Don't Cry for Me

by Rachel Lacey

  Josie stood, opening the door and motioning Eve in ahead of her. “It wasn’t locked, you know.”

  “I know.” Eve’s lips curved slightly. “I told you to change the code downstairs. You shouldn’t let crazy ex-girlfriends have access to your apartment.”

  “Only one does, and while she may be a lot of things, she isn’t crazy,” Josie told her. They stood facing each other just inside the door, awkward despite the lingering familiarity between them.

  “You’re too trusting,” Eve said, eyes downcast.

  “And you don’t trust anyone.”

  “I trust you.” Eve took a step closer. “Josie…”

  “Yes?” She could hardly breathe, because surely Eve hadn’t come here in the middle of the night to tell her they still couldn’t be together…

  Eve looked up, her expression open, earnest…vulnerable. “I made a mistake.”

  Josie’s heart lurched inside her chest. “You did?”

  “I thought I could protect myself if I let you go. I was afraid.” She blinked, and a tear broke free, rolling down her cheek. “I couldn’t bear to lose you, so I pushed you away. I thought I could go back to the way things were before.”

  Josie reached out and brushed the tear from her cheek before threading her fingers through Eve’s. “I know.”

  “It was stupid.” Eve shook her head. “Because I made the thing I feared happen. I made myself lose you, and it was awful.”

  “Oh, Eve.” She tugged at her hands, drawing her close, pressing their lips together.

  “I love you,” Eve whispered against her lips as her arms came around Josie’s waist. “I love you so much. Please tell me I haven’t ruined my chance with you.”

  “Do I look like I’m pushing you away?” Josie tightened her arms around Eve for emphasis. Tears streaked her cheeks as all the emotions she’d held in check during her shift downstairs came pouring out of her. Eve was here, and everything that had felt so dark and heavy inside her was now light.

  “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” Eve closed her eyes, her bottom lip quivering. “I’ve been a total bitch to you these last few weeks.”

  Josie kissed her, drunk off the feel of her lips, the way their bodies fit together, so familiar, so right. “I didn’t stop loving you just because you dumped me.”

  “No?” There was something heartbreakingly vulnerable in Eve’s tone.

  Josie shook her head. “Not even close. I have missed you every minute of every day.”

  Eve pressed her forehead against Josie’s. “Me too. God, I missed you so much.”

  “I love you,” Josie whispered, brushing the tears from Eve’s cheeks.

  Then they were kissing for real, hands pressing against skin, Eve’s breath warming her cheeks as their bodies moved together. And it still wasn’t enough. Somehow, she thought it would never be enough.

  “I don’t deserve your forgiveness this easily.” Eve’s voice was low and hoarse, fingers shaking as they cupped Josie’s cheeks.

  “Shh,” Josie murmured. “Yes, you do.”

  Eve deserved the world, and Josie was going to give it to her, one kiss at a time.

  She looked at Josie through red, watery eyes. “What happens now?”

  “You mean after we have sex?” Josie grinned against her lips, swallowing Eve’s gasp as she dug her fingers into her ass.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, we’re still stuck with opposite work schedules,” Josie told her.

  “And I still don’t care,” Eve murmured as she sucked a hickey onto Josie’s neck.

  “I think we’ll just make it work, don’t you?”

  Eve nodded, her gaze drifting to the living room, which was playpen-free. Her smile wilted. “Where are the kittens?”

  “Jules adopted two of them.”

  Eve’s eyes fell. “And the other two?”

  “Are in my bedroom,” Josie told her gently.

  “Which two?”

  “Come see.” Josie opened the door, and there were Blanche and Hamilton curled up in the middle of her bed, fast asleep.

  “Oh.” Fresh tears spilled over Eve’s cheeks.

  “Are you ready to adopt them now?” Josie bumped her shoulder against Eve’s.

  “Yes,” she whispered, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. The kittens woke, stretching and bounding toward Eve at the same time. “You didn’t save these two for me, did you?”

  “I wish I could say I had predicted this moment, but no, Jules actually picked Phantom and Pippin on her own.” She sat next to Eve on the bed. “I did see the irony of it when it happened, though.”

  “Blanche was always my favorite,” Eve said, as the white kitten scrambled into her lap.

  “I know.”

  “I didn’t necessarily want two, though. Don’t you want one?”

  Josie shook her head. “I’ve already got Nigel, and it’s better to adopt two, anyway. Then they can take all their kitten energy out on each other, instead of on you or your apartment.”

  “Sold.” Eve scooped Hamilton into her lap with Blanche.

  Josie lifted both kittens and set them on the floor. She pushed Eve flat on her back, climbing on top of her. “I think we have some lost time to make up for.”

  “Yes, we do.” She flipped them, pinning Josie to the bed, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “I want to make up for every night we missed.”

  “And then some.”

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  The first thing Eve noticed, as always, was the scent of Josie’s shampoo. Next, she registered the warm weight on her feet. Her eyes blinked open into the hot pink depths of Josie’s hair. She brushed it aside to kiss her neck, resting her face against Josie’s shoulder as she looked down, spotting Blanche curled over her feet.

