by Dena Blake
Julie choked on the sip of coffee she’d just taken. “What? Who?” She wiped the droplets of coffee from her mouth.
“Kelly. Her name’s Kelly. I overheard a phone conversation between them. Jillian told her not to worry and that she’d be back soon. I didn’t put it all together until she sent flowers to the house. From the looks of the card, she’s very much still involved.”
“Oh, Christ. She found her.” Julie moved the muffin box to the bedside table and pulled her leg up on the bed in front of her. “Amelia, Kelly is her crazy ex-girlfriend.”
“How do you know that?” Fear raced through Amelia.
“I ran a background check on her. Jillian has filed numerous assault complaints against Kelly. That’s why she’s here in Norman. She’s hiding from her.”
“Jesus, Jules.” Amelia jumped up and pulled on her jeans. “Don’t you think you should’ve told me this before now?”
“She asked me not to.”
Amelia’s eyes widened. “The two of you discussed this, and neither of you thought it might be important to tell me?” Her stomach clenched as the feeling of betrayal washed through her.
“Don’t hate me. I thought you deserved another shot with the woman you’ve been comparing everyone to since the beginning of time. I didn’t want the ghost of an ex-girlfriend to get in the way.” Julie sat on the edge of the bed clenching the mattress. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you, but you were so happy.”
“Damn right you should have.” She put her hands to her head and let out a slow breath. “How am I going to fix this?”
“Just tell her.”
“She’s never going to believe we weren’t sleeping together. Why would she? Look at what she walked in on.”
“It did kind of fall into place in an odd sort of way.”
“It fell into place spectacularly. Jesus.” Amelia shook her head as she remembered how Julie had been in the middle of changing when Amelia came through her door. She’d thrown on her robe and sat with her on the couch to console her. When Jillian showed up, Amelia had rushed into the bedroom to wait while Julie sent her away. That’s when Amelia had decided she was the one who was going to come out on top of this breakup. So, she’d taken some of her clothes off and made a path with them from the bedroom door. It had all made sense at the time, considering the frame of mind she’d been in.
“You want me to go with you? Tell her what happened?”
She swung around. “You can come, but I need to tell her myself.” Amelia had to fix this fuck-up herself. She’d gone off half-cocked with minimal information.
Julie took Amelia’s hand, laced their fingers together, and squeezed. “Okay. I’ll keep my mouth shut unless you need me.”
“You’re not off the hook yet.” She kissed Julie on the cheek. “I’m still mad at you.” She headed to the bathroom.
“We’re probably even now, don’t you think? I’ll leave your half-eaten muffin in the kitchen, but I’m taking the rest of these.”
* * *
Amelia growled and slapped the phone to the table as Jillian’s phone went straight to voice mail for the tenth time. She’d been at the house for hours, and Jillian hadn’t come home or called. “You’d think she’d have the courtesy to call and let you know she’s all right.”
Blake set his phone on the table. “Abby said she’s with some friend named Marcus.”
“Marcus? Who the hell is Marcus?” She narrowed her eyes at Julie.
“I don’t know.” Julie shrugged. “She never mentioned him.”
“Are you sure it’s not one of those things you’re keeping from me for my own good?”
“Okay.” Julie pushed away from the table and stood. “I’m going home now.” She took her empty cup into the kitchen. “That’s where I’ll be if you want to be civil to me again.”
“You’re being kind of hard on her, don’t you think?” Blake said. “Boys, turn that game down. I can’t hear myself think.”
“Negative,” she said, using his words. “This never would’ve happened if she’d told me about Kelly.” She picked up the card from the flowers and looked at the note again.
“She was just trying to look out for you.”
“Well, she’s doing a shitty job of it.”
“What are you going to do now? Call every hotel in the city?”
She got up from the table. “If I have to, I will.”
