“I see. That makes a lot more sense. I don’t know a lot of grooms that care as much as the brides do about the wedding planning.” Keira paused her stacking. “And why does it make sense if you know them?”
“Oh, Charlie was madly in love with Hailey for years, but she never told her. They were best friends for over ten years before she finally confessed. Hailey figured it out, and they’ve been together ever since.”
“That’s kind of sweet.”
Keira picked up the stack she’d built and carried it in the kitchen. Emma felt she’d left her manners behind and stood, stacked, and followed her.
“They’re perfect together.” Emma set the plates next to Keira’s stack on the counter. “They’re probably going to be popping out babies soon.”
Emma laughed. She’d known Hailey had been baby crazy since they’d reconnected. It was actually one of the reasons it hadn’t worked between them. Emma wasn’t so sure she wanted kids, and Hailey was more than ready for at least one or two.
“Okay, that’s definitely sweet then,” Keira replied, and Emma met her eyes. They were blue. They went well with the equally light blue shirt she was wearing. “Do you have your own Hailey or Charlie?” Keira asked after a moment.
Emma watched her bite her bottom lip. She wasn’t sure if it was out of nervousness or just something she did.
“Hailey was my Hailey before she was Charlie’s, actually.”
Emma laughed when she thought about what she was saying. It wasn’t an answer to Keira’s question, and she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just said no, but she knew that by calling Hailey her Hailey, she’d at least given away a major fact about herself.
“Oh, really?” Keira smiled and then laughed as well. “There’s a story there, right?”
Emma felt the phone in her pocket vibrate and said, “Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.” Keira nodded toward the phone as Emma pulled it out.
“It’s Ivy. I should take this.”
“No problem.”
◆◆◆
Keira watched as Emma stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. So, Emma Colton had an ex-girlfriend named Hailey, and Hailey was now married to a woman named Charlie. She’d learned much more about Emma today than she thought she would; and then there was that smile. That smile definitely made it to her eyes, and it was adorable. It was also damn sexy when she giggled. Keira shook her head, stacked Emma’s plates on top of the plates she’d brought in and scolded herself internally.
“Sorry, she just had to ask me something for my new hire paperwork,” Emma told her when she re-entered the kitchen. “But I should go.”
“Sure.”
“I live in the city, so it’s going to take me like an hour to get back. And I should try to do some other work if I can.”
“Right. Sorry for dragging you all the way out here,” Keira apologized.
She thought about explaining the situation about how she and Michelle had the office once that was in the city – though not exactly the best part of the city, but that seemed like a long story and not one that would likely give Emma confidence in her ability to manage this huge event.
“No, it’s fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound like I was mad about coming out here or anything. I’m–” She lowered her head. “I’m not. I’m having a hard time explaining myself these days. Maybe it’s the water out here.”
“Still getting settled in?” Keira smiled and gave a soft laugh.
“Trying to, yeah.” Emma lifted her head.
“Listen, my friends and I are going out tonight. Well, not out out. We go to the Exploratorium After Dark once a month.”
“What’s that?” Emma asked.
“A museum without kids at night, with booze. I have an extra ticket, and my two friends aren’t entirely terrible. You should come.”
She felt herself cringe inside. She wasn’t asking Emma on a date, but she had the anxiousness that came with it.
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude on your thing,” Emma returned and left the kitchen.
Keira followed her and watched as she picked up her bag.
“You wouldn’t be. And, like I said, I have an extra ticket. My friend Kellan couldn’t come, and we already had the ticket. It sells out every week basically, so you know it’s a good time.”
“I shouldn’t. I have work.” Emma slipped her bag over her shoulder.
“Look, we get there around 7:30. It will just be me, my friend Hillary and Greene. I’ll wait outside for you until 7:45. If you don’t show, you don’t show. I’ll just scalp your ticket. Scalping is risky. I could get arrested, and that would basically be your fault.” She smirked.
Emma laughed, which was at least in part what Keira had hoped for.
“How is it my fault that your friend couldn’t go and you have an extra ticket?”
“7:45,” Keira repeated. “And if you don’t show by then, we’ll go in and have a great time without you.”
She thought about adding how fun Greene could be, or how smart Hillary was, and that they both grew up here and could tell her anything she wanted about the city, but she thought that might be too much.
“I’ll think about it,” Emma answered after a moment. “I should go.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
“I said I’d think about it,” Emma repeated with a light laugh.
Keira opened the door for her. Emma stepped through it.
“I’ll still see you later. It doesn’t matter if you come tonight or not. We’ll see each other next week.”
“Right.” Emma nodded and stepped down one stair before turning back. “I guess I’ll see you later then.”
CHAPTER 6
Keira stood outside the Exploratorium trying to combat the wind coming off the ocean and making her hair swirl around her. She regretted not pulling it back the third time she had to run her fingers through it to try to keep it in place. Hillary was beside her checking her phone. Other people had already begun filing inside.
“It’s 7:37. Do you think she’s going to stand you up?” she asked.