  The tiny kitten who had once fit in the palm of Eve’s hand looked like a full-grown cat now, although she still acted like a kitten most of the time. She was becoming quite cuddly too. Eve woke to find Blanche on top of her most mornings, more often than she woke beside Josie. With their backward schedules, they still didn’t see each other as often as they’d like, although Josie had Fridays off now, which meant they got to wake together every Saturday morning like this.

  Hamilton strolled past the open bedroom door. He was more of a loner. He liked to be in the same room with her, but he wasn’t a lap cat. Together, he and Blanche made the perfect pair.

  “Morning,” Josie mumbled, rolling to face her.

  “Let’s spend it right here in bed.” Her hands slid over Josie’s body beneath the sheet.

  “Can’t.” Josie eyes looked almost green in the morning light, offset by her pink hair like some kind of magical fairy. “I have something to show you.”

  “Yeah?”

  Josie nodded. “It’s at my place.”

  “Okay.”

  “But first…” She rolled Eve onto her back, kissing her slow and deep. Eve nudged Blanche off the bed with her foot as she and Josie undressed each other, hands and mouths roaming as they made love in the soft morning light. It was gentle and unhurried, their movements slow and lingering, but Josie still managed to shatter her into a million blissful pieces with her talented fingers.

  They showered and dressed, stopping at the café down the street for coffee and breakfast before they rode the subway to Brooklyn. The routine was as comforting as it was familiar. In the months since they’d been back together, they’d spent a lot of Saturday mornings like this. They didn’t see each other every day, but they managed to spend at least one or two nights a week together, and often more.

  Tonight, Eve would probably spend a few hours at Dragonfly. She and Kaia had become friends over the past months as they hung out at the bar, keeping Josie and Adam company. Eve had added quite a few people to her circle recently. She gotten back into the habit of visiting Lisa’s parents in New Jersey and had even met Regina for coffee a couple of times.

  At Josie’s urging, Eve had reconnected with several o
f her relatives. As it turned out, they’d had no idea what happened with her parents and thought Eve had left the family by her own choice. Last month, a couple of her cousins came to visit her here in the city, sharing thirteen years’ worth of laughter and tears as they caught up on everything they’d missed in each other’s lives.

  Eve had begun a new chapter in her life on so many fronts, and it was all thanks to the woman beside her.

  Josie let them in through the back of her building, checking her phone. “Right on time.”

  “The thing you want to show me has a time?”

  “Yes. An appointment of sorts,” Josie said with a mysterious smile.

  Eve followed her up the stairs, intrigued. She honestly had no idea what Josie had up her sleeve. Her confusion only intensified when Josie passed her door and kept climbing to the third-floor apartment, the one she rented out. She stopped at the door and knocked, listening for a few seconds. When no response came, she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door.

  Eve grabbed her elbow. “What are you doing? You can’t just walk into their apartment.”

  “Actually, I can,” Josie told her. “I’m their landlord. A few days ago, they gave their notice. They’re moving out at the end of the month. So I told them I had a prospective tenant coming to see the place this morning at eleven.”

  “Me?” Eve felt her eyebrows rising. “I’m the prospective tenant?”

  “No.” Josie leaned in to kiss her. “We both are.”

  “What?”

  “We could live here together. It’s bigger than either of our current apartments. There are two bedrooms. I could use the second one for rescuing kittens.”

  “Hey, what about me?” Eve asked playfully, rapidly warming to the idea. “I could use space for an office, you know. Then I could move out of the Life & Leisure offices.”

  “I know. That’s why I thought you could use my old apartment downstairs as your office space.”

  “Oh.” Eve swallowed. “Really?”

  “Yes. What do you think?”

  “I think…it’s perfect,” she told Josie.

  “Don’t you want to see this place first?”

  “Well, yeah, but my answer won’t change.”

  “Okay,” Josie said with a laugh.

  Together, they walked around the living room. It was large and open, with high ceilings due to its location on the top floor. The back wall was exposed brick, with wood beams on the ceiling just like Josie’s apartment. They went down the hall to see the two bedrooms and the bath. The space was warm and inviting, with more than enough room for Eve’s artwork and all of Josie’s kitten pictures.

  “So?” Josie asked.

  “I was wrong. My answer did change,” Eve told her.

  “Oh?” A wrinkle appeared between her brows.

  “It’s not just perfect, it’s ridiculously perfect. Seriously, Josie. This place is amazing.”

  “Good,” she said with a satisfied smile. “I can’t afford to lose the income from this rental on my own, but if you give up your apartment, it should work.”

  “Definitely. Between the two of us, we make more than enough to afford this place. Then you’ll own and occupy the whole building, just like you and your dad did before he died.” She gave Josie’s hands a squeeze.

  “Yeah.”

  “We’re going to need to go shopping,” Eve told her. “New art for the walls, furniture, accessories…”

  “I can’t wait.” Josie grinned, revealing the dimples that had always been Eve’s undoing.

  She pulled Josie in close as she looked around at the apartment. Their apartment. No more commuting across town to visit each other. She’d wake beside Josie every morning, and maybe soon, she’d be able to cut her hours in the bar the way she’d been working toward. She could fill the smaller bedroom with rescue kittens while Eve ran Marlow Marketing out of the space downstairs.

