“You couldn’t tell me he was your father.”
“Right.”
“I mean, you could have…” Olivia let the sentence hang. Hayley looked miserable as she agreed, and Olivia bumped her with a shoulder, wanted to alleviate that. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”
“Yeah?” The way Hayley’s face lit up was almost comical, and Olivia’s own smile grew.
“Yeah. Just…don’t lie to me again, okay?”
“I won’t. I swear.”
“We have a lot to talk about, you know.” It was Olivia’s way of saying that this wasn’t exactly over—they needed to talk about the girlfriend that wasn’t, according to Hayley—but she was okay tabling some things for now. The truth was, she was simply happy to be standing next to Hayley as midnight approached.
“Absolutely. Whenever you want. I look forward to it.”
Olivia focused on Hayley’s face, on how her green eyes sparkled under the twinkling Christmas lights, as the crowd began to count down the last ten seconds of the year. Neither woman spoke. They simply held one another’s gaze, and for Olivia, it was intense and charged and perfect. And when the crowd screamed out “Happy New Year!” in unison, Olivia did the only thing she wanted to do.
She bent her head down slightly and captured Hayley’s lips with hers.
It was the most perfect of kisses. Olivia had always read about such a thing, about how pure a kiss would be when you were with the right person, but she’d never experienced such a thing, never given it much credence. It seemed like the stuff of fairy tales and romance novels. But this? Right here? Kissing Hayley at midnight, tucked away in the corner of a very crowded room, with the promise of something hanging in the air around them?
It was perfect.
She pulled away slightly but held eye contact with Hayley, who smiled like she was the happiest woman on the planet. “Happy New Year, Hayley.”
“Happy New Year to you. I’m looking forward to…” Hayley paused as if she had so many things to say. But she seemed to think better of it, and her smile grew even wider. “I’m just looking forward.”
They’d been through so much in such a short time, but there was definitely something between them. There was no denying it. Hell, Olivia didn’t want to deny it. Instead, she wanted to explore it, to follow it along and see where it led. And she wanted to do that with Hayley’s hand in hers.
The realization startled her, but also made her smile.
“I’m looking forward, too,” she said, then kissed Hayley again. And it was the truth.
Epilogue
“That looks amazing,” Ross said, his voice very quiet. He’d learned, over the course of the past few months, not to sneak up behind Hayley and startle her, or she was likely to turn around and poke him with her wet paintbrush. Which she had done four or five times before he laughingly changed his behavior. “You’ve come such a long way with your use of shadow and depth of field.”
The compliment filled Hayley with pride, not for the first time. Ross’s approval was something she’d grown to crave, and now, as she sat on her stool, tilted her head, and really looked at her work, she realized he was right.
The canvas depicted a shot of the woods, the exact same shot she’d painted in winter, but this time, it was spring. More color, no snow, the yellow heads of wild daffodils poking up through the soil, tiny green buds on the trees. She planned to paint the same shot in the summer and again in the fall, creating a series of seasons in four paintings.
Walter lay at her feet, giving a little snuffle as he resettled himself in the dog bed Hayley had bought for him.
It was early evening, and the waning sunlight streaming through the windows of the studio was a warm, deep yellow and very focused in spots. On the wood floor stained with paint. On the old exposed brick walls. Five other artists, including Maddie Dunne, were at work. They were people Hayley had grown to know and become friends with. Maddie, she’d talked into grabbing a corner and designating some time for her art. She’d only started a couple weeks ago, since her classes ended, but she seemed ridiculously happy to just be there. Another artist walked through from the shop, smiling at them both as he passed and headed toward his assigned spot. More would soon follow, coming in after work or even after dinner.
“Listen,” Ross said, still quietly, then waited until Hayley turned to him and he had her full attention. “I have the paperwork.”
Hayley blinked at him, waiting for him to go on, but he didn’t. “What?”
Ross gave one nod, his smile wide.
“Ross. You’re sure?” she asked, the same question she’d asked him about a hundred times over the past months.
“I’m positive. This is the right move. I feel really good about it.”
“You’re absolutely, one hundred percent, without a shade of doubt sure?” Hayley felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest, and her palms became clammy.
“I am absolutely, one hundred percent, without a shade of doubt sure.”
Hayley wasn’t a girl who squealed in delight, but she did just that as she set down her brush, stood, and threw her arms around Ross, who laughed heartily as he caught her in a hug.
They had the attention of the room, and Hayley looked at Ross to see what his plan was. This was his deal, she knew, and she didn’t want to overstep. She waited as he cleared his throat.
“I have some news,” he said, and the six artists with their gazes trained on him, various creative supplies in their hands, waited for him to speak. He gestured at the small whiteboard on the wall that read, in red marker, “57 days left.” “You’re all aware that my plan has been to close the shop over the summer. I love it here so much, but both of my kids are in Nashville, and my wife and I would like to be near them, so closing up and retiring seemed like the next step in my life.”
