjoying herself, mostly because of the wine and Eve’s company. She knew a lot about art, and Josie enjoyed hearing her thoughts on the paintings they’d seen. They reached the end of an aisle, and Josie turned to move on, but Eve stopped her with a firm hand to her wrist, much the way she’d done outside.
“Look,” she said.
Josie turned to find Eve pointing to a painting in the corner. It was a brick-fronted rowhouse, sandwiched between several larger buildings, rather less colorful than some of the other paintings, except…oh. Now she saw why this one had caught Eve’s eye. The street in front of the building was covered in pawprints, prints in every color of the rainbow, all leading up to the brick building’s door.
“Okay, I get what you mean now,” Josie said. “This one speaks to me.”
“I thought it
might,” Eve said with a satisfied smile.
Somehow, Josie loved the painting even more because Eve had been the one to spot it. She’d known it would speak to Josie because she knew her that well. “I want it.”
Now Eve looked surprised. “Really?”
“Yes. I want to put it on the wall behind the couch in my living room.”
Eve pursed her lips, seemingly picturing this, and then she nodded. “Yes. It would go perfectly there. You should get it.”
“Done. Wait, how much is it?”
Eve gestured to the plaque beneath the painting, describing its concept—which both Josie and Eve had already gotten on their own. It was called “The road home,” and it cost two hundred dollars. That was more than Josie usually spent on, well, anything, and certainly more than she could afford at the moment. She flinched.
“Let me buy it for you,” Eve said quietly.
“What? No.” Josie crossed her arms over her chest, hating that Eve knew every sad detail about the current status of her bank account.
“What else am I supposed to do when I see a painting I love, now that my own walls are at capacity?” Eve asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“That’s…very nice of you, but no.”
“Josie.” Eve turned to face her. “I brought you here to show you something I love, and nothing would make me happier than to see this painting in your living room. Please.”
Josie blinked, startled by the sincerity of Eve’s words.
“If you say no, it’s probably going to show up on your doorstep at some point as an anonymous gift, just so you know.” Eve winked. She actually winked. And not only that, she was smiling wider than Josie had ever seen her smile.
“I…” Josie found herself completely flustered—and charmed—by this playful side of Eve. “Well, I don’t see how I can say no to that.”
“Excellent.” Eve lifted her chin with a satisfied look.
“Thank you,” Josie told her earnestly.
“It is absolutely my pleasure.”
Eve bought the painting, and then they went to dinner to celebrate, where they drank more wine and she told Josie how she’d gotten interested in art after moving to the city. “It was something I could do alone. I could just stand there and lose myself in the art and not have to think about anything else.”