Just One Moment

by Dena Blake

  Shay hadn’t objected when Erica wanted to meet her for dinner to discuss a commission the week before. But if she’d have known Erica was her competition, she would’ve never let it happen. She took out her phone and sent a text to Rachel.

  Where are you?

  After a minute or two a message came through from Rachel: Trying to find a place to park.

  She hadn’t thought of that. She typed back, Ugh. Parking is miserable here.

  Found one. I’ll be there in a minute.

  Hurry!

  The door chime caught her attention again, and she was excited to see Rachel enter the gallery. She looked absolutely gorgeous tonight, dressed in a flower-patterned sundress with her dark hair loosely scattered around her face. She looked so much different than the Rachel she saw during her therapy sessions. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was all for her. Maybe it was. She rushed through the mingling crowd to greet her and hugged her tightly.

  “Wow. That’s quite a greeting.” Rachel chuckled and held on for a little longer than necessary.

  “Wow. You look stunning.” She watched the blush take over Rachel’s face.

  “I don’t get out much and thought I might find one or two single lesbians hanging out. They come to these events, right?”

  She couldn’t help the grin that took over her face. “They do, usually in packs.”

  Rachel took in a breath. “Okay, then. I’m ready for them. I think.”

  She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about letting Rachel into the wilds of art lesbians. She was a treasure, and she kind of liked keeping her to herself for now. “Yeah, you are.”

  “That’s her, huh?” She glanced over at Erica.

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded and took a deep breath. “How do I compete with that?”

  Rachel turned to face her. “From what I see in front of me, there’s no competition.”

  “Listen, that’s very sweet, and like I said before, if I wasn’t completely in love with my wife, I’d totally let you romance me.”

  Rachel let out a soft chuckle that held a tinge of sadness. “Well, there’s that.” She held her gaze for a moment and smiled. “Okay, then, let’s see what you’re up against.”

  * * *

  Chloe had finally managed to get away from a customer who had talked her ear off for the better part of an hour. She needed a glass of wine and wanted to check in with Shay. She’d seen Rachel come in about the same time Erica had shanghaied her. She hadn’t paid a bit of attention to the first few sentences that came out of Erica’s mouth because of it. Rachel looked beautiful tonight, dressed in a sleeveless summer dress with her hair falling loosely around her face.

  Chloe’s jealousy burned deep in her belly and made it hard to breathe. Rachel was just waiting in the wings to pounce as soon as Shay learned of their relationship status before the accident. Leaving the two of them alone together for too long was a mistake. It was ridiculously obvious that Rachel had more interest in Shay than physical therapy.

  She was on her way across the room to the bar to see them when Shay headed her off halfway with a fresh glass of wine.

  “You’re a lifesaver, Shay.”

  “That’s my job. Keep you happy and ply you with liquor.” Shay gave her a sexy smile and winked.

  “Keep it up, and you just may get to take me home tonight.”

  Shay’s voice was low and sultry as she leaned in and whispered, “Ooh, my wildest dreams are about to come true.”

  Chloe’s heart thumped. She’d missed the banter and laughter between them.

  Rachel joined them and pulled her brows together. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” Shay said. She seemed to be content to keep the banter just between the two of them. Chloe liked that. They had something new to them alone, unsullied by the outside world.

  Rachel finished her glass of wine and excused herself to go to the bathroom, so she and Shay moved to a quiet corner in the back of the gallery for a few moments of privacy. Erica suddenly appeared when she was in mid-sentence, so wrapped up in the feelings Shay was stirring in her that she hadn’t seen her coming.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” Erica said as she slipped in between them.

  Shay threw up her hands. “Fuck! Do you mind? I’m trying to have a private conversation with my wife.” This was totally out of character for Shay. Erica dropped her mouth open and blinked. Shay wasn’t the least bit affected by her stunned reaction.

  “What are you doing? I’m working,” Chloe said, and Shay clenched her teeth and stared into her eyes. Her arm stung when Shay took her by the hand and pulled her outside behind the gallery.