“It’s not standing me up. It’s not a date, and she didn’t agree to come. She said she’d think about it. I told her I’d stand out here until 7:45, and then I’d go in. So, that’s what I’m doing,” Keira replied.
“7:38,” Hillary stated as she looked down at her phone.
“Where’s Greene?” Keira asked her as she glanced around, pretending to look for Greene while actually looking to see if she could spot Emma crossing the street from the parking lot or to the left toward the Ferry building through the mass of tourists approaching from that direction.
“She said she’s going to be late. Her lesson went over. She just texted.” Hillary pocketed her phone. “She’ll meet us inside.”
“So, we’re just waiting for Emma then?”
“I guess so, Casanova.” Hillary chuckled.
“It’s not a date,” Keira repeated.
“Well, whatever it is, I’ll just meet you inside. I need wine stat. It was a long day of molding young, stubborn minds. I need alcohol.” Hillary placed a gentle hand on Keira’s forearm. “Good luck.”
She turned and headed toward the entrance while Keira stood, not knowing what to do with her arms all the sudden. She’d worn jeans and a t-shirt with a button-up boyfriend sweater over it in blue to match her eyes. She’d worn casual black boots. She’d done her makeup in a way that said she’d done just enough but not too much to get ready for the evening. She hoped Emma would come tonight. She’d tried not to the entire time she’d gotten ready, and she honestly couldn’t understand why it was so important to her that Emma attend the event because Emma hadn’t exactly been warm or friendly with her. She’d been polite and professional, which was what she should be because they had a business relationship. Keira found her to be incredibly beautiful, but that was hard for anyone to ignore if she had to guess. They’d hardly talked at all, and Emma had only committed to thinking about coming, which h
adn’t made Keira optimistic. She stood outside until 7:46 and then determined that if she stayed out there one minute longer, she’d be that desperate woman waiting for the date that had stood her up. She also knew that if she did stand outside longer, Hill and Greene would never let her hear the end of it.
“Well, I’m calling it,” she said to herself and turned to begin making her way inside.
◆◆◆
“Your girl didn’t show?” Greene asked when she arrived to Hillary and Keira ordering from the bar.
“She’s not my girl. I barely know her. It was a casual invite to help her meet people in the city. That’s all,” Keira explained.
“Yeah, that’s why you waited outside until 7:50,” Hillary retorted with an eye-roll.
“You know, I don’t know why I wanted her to meet my friends. You’re all assholes,” Keira replied.
The three of them enjoyed the exhibits, live music and drinks, but Keira found herself thinking about the fact that Emma hadn’t shown up. Keira enjoyed staring out the back window of the museum that overlooked the water while she sipped on her drink. Greene and Hillary had both gone onto other exhibits, but she’d wanted a moment to herself, and they gave it to her every time she asked at these events. She’d done it so often, she no longer needed to ask. When Michelle had first moved to the city, they’d gone to the Exploratorium during the day just to have fun like kids. It had become their thing shortly after. And when Michelle died, she couldn’t make herself return. When her friends decided to try After Dark, it had taken some coaxing, but they’d finally convinced her to go. It had turned into a new and different thing with them but was still somehow familiar to her and reminded her of Michelle and their long friendship.
She took a moment like this every time they came just to think about Michelle. She found it helpful to come to one of their favorite places and remember some of their best times together. She’d sip and stare, wondering how Michelle would feel about how she was living her life or if she was disappointed in how she’d handled the business without her help. She found herself vacillating between thoughts of Michelle scolding her for causing their joint venture to nearly go under and thoughts of Michelle telling her she was proud of her and to hang in there. When she finished her drink, she let out one more sigh and set off to find her friends.
◆◆◆
Emma went to work on Friday as usual and worked with Mason on arranging her calendar and setting up her preferences. She received Keira’s email about the chosen caterer, and Mason forwarded the calendar invite for Monday morning when the caterer, Katie, would come to her office and discuss the menu for the event. The two messages, coming almost back-to-back, made Emma think about the missed opportunity from the previous night. Keira had invited her out with her friends, likely out of pity, but it was still an opportunity to get out and meet some new people. She should have gone, but something told her not to. Keira was a vendor. Hanging out even casually would change the dynamic of that relationship, and she didn’t want to chance acting like an asshole again and really screwing things up for her first major project at the Department.
Later, she headed home first to change out of her work clothes and into some skinny jeans that Summer and Lena had once told her looked good on her and pulled on an evergreen colored knit sweater. It was a Friday night. She needed to put herself out there. Hailey had texted her at least three times asking about her weekend plans to make sure she had them. Emma had insisted she was going out and would meet people. Hailey had requested proof. Emma thought a little stroll in the direction of the bar she’d been to the other night and then a picture of her drink while she was inside or maybe her with the bartender in the background might serve her purpose nicely.
