“Well now, isn’t that interesting,” Josie drawled, a Cheshire cat smile widening into wicked proportions the longer Stacie sat there with her tongue clamped behind her teeth.
There was no way in hell she was going to open this can of worms, not voluntarily. Stacie cleared her throat to stop herself from humming nervously, then made a show of examining her fingernails, anything to keep those amused gray eyes from dragging something out of her by sheer force of will.
“Rowan, why don’t you go back into the kitchen and ask your dad to help you. I think I’d like some of that ice cream now.”
“Okay Momma,” Rowan said, then jumped off the bed and ran for the kitchen.
“I’ll just go and help her.” Stacie barely had time to edge off the bed before Josie prevented her escape.
“Oh, no you don’t. Spill.” She sat up in bed, grabbing one of the pillows and hugging it against her chest. In that position, with her eyes gleaming in anticipation and the color flooding into her cheeks, her friend looked 16 again and they were just two teenagers hanging out together and talking about boys. Except Stacie had never talked about boys like Josie did, and now Josie wanted her to talk about girls like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Oh, what the hell,” she exclaimed, giving in to the sense of nostalgia and the desire to keep that cheerful look on her best friend’s face.
*
“Rowan did what?”
Stacie chuckled. It was too late to backpedal now, but she was pretty sure Rowan wouldn’t get into trouble. Not for running full force into the woman Josie had been grilling her about for the last twenty minutes. Two empty bowls sat on the bed between them, the sticky remains of Rowan’s favorite flavor of Ice Cream streaked the inside of her bowl in muted browns and cream. She licked the last bit of chocolate syrup off her spoon and waved it at her friend.
“I can’t tell you anymore. We barely had time to talk.”
“But you’re meeting her tonight?”
“Yeah, I have to call her.”
“What?” Josie exclaimed, throwing her pillow with incredible accuracy. It bounced off Stacie’s head and landed on the floor. “What the heck is wrong with you? You should be home. You need a shower, and something decent to wear, and well, everything.”
“I saw that look. Don’t you dare say I need to do something with my hair, its fine just the way it is.” She grabbed the pillow and tossed it back on the bed. “Besides, it’s not a real date. I’m just getting your tea for you.”
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.” Josie smirked.
“She might not even be gay, you know. Maybe she just likes to flirt with the locals. Some women are like that.”
“And you’ll never find out if you don’t get out of here.” Josie flapped her hands at her, shooing her towards the door. “Get! You can tell me all about it tomorrow.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll go. But I swear you’re more excited about this than I am,” Stacie grumbled, reaching for the beeper on her belt. “Now what?”
“Problem?”
“Not sure, can I use your phone?”
It was Josie’s turn to roll her eyes. “When did you start needing to ask?”
*
Ten minutes later, Stacie was rolling down the driveway in her truck and Josie was left holding a neatly folded piece of paper. She unfolded it and smoothed it out between her palms, then stared down at the same note she had handed off to Stacie that morning. Beneath her neat list, Maria had written her name and phone number down in a bold, flowing script that took up half the sheet. She ran her fingers along the curves and swoops and thought about what Stacie had said. For all her denial, Stacie knew more about Maria than she realized. She could practically close her eyes and visualize the woman, raven black hair, tawny skin and dark eyes that glittered with mischief and humor.
Josie hadn’t even met the woman but she was already impressed. Maria had done something no woman had managed to do in quite a while. She had gotten Stacie to talk to her, and not just talk, but agree to meet again. That meant she was either quite remarkable or had some power over her friend that couldn’t be explained by science. Either way, Josie wanted to meet this woman who had made Stacie notice women again. All work and no play…
All she was supposed to do was call and cancel their meeting, but that wouldn’t do at all. Her pulse sped up in anticipation, thrilled at the idea. Yes, she was interfering with Stacie’s life, but if she didn’t, who would? She had to do for her friend what she wouldn’t do for herself. She picked up the phone and dialed, ignoring the little voice inside her head that said this was a bad idea.
“Hello? Maria? Hi, this is Josie, Stacie’s friend. I’m afraid she’s been called away for an emergency and won’t be able to meet with you this afternoon.”
Chapter Four
Maria would never tell a soul about today, not ever. She would never admit how she hovered by the phone waiting for it to ring, or how she went through every piece of clothing in her closet trying to determine which outfit to wear tonight. All this for a woman she just met—a tall, thin rake of a woman that would never be considered an exceptional beauty, her blonde hair was too dark and her nose a bit too thin for that—yet who fascinated her beyond measure. The dress she had bought today hung off of the closet door, trying to convince her that it was the one. “Not tonight, another night perhaps, but no,” she filled the silence with her own voice. That dress was reserved for her vision, for bare feet and warm sand and