  The door clanged shut, and she found herself pushed up against the brick building being kissed so completely and expertly that she had to grab hold of Shay to keep from melting to the ground into a puddle. A jolt of electricity hit her when she felt the softness of Shay’s breasts against her own as the length of their bodies touched. Every nerve ending snapped to attention when she pressed into her as the kiss deepened. Holy fuck. She wanted her now more than she’d ever wanted her before. And when Shay broke the connection, Chloe felt cold and hollow.

  “That’s what I’m doing. If you want to finish that, let me know.” Shay pulled open the door and left Chloe plastered against the wall, stunned and searching for balance. She didn’t know what that was about, but she’d never been so turned on in her life.

  * * *

  Shay had rushed through the gallery, grabbing Rachel on her way to the front door. Conversation between them had been slim on the way to the car, and it hadn’t gotten much better once they’d hit the road.

  “You wanna tell me what happened? I mean, I came back from the bathroom just in time to catch you pulling Chloe out back.”

  “Just who the hell does that woman think she is? She’s not that special.”

  “Erica?”

  “Yes. Erica.” Shay blew out the words, letting her exasperation ring through.

  “Nope. Nothing special there.”

  “She had no right to butt into our conversation like that.”

  Rachel nodded as she drove. “You’re absolutely right.”

  “Chloe is married to me.”

  “Right again.”

  “She has a lot of nerve acting like she’s more important than me.”

  “Let’s take the bitch out.” Rachel’s voice lowered to a growl.

  Shay broke into laughter. “I’m being totally irrational, aren’t I?”

  “Little bit.” Rachel smiled. “But I’m loving every minute of it.”

  She held her head with her hand. “Oh, God. Did I make a scene?”

  “Not too bad. You sure left Erica with her mouth open. What happened outside with Chloe?”

  “I kissed her.” She closed her eyes. “Long and hard.” A tremor ran through her as she remembered the feel of her lips, her tongue, her body against hers.

  “That little green-eyed monster came at you hard.”

  “I couldn’t stand seeing Erica with her, knowing she’d fucked her.” She shook her head. “I have no idea where this is coming from. I’ve never been jealous before.” But then again, she’d never had reason to be. When Erica had interrupted them, that had been the last straw. This woman clearly had no boundaries, and she was tired of it.

  “Okay. So now Chloe knows you’re serious.”

  “She sure does. She’s probably afraid to come home, and I’m kind of afraid of her coming home too.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “We’ll fight, or she’ll just reject me again.”

  “Do you want to stay with me?”

  “I don’t know. Should I?”

  Rachel shrugged. “I think it’ll remove the awkward. Give you both time to cool off.”

  “Let’s do it. I need to get some clothes.”

  “I’m sure I have something you can borrow.” Rachel took a U-turn at the next stoplight and headed back into the city. “It’ll be fun. We’ll pop some pop
corn and watch a movie.”

  She sent Chloe a text letting her know she was going home with Rachel. Chloe didn’t carry her phone with her at gallery events, so she wouldn’t see it until later, after everyone was gone. She wasn’t sure how Chloe would feel about her not coming home tonight, but she wasn’t up for being rejected again. They both needed a short break.

  * * *

  Shay woke up the next morning on Rachel’s couch snuggled up against her. It was a little weird and definitely uncomfortable when she’d realized where she was and who she was clinging to. Rachel might have felt differently, though.

  They’d stayed up late eating popcorn and watching old horror movies. They’d started at either end of the couch and had soon both decided they needed to be in the middle, sitting thigh to thigh, so they could hang on to each other during the scary parts. Rachel was quickly becoming her closest friend, and she seemed to be respecting the boundaries Shay had set.