“Amelia.” Blake popped up and grabbed her arm. Amelia turned around, narrowed her eyes, and glanced from Blake’s hand to his eyes, and he let go. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Jillian followed the tall blonde into the restaurant. She’d met Wendy the week before at the TV station when she’d gone back to do some more voice-overs. She was one of the evening news anchors and had asked Jillian to dinner. Jillian had accepted, hoping it would take her mind off Amelia since nothing else had. Now she was regretting that decision. She’d been avoiding Amelia all week by staying at the hotel with Marcus, which was inconvenient and also made her miss seeing Abby outside of school.
The ride up the elevator was longer than Jillian anticipated. She hadn’t realized it was on the top floor. She realized her date was a regular as the hostess, without hesitation, picked up the menus and guided them to a table by the window. Looking out at least fifteen stories higher than any other building in the city, the view was spectacular.
Jillian heard the waiter’s voice from behind as she watched the lights of the city twinkle. “Your usual bottle of wine, Ms. Williams?”
She felt a hand cover hers and turned to Wendy. “Red or white? Or would you prefer a cocktail?”
“Red would be perfect.” Jillian studied her date as she paged through the wine list. Short blond hair parted on the side and tucked neatly behind her ears. Long narrow nose and perfectly plucked eyebrows. She was gorgeous. Exactly what any TV station needed to bring in viewers.
“We’ll have a bottle of the 2008 Spottswoode cabernet sauvignon,” Wendy said, looking across the table at Jillian as she handed the wine list to the waiter.
Jillian smiled. “That’s a very nice bottle of wine.”
Wendy tilted her head. “You know something about the subject.”
“I’ve tasted a few different varieties here and there.” The Spottswoode was a nice red, not too cheap and not too expensive for someone who could afford it. Good for impressing a first date, and she imagined Wendy was pretty good at impressing.
“Have you been to Oklahoma City before?” Wendy asked.
“Once or twice.”
“For business or pleasure?”
“Mostly business.”
“Maybe pleasure in the future?”
“Possibly.” Jillian smiled but cringed inside. She hated dating and hated the future speculations that came from it even more. At this moment in time, she had no idea if she would ever see the woman sitting across from her again or whether she even wanted to. Wendy was in television. She had to know what it was like to have women contact her. Women who wanted so much more than she was willing to give.
“That’s good to know.” Wendy smiled widely before picking up her menu. “The blackened salmon is fabulous, as is the lamb. We can start with the seared shrimp if that sounds good to you.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
When the waiter came back, Wendy ordered the shrimp, two mixed green with goat cheese salads, the salmon for Jillian, and the filet mignon for herself. They’d settled into comfortable conversation when Jillian spotted two familiar faces across the room watching her. She’d told Darcy where she was going but hadn’t expected her and Julie to show up in the same place.
Julie shifted slightly to peek over Darcy’s shoulder. “Is that Jillian over there?”
Darcy turned slightly. “Looks like it.”
“Who’s she with?”
“Wendy Williams, the channel five news anchor.”
“Do you know her? Did you set them up?”
&nb
sp; “No and no. But I did tell her the best way to get over someone is to get under someone.”
“Why would you tell her something like that when you know Amelia is trying to get her back?”
“Because I don’t like Amelia.”
Julie frowned. “She’s my law partner.”
“She’s also your ex-wife, and she takes advantage of you.”
“What the hell, Darcy. You can’t just get in the middle of Amelia’s business.”
Darcy’s brows pulled together. “You can’t expect Jillian to keep getting mind-fucked by Amelia.”
“So you think she should jump into the sack with the next woman that comes along?”
“The next beautiful one, yes. Sex doesn’t have to involve the mind. It just needs to be good.”
“You know Amelia’s in love with her.”
“That may be the case, but Jillian wants to move on. So, being the team player I am, I’ve encouraged her to explore other women.”
Jillian made eye contact with Julie and then looked at Darcy, discreetly motioning her to the front of the restaurant.
