Spectrum

by MJ Duncan

  It was a beguiling situation to say the least, but Bryn could not deny that just seeing Anna again made her pulse beat faster.

  She had always been a bit of a loner, and perhaps, Bryn thought as she watched the way Anna licked her lips as she turned the page of her book, her fascination with Anna was simply a result of the loneliness that had settled in her soul over the last few months as Kendall’s visits became further and further apart as her workload at the firm increased.

  That explanation made the most sense, and she nodded to herself as she considered it. Anna was the first person since Kendall to not be completely put-off by her standoffish attitude, and it made sense that she would be drawn to her because of it.

  Bryn’s breath caught in her throat when Anna’s eyes lifted from her book to glance around the room, and the look of surprise that flashed across Anna’s face before she was greeted with a grin and a cocked eyebrow made Bryn smile.

  She waved hello, pretending as if she had not been caught staring, and made her way toward the counter at the back of the shop. There were three people ahead of her in line, and she distracted herself by fiddling with her phone while she waited. She was embarrassed by the idea that Anna might have felt her watching her read, and she tried to concoct a believable excuse for her behavior if she were called out for it.

  The problem was, she did not understand why she was acting the way she was, so she had no idea where to even begin to try and explain herself.

  Thankfully, the line moved quickly, and Bryn nodded hello to the barista as she reached into her purse for her wallet. “A large blended iced mocha, to-go, please.”

  The smirk and sly glances the barista kept throwing in Anna’s general direction as she made the iced coffee were impossible to miss, and Bryn frowned as she turned to look at Anna, who had given up all pretense of reading as she watched Bryn over the rim of her coffee cup. Anna’s expression was thoughtful, her smile enchanting and enigmatic, and even though Bryn had intended to get her drink and leave, she ended up wandering over to Anna once she had the large iced coffee in hand.

  Anna’s smile grew wider as she approached, and her eyes twinkled with mischievousness as she asked, “So, are you stalking me now, Ms. Nakamura?”

  Bryn’s thoughts jumped to when she had entered the shop, convinced that she had, indeed, been caught staring, and her heart leapt into her throat as she tried to figure out what to say. Should she apologize? Play it off as if she had no idea what Anna was talking about? She had spent so much time over the last two days trapped inside her own head, trying to make sense of her jumbled thoughts, that she honestly did not know how to respond.

  She took a long, slow sip of her drink as she weighed her options, and some of her panic faded at the way Anna just watched her with a relaxed smile that was devoid of judgment. Bryn idly wondered if there was ever a time where she, herself, had looked as relaxed and open as Anna did right now. Anna grinned and arched a questioning brow at her, waiting for her to respond—and she had to admit that, no, she had never smiled as freely as Anna did. Even as a child she had been far too burdened by expectations and demands to be anything but the stoic woman she had become.

  Anna’s soft, amused laughter jolted Bryn from her thoughts, and she tried to cover it up by rolling her eyes as she murmured, “Hardly, Ms. Fitzpatrick.”

  “Anna.”

  “Doctor.” Bryn smiled and took another sip of her drink.

  Anna groaned and shook her head, looking both amused and just a little disappointed. “So, not today either, then.”

  “The day is still young,” Bryn pointed out as she lowered herself into a neighboring chair. Fearing that the move was too forward and that Anna would not want her to join her for even a little while, Bryn tipped her head at the book on Anna’s lap. The cover looked to have a skyline superimposed over an ocean-textured background, but Anna’s hand covered enough that she could not see the title. “What are you reading?”

  “Just a romance novel.” Anna flashed an embarrassed smile and added, “They’re kind of my guilty pleasure.”

  Bryn arched a brow in surprise. Romance novels were hardly her preferred genre—she had never even read one—and she frowned as she looked again at Anna’s book. Though she could not see the entire cover, she could see enough to know that there was no muscled beefcake or buxom blonde hiding beneath Anna’s hand. “Is it any good?”