When she arrived, there was rock music playing loudly throughout the space, and it was definitely busier than it had been last time. There were no stools available at the bar, and every table appeared to be taken, which meant she’d be relegated to stand in the middle of the floor, holding her drink. She took a second look around to see if maybe this was one of Keira’s main hangout locations. It had been interesting when Emma mentioned the fact that she’d dated Hailey. She’d noticed a change in Keira’s expression; a recognition. Emma didn’t see her though. She decided she could stay for one drink. She ordered a scotch, neat, and took it from the attractive bartender, who passed it to her with a wink, taking a few steps back into that open space. After a few minutes, Emma noticed two women chatting and laughing. She considered joining them until one of them moved significantly closer to the other and slid her fingers up the other woman’s arm. Emma gulped her scotch, placed the glass on the counter and headed in the direction of the door. But before she left, she snapped a quick picture of herself in the bar on her phone and sent it to Hailey.
She walked in the brisk night air, wrapping her arms around her body to protect against chill since she hadn’t worn a jacket. She’d lost her mojo. That was the only thing she could think as she left the bar. Her ability to enter a room and start talking to strangers had disappeared when she’d moved. She hadn’t realized that the ability she had might have been because she had friends around her. When she’d gone to The Lantern or other bars, it was rarely alone. She had friends there to encourage her to talk to the hot woman at the bar or to just sit there and wait for her to return if she decided to do that on her own. They’d offer their mocking condolences if she’d gotten shot down and congratulations if she’d gotten a phone number. This way was far lonelier, and she found herself lacking the courage she’d once had to go out and meet new people. Sometimes, being an adult sucked.
As she walked on, she noticed another bar with a rainbow in the logo and decided she’d go inside if there was no cover and check it out, but if there was a cover, she’d head home instead. When the bouncer only checked her ID at the door, she decided she’d stay only if the music was tolerable. And when one of her favorite songs was playing over the loudspeakers, she decided she’d stay only if there was a seat at the bar. When she spotted two stools, she decided she wasn’t staying because neither was on the end of the bar and she wanted a seat at the end. She went to leave when she spotted a sign that read, “Speed Dating Free Tonight” on the floor next to the bar. She’d been so wrapped up in finding excuses, she hadn’t noticed several tables had been pulled together and chairs lined up on both sides. There were two or three women wearing identical pink polo shirts and carrying clipboards while women that must have been participants were either filling out forms or applying sticker nametags to their chests.
“Are you here for the event?” a woman in a polo asked.
“I was just leaving,” Emma replied and hooked her thumb back toward the door.
“It’s free tonight. We’re doing it as a promotion with the bar. No entrance fee and you get a free glass of house wine. You just have to fill out the entry form.” She lifted a clipboard with a pad of forms and a pen attached at the top. “You’ll spend two minutes with each eligible woman and then check the boxes of the ones you’d like to speak to further. If they check your box too, you’ll spend ten more minutes with each. And, hopefully, you’ll end up with just one by the end of the night. We’ve reserved booths. You and your chosen lady will have the rest of the night to sit back and get to know one another.”
Emma had never speed dated before. She had no idea if this was how it worked or if this was some novel concept. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to participate in it either way.
“No thanks. Really, I was just heading home.”
“Emma?”
Emma’s eyes got big as she turned to see Keira standing there with one of the women she’d seen her with the other night.
“Hi,” Emma replied and felt like she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing.
“Are you here for speed dating?” Keira asked her with a lifted set of eyebrows and a smirk Emma thought was kind of sexy.
“No, I–” Emma stopped. “I was just leaving. I was walki
ng around and saw this place. I thought I’d…” She lowered her head and raised it again, hoping that would help her regain her normal composure. “I’m just going home.”
“It’s early,” Keira stated as if that should mean something. “You should stay. This is Kellan.” She motioned to the woman standing next to her. “Kell, this is Emma Colton.”
“You’re the woman that was supposed to take my ticket last night,” Kellan stated as she pointed at Emma.
“Take your ticket?” Emma thought out loud. “Oh, to the museum thing?”
“I heard you didn’t show,” Kellan added.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Kellan’s friend Olivia is running the event tonight. It’s her company.” She motioned behind Emma. Emma turned to see that the woman who had been trying to get her to participate had given up and moved onto another woman, but a tall redhead near the back of the bar waved when she saw Kellan. “We’re here to show our support.”
“That’s nice.” Emma bit the inside of her mouth in a nervous habit. “I should probably get going.”
“Stay,” Keira said in a calm tone, and Emma watched as her face turned from that smirk into one of genuine concern. “Come on. Hang out with us for a few minutes. I’ll buy you a drink.”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Why not? It’s just a drink. You’re new in town. Kellan knows Olivia, and Olivia knows the bartenders here. You could make some new friends or maybe just discover you don’t like any of us, but at least you’ll know.”
Emma considered this. She could leave and likely make her working relationship with Keira even more awkward, or she could stay, have one drink and go. Then, she could leave without feeling guilty for turning her down or worrying about how it could change their working relationship.
“One drink sounds good,” she stated after a moment of silence and watched how Keira’s face lit up.
“What do you want? I’ll go order,” Keira offered.
“I’m going to say hi to Olivia.” Kellan moved before there was a reply from Keira, and then it was just the two of them.
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