“That doesn’t seem quite fair.” Julie watched Jillian get up from the table and move across the dining room, and Darcy pushed back in her chair to get up. “No, you don’t.” She placed a hand on Darcy’s shoulder, keeping her in her seat. “I think the other team deserves a little assistance, don’t you?” She followed Jillian out the restaurant door to the elevator area.
When Jillian turned around, she seemed surprised to see Julie. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m guessing it’s because Darcy knew you were going to be here, also.”
“Oh.” Jillian tightened her jaw. “Not much of a confidante, is she?”
“Nope.”
“If you’re going to try to convince me to talk to Amelia, you can save your breath.”
“I’m not going to try to convince you of anything. I just want to deliver a little nugget of information I think you should have.”
* * *
When Jillian sat back down at the table, she was still stunned by the story Julie had told her about the evening she’d found Amelia in Julie’s bed. She looked across the table and smiled at the beautiful face staring back at her, but all she could think about was Amelia.
“Do you like the view?” Wendy asked.
Jillian nodded. “It’s amazing that they built something this tall in Oklahoma. How high is it, exactly?”
“Close to eight hundred and fifty feet. Almost as tall as the first observation deck in the Empire State Building.”
“Yes, I would say so, but the view is very different.” Her heart began to pump wildly, and everything around her was silent as she stared out the window at the city. She watched the twinkling lights disappear into the darkness as she lifted her eyes to the distance where the city of Norman would be. Julie had explained, sworn nothing happened, said Amelia had thrown her clothes off when she’d heard Jillian at the door just to make the break easier for herself. How could Amelia think I would sleep with her while I was in a relationship with someone else? Does she think so little of me? Does she think so little of herself?
It seemed Amelia was no better at dealing with conflict than Jillian was. She’d moved into the hotel with Marcus and vowed to stay away, knowing it would be easier to make the break clean. But it wasn’t clean. It was savagely messy. Her heart had been ripped from her chest, left bloodied and beaten. The huge crater that remained had refused to heal, the jagged edges not willing to fuse together again. No matter what had happened and what Jillian told herself, she was still hopelessly in love with Amelia.
Wendy touched her hand, and Jillian realized she wasn’t listening to a thing she’d said. “You seem far away. Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well. Something didn’t agree with me.” She wasn’t lying. The news Julie had delivered had her stomach rumbling.
“Oh. Let me get the check, and we’ll get you home.” The look of concern on Wendy’s face only made it worse. She was nice girl, but Jillian’s heart already had too many strings attached to it.
Jillian saw Amelia’s car parked in the driveway when she pulled up in front of the house. She debated whether to go in. She didn’t know if she wanted to see Amelia tonight, didn’t know if she could. Amelia had left a number of messages that she’d ignored, all of them filled with explanations and apologies for jumping to the wrong conclusion. The piercing pain shot through her as she remembered the moment she’d found Amelia at Julie’s. The little fantasy world she’d been living in had been shattered. The reality of it all had hit her head-on. At that moment, her life had been totaled and she hadn’t seen any coming back from it.
She’d resigned herself to stay in Oklahoma long enough to let Abby finish out the summer camp she’d signed up for before she went back to New York, immersed herself in her work, and moved on as best she could. She loved Amelia more than she had when they were younger, more than she thought she could ever love another woman. The vulnerability she’d discovered in herself was terrifying. When she’d seen Amelia at Julie’s, it seemed the choice to leave had been made for her, but now she knew differently, and the decision was right back in her court. It would be agonizingly difficult to leave now because it would be her choice. Her stomach lurched at the thought. She closed her eyes for a few minutes and cleared her head before heading inside.
When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to find Coop still there, looking out the back door onto the screened-in porch.
Coop turned as she came up behind her. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.” She gave her the once-over. “Where’ve you been all snazzied up like that?”
“I was out…on a date.” Jillian sighed. As soon as she’d talked to Julie, she’d wanted to bolt from the restaurant. She didn’t know why she’d gone in the first place.
“How was it?”
“You know, Coop? I meet these gorgeous women and we click in certain ways, but others not so much.”