  “Yeah.” Anna nodded. “Really good, actually. I started it this morning and can’t put it down.”

  “Would you mind?” Bryn asked, holding out her hand.

  “You read romance novels?” Anna asked incredulously.

  “I’ve never tried one, to be honest, but I have been looking for some new books.” Bryn shrugged. “Perhaps it’s time I expand my horizons a little.”

  Anna studied Bryn for a moment, clearly trying to make up her mind about whether or not she was going to show her the book, and Bryn frowned as her heart beat heavier and heavier with every second that ticked by without Anna responding to her. When the fear that she had overstepped her bounds became too much for her to handle, Bryn shook her head and murmured, “I’m sorry. I did not mean to intrude…”

  “No, it’s not that.” Anna rubbed a hand over the back of her neck. “It’s just…”

  “A harlequin-esque bodice ripper?” Anna groaned, and Bryn smiled. “While I am not intimately familiar with the genre, Ms. Fitzpatrick, I do have a general understanding of what it consists of.”

  “Well, there is a lot of sex, but I don’t think it’s the kind you’re imagining.” Anna shook her head and waved a hand in the air as if what she were about to say next was of little consequence, even though the look of mild fear in her eyes was enough to tell Bryn that whatever she was holding back was anything but. “You see…” She took a deep breath. “It’s a lesbian romance novel.”

  Bryn arched a brow in surprise and looked back at the book on Anna’s lap. “So you’re…”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh.” Bryn shrugged and ran a hand through her hair, wondering why in the world she suddenly felt so nervous. Anna looked more anxious than she felt, however, so she focused on that instead of the way her heart seemed to be trying to fly out of her throat. “I see. Anyway, may I?” She tipped her head at the book.

  Relief flashed across Anna’s face, and Bryn wondered what it must be like to be so afraid of telling somebody such a basic thing about yourself. Of course, she tended to keep the entire world at arms’ length, so perhaps she was not the best judge in this case.

  Bryn smiled at Anna when she handed her the book, and she studied the cover with a careful eye. The silence between them was suffocating, and Bryn smiled as she looked up at Anna and said, “I must say, the lack of partially-clothed people on the cover is an unexpected plus.”

  Anna chuckled softly, obviously still a little unsure of how to proceed. “Yeah. Makes it easier to hide what I’m reading in public.”

  “Yes. That would be a rather helpful benefit, wouldn’t it,” Bryn agreed with a smile. She flicked her eyes up at Anna as she opened the page marked by one of Anna’s business cards, and bit her lip as she skimmed a couple paragraphs in the middle of the page.

  The author’s phrasing was evocative, painting a strikingly clear image of two women trapped in the throes of passion, and Bryn blushed as she just barely resisted the urge to turn the page and continue reading. “That’s…” Bryn cleared her throat and looked back up at Anna. “Quite, um, titillating.”

  This time, Anna’s answering laugh was much less restrained. “I did warn you.”

  “Yes, you did,” Bryn murmured as she handed Anna back her book. “I’m surprised you’re able to read something like that in public, to be honest.”

  “It’s a finely-honed skill,” Anna said with a sly wink as she tucked the book between her leg and the side of the chair.

  Bryn smiled and huffed an embarrassed laugh. “Yes, well, I’ll have to pass the title recommendation on to my friend Ken
dall. Just from what little I read, it seems like something she would like.”

  “Not your thing, huh?”

  “Not really, no,” Bryn murmured, her stomach sinking at the way Anna’s smile dimmed at her words. “Of course, relationships in general are not necessarily my thing, or people, really, so…” She shrugged.

  “But you like me.”

  Anna’s voice was soft and unsure despite the boldness of her statement, and Bryn stared unblinkingly into her eyes as she nodded once in agreement. “Against my better judgment, considering your abhorrent driving skills, I’m afraid that may very well be true.”

  “Wow.” Anna chuckled and shook her head. “Way to make a girl feel good, Nakamura.”

  Bryn shrugged. “I did just warn you that my people skills are somewhat lacking.”