  The text she’d received from Chloe last night had been a simple question mark. She’d replied with, I think we need a break from each other tonight. Although the bubbles had appeared on her screen indicating a return message, Chloe hadn’t responded again, which she took as agreement. It left a huge knot in the pit of her stomach, but it was the right thing to do. Forcing intimacy would just push them further apart.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It was close to six p.m., and Shay wasn’t home yet. Chloe had spent the day in her studio painting. It was funny how her creativity had been sparked again. The banter and flirty smiles she’d shared with Shay last night had opened that door again so easily. When Shay had pulled her outside, she’d thought they were going to fight, so the gloriously intense kiss had been unexpected. Every one of her senses had come to life. They’d been awakened, and all the layers of hurt and anger had begun to fall away like a mummy that had been wrapped in thousands of rolls of cotton and buried for a thousand years. It was clear now that she was still in love with Shay, or perhaps she was falling in love with her all over again.

  Waking up alone had been more disappointing than she’d realized. When Shay had sent the text letting her know she wasn’t coming home, that she was staying with Rachel, she’d been ridiculously jealous. She’d even written and erased multiple texts before deciding not to respond at all. Though she hadn’t been sure how their night would end, she’d wanted the opportunity to choose. Shay had made the choice for her, which irritated her, a control issue she needed to contain. Shay had always been the level-headed one. Emotions always got in the way of Chloe’s choices. Shay had made the best decision for both of them. If Shay had come home last night, she very well might have ended up making love to her, which she would have regretted.

  Even though she’d had to admit it felt good to be flirted with—wanted somehow—she wasn’t at a point with her emotions to deal with the confusion that intimacy with Shay would create. Clearly, with all that was going on in their lives, they’d lost something long before Shay had strayed. Had the money and success been worth it? No, she didn’t think so. Life had been so much simpler before, and she’d always felt loved.

  One of Shay’s journals lay on Chloe’s lap as she sat on the deck and stared out onto waves while they crashed against the beach. She’d pulled it from the stack in the bedroom closet after she’d cleaned up in the studio. She ran her fingers across the cover, wondering how Shay would feel about her reading her innermost thoughts. Then she opened it.

  Pizza, sunset, and stars…

  We ate pizza in the car tonight. The restaurant was too busy, the wait for a table over an hour. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was so hungry, I thought I was going to pass out. Chloe was so sweet. She ordered a pizza and a couple of sodas to go, and we drove to the beach. She put on some jazz music, opened the liftgate of her SUV, and we sat in the back and ate as we watched the sunset. She even picked off all the onions because they’d gotten the order wrong, and one of the sodas turned out to be diet, so we shared. The whole night should’ve been a colossal fail, but she made it work. That was the moment I knew I loved her. The sunset was gorgeous, and the night was so clear when the stars blanketed the sky everything else besides her heartbeat and mine fell away. The whole night turned out so impossibly romantic. She kissed me, and I truly felt it to my toes. Tonight made it crystal clear. I will be with Chloe forever if she’ll have me.

  Chloe shook her head. If life could only be so simple again. As she remembered it, the night had been a colossal fail. She’d planned for a nice romantic dinner, then a visit on the roof of her apartment building where they could watch the stars, and after that who knew what. But the reservation mix-up had scrambled her plans. They’d given her table to someone else, and even though she’d planned well in advance, she wasn’t the kind of person to insist they eject someone else to make it right.

  Shay had been so gracious about the whole thing, it hadn’t even entered her mind that the subpar substitute venue of the back of her SUV would impact her the way it had. The sunset had been dreamy, and when the stars came out, Shay had told her stories about each one as though she’d created them all herself. The kiss they’d shared had only made the night more magical.

  The sound of the door rolling across the rail as it opened pulled her out of her thoughts. Shay was home. Her stomach vaulted, and she quickly slid the journal into her sketch bag.

  “Listen, I’m sorry about last night.” Shay touched her on the shoulder. “I don’t know why I acted that way. I know it’s not your fault that I don’t remember. It won’t happen again.”