“And this one?” Coop dipped her head toward Amelia.
“This one.” She took in a deep breath. “The perfect click.” Jillian peeked over Coop’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of Amelia standing, tiptoe, on an old wooden step stool with her arms stretched above her head. “What’s she doing out there?”
“Changing the lightbulb she asked Blake to change three days ago,” Coop said.
“Oh, geez.” Jillian peered out at her. “She’s going to fall and break her neck.” She pushed past Coop and through the screen door. “Do you need some help?”
“No. I’ve got it.” Amelia was stretched to the limit but looked like she was going to get it done.
“Here. Let me help you.” Jillian slipped her hands on Amelia’s hips to steady her. Amelia glanced down and froze. Then the stool went one way, and Amelia went the other, falling right into Jillian.
With her arms wrapped firmly around Amelia’s soft body and her head pressed against her belly, Jillian was fully encompassed in Amelia’s aura. Jillian tingled as all her senses fired, and her heart thudded. She let Amelia slide farther down into her arms and felt the warmth of Amelia’s breath on her cheek. She didn’t dare turn to face her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Amelia looked at the ceiling. “Lightbulb made it.”
Jillian looked up. “Yeah. I guess it did.”
Their eyes met, and Jillian let it happen. She covered Amelia’s mouth with hers. The warm, wet sensation sent her mind spinning. Her body temperature soared as her senses spiraled to a scorching high.
She heard a muffled pop and then a loud chuckle from Coop. “Well, it’s about time.”
When they broke away, Jillian felt the heat rising in her cheeks and saw it mirrored in Amelia’s. Neither one of them took their eyes off each other to look at the lightbulb shattered across the floor. There it was, all out in the open. Jillian still had feelings for Amelia. Now she just had to figure out how she was going to make it work.
“I’ll get the broom,” Jillian said, releasing Amelia.
“I’ll get the ladder.”
“Well, I’m going to leave you two to do whatever you need to do.” Coop turned and headed for the front door. “Don’t forget to lock up.”
Amelia climbed the ladder and twisted a new lightbulb into the socket as Jillian swept the glass from the broken bulb into the dustpan and emptied it into the trash.
“Are you’re okay? You didn’t get any glass on you, did you?” Amelia pulled her brows together and searched Jillian’s head and shoulders.
“I’m good.” Hell, that was an understatement. Amelia had kissed her. She was fantastic, awesome…fantastically awesome. She watched Amelia’s gaze sweep across her, seeming to notice how she was dressed.
“You look incredible.”
“I went out to dinner.” Jillian pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, hoping Amelia would leave it at that.
“With someone? Like a date?”
Jillian nodded, not wanting to explain any further. It didn’t matter now with whom she’d been.
“Oh.” Amelia’s smile faded as she folded the ladder and held it in place next to her. “Did you have a nice time?”
Jillian shook her head. “No. Not at all.”
“No?”
Jillian thought she saw a slight smile cross Amelia’s lips, and she took a step closer. “All I did was compare her to you all night.”
Amelia cocked her head, raised an eyebrow, actions that made Jillian’s belly tingle. “I’m guessing I came out ahead, or you wouldn’t be here.”
Jillian pulled her lips up into a soft smile. “Miles ahead.” She took another step, gave up all attempts to slow the thundering in her chest. “No one can compare to the love of my life.”
“Are you saying?”
She nodded. “I love you, Amelia. I want to try to make this work.”
Amelia dropped the ladder against the wall and closed the distance between them. “You still love me?”
Jillian nodded. “I’ve tried not to, but I do with all my heart,” she whispered, lowering her mouth to touch Amelia’s lips, kissing her tenderly. Amelia returned the kiss, gently at first, and then with the same hunger she had the last time they’d been this close. Visions of their night together roared back, and Jillian had to physically calm herself. Dragging her lips away, she brushed a strand of hair from Amelia’s face. “I need to touch you.” She looked into the kitchen. “Where is everyone?”