  “Yes, you did. And, for the record,” Anna said, smirking as she lifted her coffee mug to her lips, “despite my better judgment, considering the fact that you absolutely refuse to call me by my first name, I kinda sorta enjoy hanging out with you too.”

  Bryn smiled as her stomach fluttered at Anna’s words. “I’m glad,” she whispered.

  “Me too.”

  Bryn leaned back in her chair and sipped at her drink as she watched Anna do the same. She had not been exaggerating when she told Anna she had abysmal people skills, and she wondered what in the world she was supposed to do now.

  Eventually, Anna took pity on her and asked, “So, how’s everything going at the vineyard?”

  “Good.” Bryn gave her a grateful smile and relaxed back in her chair, her nerves fading at the prospect of discussing her beloved vineyard. “The new vines seem to be taking well, though it is still too early to be absolutely sure, and everything else is going as well as can reasonably be expected. It’s been a cool summer so far, which is good for the Pinot Noir grapes, and I’m anticipating a good harvest.”

  “And, after the grapes are harvested, how do they get turned into wine?”

  “Well, the process differs depending on whether you’re making red or white wine.” Bryn waved a hand in the air. “I only produce reds, so, after the grapes are harvested…” Bryn explained every step of the process from field to bottle, and was pleased at how easily the conversation flowed back and forth. Anna seemed genuinely interested, even interrupting her from time-to-time to ask for clarification about the reasons for a particular step, and Bryn was surprised when she went to take a sip of her drink and found it empty.

  How long have we been talking?

  The telltale beep of a pager going off interrupted them before Bryn could voice her thoughts aloud.

  “Sorry.” Anna pulled the pager from her belt and looked at the screen. “It’s the hospital.”

  “I assumed so,” Bryn said. “As nobody besides doctors use pagers anymore.”

  Anna grinned and gave a small shrug. “Hey, sometimes low tech is the best tech.”

  “That is very true,” Bryn agreed, thinking about the winemaking process she had just been describing. “Do you need to go?”

  “Probably,” Anna said with a rueful smile. “I’m not on call this weekend, so it has to be something important for them to page me. Sorry. Maybe we can continue this another time?”

  Bryn smiled shyly and nodded. “I would like that very much. Are you working next weekend?”

  “Yeah, but I’m off, knock on wood—” Anna rapped her knuckles against the side of her head, “—the following weekend.”

  Bryn nodded. “Would you like to come out to Spectrum then? We can… I mean, only if you’re interested, of course, but I can always give you a small tour, show you some of the things we were talking about, and…”

  Anna grinned. “That sounds awesome. I would love to.”

  “Excellent.” Bryn took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach and nodded. “So, I shall see you then? Say, noon-ish, a week from Saturday?”

  “Sounds perfect,” Anna agreed.

  Bryn pushed herself to her feet. She studied Anna for a moment, and then smiled. “I look forward to it. Until then… Anna,” she murmured, smiling at the look of surprise that flashed across Anna’s face.

  “You…”

  Bryn tipped her head as a final good-bye, and then turned to leave. She never looked back to see if Anna was watching her go, but she did not need to. She could feel the weight of Anna’s gaze warmly upon her back until the door to Jitters slipped shut, severing the connection.

  Ten

  Though she had been sitting on the couch in the great room, waiting for the phone to ring, Bryn still startled when the handset on the table in front of her finally did.

  Her pulse raced as she picked up the phone. She had spent far more time thinking about this day with Anna over the last two weeks than was probably healthy, but all that thinking did very little to calm her nerves. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath to try and settle herself before she answered the call on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Nakamura,” Anna replied. “You gonna let me in, or what?”

  The playful lilt in Anna’s tone made Bryn smile. “Or what,” she sassed as she pressed the pound key on the handset to open the gate. Once she heard it begin to rumble open through the intercom, she added, “Please drive carefully, Ms. Fitzpatrick. I would hate for any more of my property to be destroyed.”