The folks present knew this already. Ross had been clear, feeling it only fair to let them know they’d need to think about a different space to work. Gentle nods went around the room.
“But there’s been a slight change of plans.” At that, Hayley watched the artists perk up a bit, expressions of curiosity on their faces. Ross turned to her, held out his arm, and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Hayley’s going to buy Brushstrokes and everything in it.”
The curiosity changed over to surprised gasps.
“Seriously?” asked Margo as she sat at her pottery wheel, her hands brown with clay, and happy exclamations went around the studio. “That’s amazing!”
Hayley nodded enthusiastically, smiling at her. “My plan is to keep things as is, but maybe modernize a bit.” She bumped Ross with a hip, acknowledging their many discussions about how dated the shop was.
They went over a few details and answered questions, three more artists coming in to work and were filled in, and the overall atmosphere was one of joy, happiness, and relief. Hayley felt all of those things and more. She cleaned her brushes and packed up her things, wanting badly to share the news with one particular person first. She left with a copy of the papers, Ross promising his lawyer would send hers everything she needed, and they’d set a date for solidifying things.
Once in her car and driving, Hayley let out a whoop of pure happiness. It was happening. It was happening. The path for a future she’d never even considered was now laid out in front of her.
All she had to do was follow it.
* * *
“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me,” Olivia muttered under her breath as the contractor walked away from her after telling her he’d need another week to complete the job. The job he was supposed to have finished two weeks ago. Olivia realized this was a typical issue when it came to dealing with construction, but it definitely took the very precise planner in her and tossed her into chaos. Which she did not handle well.
She blew out a breath that made her lips flap, then turned away from the spa wing to head back to her office. A glance at her watch told her it was after six and she should go home, having come in twelve long
hours ago. She was exhausted from not getting enough sleep because her brain wouldn’t shut off at night. Her feet were killing her—maybe cute shoes with heels were not worth this kind of pain. She hadn’t eaten since wolfing down a granola bar that morning, but she’d had way too much coffee.
With a nod to Jacob, who was manning the front desk tonight, she headed toward her office. The door was closed, but she didn’t think about it as being odd, mostly because her brain was fried from the day. She’d had terrific ideas for updating and expanding the Evergreen, and Benton Markham had let her run with them. Only she’d had no earthly idea how stressful it would all be, from making decisions about things as small as fixtures to trying to wrangle contractors and workers. Still, she was the manager of a fairly successful, soon-to-be very successful resort, which was what she’d wanted for years, and she was damn proud of that. Exhausted as she was, she was also happier than she’d ever been with her job.
The smell hit her first, but she didn’t really register it until she opened her office door and saw the place setting laid out on her desk. Roast chicken, a baked potato brimming with sour cream and cheddar, a small salad, and a flute of what looked a lot like champagne all sat waiting for her. Across the office, Hayley lounged in a chair reading a book. When she looked up and smiled at her, Olivia’s heart melted right there in her chest. It had been five months, and she kept waiting for the time to come when that didn’t happen any longer. So far, it didn’t seem like that time would ever arrive.
“Hi, gorgeous,” Hayley said as she closed her book and sat up.
Olivia crossed the room and gave her a soft kiss on the mouth. “Hi yourself. What’s all this?”
“Dinner. I had Tessa make you up a plate because odds are, you forgot to eat again.”
“Odds are, you’re right. Oh, my God, I’m gonna drool all over myself.” She took a seat at her desk and dug in, making various humming noises as she ate. When she glanced up at Hayley, she noticed the ice bucket with a bottle in it and Hayley’s own flute.
“I dropped Walter off at your mom’s,” Hayley said as she filled her glass. “She reminded me that my dad is coming this weekend and they want us to come over for dinner on Saturday.”
Olivia grinned. “She must have talked him into not taking her out to someplace fancy.”
“Please. One bite of her meatballs and they’ll never go out for dinner again.”
Olivia chewed the chicken, savored the seasonings Tessa used—some Olivia could pinpoint and others were a mystery, the way Tessa liked it—and cocked her head. “Will it ever stop being a little weird?”
“What, our parents dating? Probably not.” Hayley looked at her and they both grinned because the truth was, neither of them had seen their parents this happy in years. Taking the chair in front of Olivia’s desk, Hayley sat down and said, “You look tired, baby.”
Olivia nodded, her mouth full of potato, and willed herself to slow down rather than shoveling food into her face like a starving person. “Exhausted,” she said, hoping Hayley could make out the word around the food in her mouth.
“Well.” Hayley picked up Olivia’s flute and handed it to her, then hoisted her own. “I have something for us to toast, too.”
“You do? Tell me.” Olivia loved when Hayley looked like this: excited, a little flushed because of it, trying to keep her smile small, but wanting to let it bloom into a much bigger one. “Tell me,” she ordered with a chuckle as Hayley reached into the back pocket of her jeans. She put a small batch of paper, trifolded, onto the desk.