  The episode featuring Josie’s bar had indeed given Do Over the ratings boost it needed, and soon, filming would begin for its third season. But production only lasted a few months out of the year. The rest of Eve’s time would be spent here with Josie. It was everything she could have ever wanted. Sunlight filtered through the oversized window on the far wall, illuminating the pink tones of Josie’s hair, and Eve saw her future reflected in those fuchsia depths.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  Josie’s eyes seemed to shine with happiness. “Love you back.”

  “You know, that drink must really work.”

  “What?” Josie asked, giving her a quizzical look.

  “The Midnight in Manhattan,” Eve told her with a smile.

  “Oh!” Josie’s grin widened. “If you drink one at midnight, rumor has it you’ll fall in love before the end of the year…”

  “It sure worked for me.”

  Josie winked. “That confirms it. The rumors are true.”

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Don’t Cry for Me! This is the first book in my new Midnight in Manhattan series. The second book, It’s in Her Kiss, will be out this fall. Oh, and remember Nicole and Fiona, the married couple who visits Dragonfly? Did you know that they have their own book? You can read their story in Lost in Paradise.

  Want to stay up-to-date on my upcoming releases and receive a free copy of my award-winning novella, Only You? Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive news and giveaways and receive a free copy of Only You just for subscribing.

  If you enjoy chatting about books, I’d love for you to join my reader group on Facebook. It’s a great place for us to stay in touch, and I often ask for help naming upcoming characters and pets plus lots of other fun reader group exclusives.

  Hope to see you there!

  Rachel Lacey

  Acknowledgments

  First off, thank you to my family for your unending support. I couldn’t do this without you! Thank you to my editor, Linda Ingmanson, for making this book shine. And as always, a huge thank you to my critique partner, Annie Rains. You make every single one of my books better and stronger, and I’m so grateful for it (and you!)

  This time around, I asked my readers to help me name the bar in Don’t Cry for Me, and you gave me so many great suggestions that I ended up using three of them. They became Josie’s signature drinks, as well as the name of the bar and the series. So, a special shout-out to Kimberly Crockett for suggesting Dragonfly, Tina Buck for Midnight in Manhattan, and Sherry Presnall for Whiskey Kiss. I hope you enjoyed seeing them in the book!

  Special thanks to Heather Siebert for naming Blanche the kitten and inspiring the rest of my “theater kittens.” Also, thank you for being my Manhattan fact-checker. All mistakes are my own.

  A huge thank you to all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers who’ve read my books and supported me along the way. Love you all!

  xoxo

  Rachel

  KEEP READING

  If you enjoyed Don’t Cry for Me, turn the page to read the first chapter of It’s in Her Kiss, the second book in the Midnight in Manhattan series.

  It’s in Her Kiss

  Chapter One

  Julia Vega closed her umbrella and ducked inside the brick building in front of her. She pulled the door shut behind herself, scuffing her wet boots against the mat as she glanced around to get her bearings. A directory on the wall showed that the production office she was looking for was on the second floor.

  She entered the stairwell, grimacing as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. The wet weather had really done a number on her hair. Luckily, she’d arrived early enough for today’s audition that she should have time to polish her appearance before they called her back. A tingly feeling took hold in her stomach at the thought.

  Jules had been working on Broadway for five years now, so the audition process was a familiar—albeit nerve-wracking—experience for her. Today’s audition was more stressful than most for several reasons, most notably because she was auditioning for the lead.

&nb
sp; This role, if she landed it, would be a dream come true, the culmination of a lifetime of training, the chance to step out of the chorus line and into the spotlight. She wanted it so badly she could taste it, a hint of something sweet on her tongue, teasing her with the flavor of success. Or maybe that was just the lozenge she’d finished on the walk over.

  On the second floor, she approached the receptionist, a woman about her mother’s age with gorgeous silver hair and a friendly smile. Jules returned it with one of her own. “Hi, I’m Julia Vega for the four forty-five audition.”

  The receptionist glanced at her computer as she tapped several keys. “Ah, there you are. You’re all set, Julia. There’s a restroom at the end of the hall if you need to freshen up.”

  “Thanks so much,” Jules told her gratefully as she headed down the hall. Once she’d closed herself inside the restroom, she peeled off her damp jacket and tucked it into her bag before pulling out her toiletry case. She spritzed her hair with a polishing serum, smoothing away the frizz that had resulted from her fifteen-minute walk in the drizzling rain. Then, she reapplied her lipstick, painting her lips a shiny plum.

  After repacking her bag, she surveyed herself in the mirror. She ran her hands over her blouse—almost a perfect match with her lipstick—making sure it was tucked neatly into her black slacks. Sucking in a deep breath, she made her way back to the waiting room. It was empty except for the receptionist and one other woman who was probably waiting to audition for the same role. Jules sat across from her. She set her bag on the chair beside her and pulled out her water bottle and the tin of Grether’s pastilles she never auditioned without.

  “Lozenge?” she asked the woman across from her, holding out the tin.