  “Har, har,” Anna muttered dryly, and Bryn laughed as she set the phone down onto the coffee table.

  The playful retort was enough to calm some of the nerves that had left Bryn feeling so unsettled over the last few days, and she smoothed her hands over the thighs of her jeans as she pushed herself to her feet. She stopped in the small powder room off the foyer to check her appearance one last time. She had slept terribly the night before, too wound-up about the day at hand to ever truly drift off, and she had been up at dawn with Gerald to deal with some issues that had arisen late the afternoon before. She had hoped that the early start would mean that they would finish before she was supposed to meet Anna, but she had been forced to leave him to oversee the remainder of the repairs so that she could rush back to the house to get ready for Anna’s arrival.

  The light in the powder room was soft and forgiving as Bryn ran her hands through her hair in front of the mirror. Her lip gloss was still good, as was her mascara, and she nodded to herself as she adjusted the collar of her white button down shirt. The pressed shirt was immaculate, as were her dark wash jeans, and she pursed her lips thoughtfully as she studied her reflection. She fiddled with the cuffs on her sleeves that she had rolled to just below her elbows, and straightened her belt that was made from the same supple brown leather as the knee-high riding boots she wore. Once she was convinced that she was as presentable as it was possible for her to look, she nodded once at herself in the mirror before making her way to the front door.

  Anna’s car was just cresting the long, sweeping drive that led up the hill from the public area of the property when she opened the door, and Bryn leaned against the doorjamb as she watched Anna pull to a stop beneath the hundred-year-old oak that sat in a large circular planter filled with colorful annuals in the middle of the courtyard. She smiled when Anna’s eyes landed on hers as she climbed out of the car, and lifted a hand in greeting as she watched Anna make her way around the front of the car to the porch.

  “Nice digs, Nakamura,” Anna drawled as she looked at the sweeping ranch.

  Bryn tipped her head in thanks as she, too, looked at her house. She loved the stacked stone that stretched from the foundation to just below the windows, and she thought that the beige stucco that covered the upper half of the facade and the large planting beds that filled the space between the house and the paver courtyard where Anna had parked gave her home a warm, welcoming feel. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you for inviting me.”

  Bryn nodded and stepped aside to wave a hand toward the open door. “Would you like to come in?”

  “Should I take off my shoes?” Anna asked as
she stepped inside.

  “Not unless you want to,” Bryn said as she closed the front door behind them, not missing the way Anna’s eyes swept over the large rectangular foyer and the dining room to their right. In all the years she had owned the house, Bryn had never once eaten at the large, twelve-person table, and she walked past it with barely a glance. Her steps echoed on the ebony hardwood floors that stretched from the front door down into the great room, through to the kitchen and down each hallway on either side of the foyer. “The master suite is down there,” she said, pointing her right hand in the direction of her bedroom. “Guest rooms and the garage are down that way.” She waved at the hall to her left. “And, here, we have my favorite rooms in the house.”

  “I can see why,” Anna murmured. She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and made her way into the room.

  Bryn folded her hands in front of herself, the fingers of her left hand idly spinning the brushed platinum band on her right as she looked at the room, trying to see it through Anna’s eyes. The great room was an expansive space with french doors that ran along the length of the back wall and opened onto an impressive patio. The walls were painted the same shade of taupe as the rest of the house, and the white wood built-ins on either side of the two-story stone fireplace matched the rest of the woodwork in the house. Three charcoal-colored upholstered sofas framed a square coffee table in front of the fireplace, providing more than ample seating for guests that Bryn never entertained. The kitchen was off to the left—with a gigantic center island where Bryn usually ended up taking her meals, more painted white cabinetry, sandstone-colored granite countertops, and a tumbled travertine backsplash. A small breakfast nook surrounded by windows jutted out from the kitchen, letting even more light into the already bright space, and Bryn bit her lip nervously as she looked back at Anna to see what she thought.

  “This is incredible,” Anna said, shaking her head. “Seriously.”