Olivia set down her fork, picked up the papers, and unfolded them. She didn’t have to read any further than the first page, which said at the top in big, bold type, “Deed of Sale.”
She blinked at it, looked up at Hayley, back down at the paper and double-checked the details. She blinked some more as her very tired brain struggled to make the words come out of her mouth. She managed to make a sound of some sort as she pointed to the paper, then looked up at Hayley expectantly.
“Yes! He decided to take me up on my offer!”
In the seven months she’d known Hayley, Olivia had never seen her look quite this happy. Her eyes were bright, her smile was huge, and she seemed almost lighter somehow, like something had been pressing her down slightly and had now lifted off her. Olivia got up, went around the desk, and caught Hayley in a huge hug, felt her eyes well up.
Taking Hayley’s face in both hands, she held it, looked her in the eye. “I am so proud of you, sweetheart.”
Hayley had been waiting for this. Olivia knew it. Yes, they were very happy as a couple, even in these still-early stages of a relationship, but it was always clear, at least to Olivia, that something was still missing for Hayley. When they’d talked several weeks ago, she began to understand. Hayley had stepped down from managing the Evergreen, had bowed out of employment there altogether, and had taken a part-time gig at Brushstrokes. Benton hadn’t been thrilled, but he’d eased up a lot on his daughter since the holidays. Olivia was also pretty sure her mother had some influence there. Above the shop was a small apartment, and Hayley rented it, wanting to stay in town with Olivia but knowing it was much too soon to be living together. And for the most part, she seemed happy.
But still, it always seemed to Olivia that Hayley was missing…something.
Now she knew what it was. A purpose.
“My God, I have so many ideas.” Hayley’s eyes darted around. “I want to update the shop, make it look more modern. I’m going to start contacting some new vendors, see what kinds of new gadgets we might be able to sell. Maybe run some workshops and classes. There are so many artists that come here! I want to be a staple for them. A place where they feel comfortable and understood and free to work.”
Olivia watched her as Hayley paced the office, using her hands to talk, almost spilling her champagne in the process, ideas flowing out of her like water from a spigot. When she finally turned to Olivia and saw the expression on her face, she stopped.
“What?” Hayley asked, grinning like a small child on Christmas morning.
“You.” Olivia shook her head in wonder. “I am so very happy for you.” Hayley’s face softened as Olivia held up her glass. “Come over here and let’s toast so I can actually drink some of this.”
Hayley crossed the room and went around the desk until she was standing only a few inches from Olivia. Speaking softly, Olivia said, “To the new owner of Brushstrokes, the woman I love.”
Their glasses made a pretty tinkling sound as they touched, and both women sipped, eyes locked on each other.
“I was thinking,” Olivia said, as she sat back down.
“Uh-oh,” Hayley teased, her standard reply.
“Now that you’ll be a respected business owner in the community, maybe…you could move out of that tiny apartment above the shop?” She posed it as a question intentionally so Hayley wouldn’t feel any pressure. “I mean, I know Walter would love it. Me?” She shrugged. “I don’t really care.”
That got a smile as Hayley set her glass down, turned Olivia’s chair, and sat in her lap. She looked into Olivia’s eyes, stayed that way for a moment, and Olivia felt seen. Warm. Loved. “Are you asking me to move in with you?” Hayley asked.
“Only for about the twenty-seventh time…but yes.”
Again, Hayley stared at Olivia for what felt like a long time. Olivia would never tire of looking into those beautiful green eyes, picking out each individual shade of green, noticing the small gold flecks and the dark circle around the green.
“I love you, Olivia,” Hayley said softly, and Olivia would never tire of that either—hearing that most gorgeous of phrases.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back. “Move in with me.”
“Okay.”
Olivia felt her own smile spread wide across her face. “Yeah?”
Hayley nodded, her smile just as big. “Yeah.” Then she leaned in and kissed Olivia. Softly, but full of promise. Gently, but full of sweetness and
love. And Olivia knew. Right then, in that moment, she understood that one innocent walk in the woods in the middle of winter had changed the course of her life. Just like that. Forever.
She would never need anything else. As long as she had Hayley, nothing else mattered. Hayley was hers.
Her heart.
Her love.
Her everything.
About the Author
Georgia Beers is the award-winning author of more than twenty lesbian romances. She resides in upstate New York, where she was born and raised. When not writing, she enjoys way too much TV, not nearly enough wine, spin classes (aka near-death experiences), and loving all over her dog (much to his dismay). She is currently hard at work on her next book. You can visit her and find out more at www.georgiabeers.com.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
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Leading the Witness by Carsen Taite. When defense attorney Catherine Landauer reluctantly becomes the key witness in prosecutor Starr Rio’s latest criminal trial, their hearts, careers, and lives may be at risk. (978-1-63555-512-7)
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