by TB Markinson
Annie and Sheila flipped around.
“Annie!” I rushed to give her a hug, forgetting until it was too late she may not be entirely happy to see me. Fortunately, she didn’t sucker punch me.
“Hey,” she said.
Sheila gave me a hug.
“When did you get into town?” I asked Annie as I accepted a beer from Kat. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
Kat said hello to everyone.
“Two days ago. Wanted to come earlier, but my boss said no.” Annie jabbed an elbow into Roger’s side.
“Someone has to hold down the fort.” Roger laughed. “Excuse me. Duty calls.”
I spied Barb waving for her husband from the kitchen entrance. I gave a friendly wave.
Sheila threaded her arm around Annie’s waist, and Annie rested her head on Sheila’s shoulder as if they’d been doing that all their lives.
“Did I miss a memo or something?” I asked.
Both of them grinned.
One look at Kat clued me in to the backstory. “That was the other interesting thing you learned from Sheila when Annie and I were having our heart-to-heart.”
“Heart-to-heart?” Kat knitted her brow.
“We talked. Right, Annie?”
“Sure did. For like… an hour.”
“And by that, she means, thirty seconds about the heart of the matter and the rest of the time bashing the Sox for not making the playoffs.” Sheila laughed.
“You weren’t there,” Annie accused, but the truth nullified her tone.
“So, is this why I haven’t seen you much? Hopping back and forth to the Emerald Isle?” I asked Sheila.
“Negatory. I’ve been in Boston, but you’ve been too busy playing house to stop by the bar.” Sheila pretended to be hurt.
“Okay, when did it start?” I asked.
“Around Thanksgiving,” Annie said. “Someone set us up on a blind date.”
“How did you manage that?” I asked Kat.
Kat smiled, the one that said she didn’t intend to share the goods. “How’s the long-distance thing going?” Kat sipped a pink-tinted concoction with pomegranate seeds floating on the top.
“It’s not ideal,” Sheila confessed. “We’re flying to Dublin the day after tomorrow, and I’ll stay for a couple of weeks.”
“And after law school?” I asked.
“You haven’t heard?” Roger was back. “Some idiot recommended I hire Sheila, so I did. I better not regret it.” He directed the comment at me.
“You’re moving to Ireland?” I blurted, ignoring Roger.
Annie and Sheila nodded.
“Fast work. It took me months to get this one to invite me over to her place for dinner.” Kat leaned into me.
“How do you like the art studio?” Roger asked.
Kat smiled, not displaying any discomfort around my uncle, for which I was truly grateful. “I heard something about another window.”
Roger nodded. “Yep. What else do you need? I was thinking of making a special workbench for all of your supplies.”
The two of them drifted into a corner to talk shop.
Sheila, catching my eye, jerked her head toward Annie and then said, “I need a refill. Anyone else?”
Annie placed an eggnog order, and I declined.
When alone, I asked, “Are you happy, Annie?”
“Very.” Her face colored. “I’m sorry—”
I jabbed both palms in the air. “No, I should be the one apologizing.”
Annie looked in Kat’s direction. “She’s something.”
“That she is. And you and Sheila make a stunning couple. I couldn’t be happier for you.” My eyes started to mist, and I looked away.
I noticed she did the same.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
“I see you’re still awkward when talking about things,” she joked. “Kat must be a much more patient person than I am.”
I laughed. “Not sure about that. Tell me all about Dublin,” I said as I watched Barb pull Kat into a hug. Mom sidled up, and from the laughter and tittering at Roger, she must have made a comment in an attempt to rile him. Dad approached, no trace of anger on his face. He wrapped an arm around Mom’s waist, and she snuggled into his embrace. Kat grinned at me.
Annie noticed where my attention was, and she said, “Let’s have lunch tomorrow so I can tell you all about my new life and home. Now, it’s time for me to schmooze.” She waved to all of Roger’s business associates, and she pushed me toward Kat. “Go to her. It’s where you belong.”
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Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Confessions from the Heart. If you enjoyed the novel, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads or Amazon. No matter how long or short, I would very much appreciate your feedback.
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You can follow me, TB Markinson, on Twitter at @IHeartLesfic or email me at [email protected]. I would love to know your thoughts.
About the Author
TB Markinson is an American living in England. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling the world, watching sports on the telly, visiting pubs, or reading. Not necessarily in that order.
Her novels have hit Amazon bestseller lists for lesbian fiction and lesbian romance. For a full listing of TB’s novels, please visit her Amazon page.
Feel free to visit TB’s website to say hello. She also runs I Heart Lesfic, a place for authors and fans of lesfic to come together to celebrate and chat about lesbian fiction. On her 50 Year Project blog, TB chronicles her challenge to visit 192 countries, read 1,001 books, and to watch the AFI’s top 100 movies.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Author’s Note
About the Author