  Still a little dreamy from the memories brought back by the journal, she smiled and asked, “You want to walk down to the beach and watch the sunset?”

  “I would love that.” The excitement in Shay’s eyes was vivid. “Can we get a pizza?”

  Chloe chuckled. “Wouldn’t think of doing it any other way.” Something had changed in Shay since the accident. She seemed so carefree now, a shining light amid all the darkness in recent months.

  * * *

  The night went almost exactly as the date had gone before. Only they’d picked up the pizza and a bottle of wine, come back home, and found a nice spot on the beach behind the house to watch the sunset. It was romantic as hell, and Chloe knew it was a bad idea.

  She couldn’t help but notice Shay smile as she watched Chloe meticulously pick the onions from her slice before she ate it. They hadn’t been a mistake on their first pizza date, and most people would think it was odd that she liked her pizza cooked with onions yet didn’t like to eat them, but Shay had always called it an endearing quality. Shay finished her piece and tossed the crust into the box. That hadn’t changed. She never ate the crust, but Chloe loved it, and she saved it for her. Part of the reason they blended so well—the perfect balance. Shay moved the pizza box and the wine from between them and scooted over closer to her. “Can I kiss you?”

  Chloe wiped the remnants of pizza from her mouth. “You don’t have to ask to kiss me.”

  “Lately, it kinda feels like I do.”

  A sigh whooshed out of Chloe’s mouth as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. “I’m sorry. There’s just been so much going on lately. I haven’t been myself.”

  “Join the club. I don’t know who I am anymore.” Shay stared up at the sky. “I feel like the clouds in the mist above the ocean. One creeping up on the other just to have another gust of wind push it farther away until it becomes too far out of reach.”

  She didn’t know how to fix that for Shay. As it was, she was holding on by a thread to what they had. She couldn’t feel sorry for her right now. “How was your night with Rachel?” It was none of her business, but she needed to know.

  “Fun. We made popcorn and watched horror movies.” The smile on Shay’s face was beautiful as she spoke, and Chloe grew curious about what else might have happened.

  “You’re wearing her clothes.” The Largo Medical Center T-shirt hadn’t escaped her notice when Sh
ay had shown up on the deck tonight, and it hadn’t left her thoughts much during the night since. She couldn’t help but wonder if Shay had slept with Rachel.

  Shay plucked at the front of the shirt and looked down to read it. “I was cold, and the dress would’ve been uncomfortable to sleep in.”

  “So, you changed last night?”

  “Are you asking me if I slept with Rachel?” Shay looked sideways at her and tilted her head. “’Cause it kinda sounds like you are.”

  She rolled her lips in and shook her head. “You can’t tell me she doesn’t want that. She’s been flirting with you since day one.”

  “Oh, she definitely wants that.” Shay had her full attention now. “But I don’t want that. The only one I want to touch is you, and you won’t let me.” She blew out a heavy breath. “I’m doing anything and everything to get some sort of reaction from you.”

  Chloe raised her eyebrows. “So you’re trying to make me jealous?”

  “You’ve been ridiculously passive. Forgive me if I need some sort of emotion from you. Good or bad.” She threw her hands up. “Say it! Say I’m fucking driving you crazy! Say something! Then at least I’d know you care. It’s better than nothing at all.”

  The pained look in Shay’s eyes was too much to bear. She grabbed the empty bottle of wine and glasses and stood up. “Of course I care. In fact, I care too fucking much.” She slogged through the sand to the deck and then went inside the house.

  “Wait,” Shay said, and Chloe could tell she wasn’t far behind.

  The trash can clanged as the wine bottle crashed to the bottom. “I’m doing everything in my power to help you recuperate, and all you do is make it harder for me.”

  “I’m not going to break, you know.” Shay took her by the arm and swung her around. “I give up. Can we just forget about my recovery and be what we were tonight? Do a little less fighting and a little more of this?” Shay pulled her into a scorching kiss, and every part of her was ready to do exactly what Shay wanted.