Juni slapped Dex’s shoulder. “That’s absolutely awful. I haven’tput all my sweat into that business to destroy it with one shitty logo.”
“I thought it was rather unique.” She chuckled louder than theline probably deserved.
Juni had bought the bookstore years ago, when the place was on itslast legs. The owner had been taking any profit he made and putting it into hislifestyle rather than the store. He’d let the inventory run down so much thatby the time Juni bought it, the store was barely seeing ten customers a week.Dex had helped her clean, paint, and reshelve the space, and now Juni hadturned it into a thriving business.
Dex eyed Josh for a few more minutes, and he waved. “Well then.You’d better get back to him.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Spectacular.” She tapped her fingers on the bar.
“Okay. I’ll be back in a bit.” Juni sped off toward the tablewhere Josh was waiting.
“How about Beans and Books?” she shouted after her.
Juni swung around, pulled her eyebrows together, and mouthed,“Stop.”
When Dex caught sight of Grace again, she was absolutely stunning,glowing as the sunset rained through the plate-glass windows behind her. She rememberedthe night she’d realized Grace knew she was in love with her. They were on agirls-only skiing trip in New Mexico with some of their other friends. They’dreserved a vacation rental with only four rooms for eight of them. Dex hadimmediately regretted going when she found out she and Grace would be sharing aroom with only one queen-size bed.
After dinner the first night, even though she was exhausted fromskiing, Dex had fidgeted and talked endlessly in an attempt to prolong gettinginto bed with Grace. She’d thought once Grace fell asleep, she’d just sleep inthe chair or lie on top of the blankets. Hazy eyed, Grace finally got out ofbed, kissed her on the cheek, and said very sweetly that she knew how she feltabout her. Then she took her by her hand and told her to come to bed. Gracesnuggled up behind her and spooned her all night long. It was the closest she’dever been to the woman she loved, a night filled with palpable pleasure andunrelenting pain. She shook the memory from her mind as she waved at thebartender and pointed to her empty glass.
Chapter Two
Dex’s head throbbed, and her mouth felt like someone hadstuffed it with cotton. How much had she drunk last night? Things had becomehazy, and she’d lost count after the fourth shot. She remembered Juni walkingaway from the bar and bringing her back a plate of food soon after that. Or was that later?Then a glass of water had appeared on the bar in front of her. A fuzzy image ofa pair of light, silvery-blue eyes and curly black hair flashed through hermind. Wait. Wasthat Juni?
The sun was seeping through her eyelids. She rolled over, smashedher face into the pillow, and took a deep breath to settle her stomach. Sheimmediately blew it out and took in another breath. The soothingly sensualscent of jasmine and orange blossom filled her head. Not my pillow! She snapped hereyes open and scanned the room. Notmy bed! Bolting up, she squeezed her eyelids closed to force awaythe constant thumping behind them and fell back to the warm place she’d comefrom. Her stomach needed to settle before she moved again. Open bars at weddings arenever a good idea.
Lying perfectly still, she let her sight stretch to the far edgesof her peripheral vision. Muted beige and sage-green colors covered the walls,a nice combination with the white molding. Whose bed was she in? Not hers. NotJuni’s. Fuck!Who had taken her home? Clearly she’d blacked out at some point last night.
Listening for sounds of someone in the house, she didn’t move forwhat seemed like an eternity, until her bladder couldn’t take it anymore.Noting her lack of clothing as she sprinted into the bathroom, she wondered ifshe’d had sex last night. She didn’t feel like it, but it wouldn’t be the firsttime she’d pleased another woman without gaining any gratification of her own.She really needed to stop drinking.
As she came out of the bathroom, she spotted her bridesmaid dresshanging from a hook on the wall. A stack of clothes sat on the chair next toit, a pair of flip-flops on the floor, and a note written on pink,rose-patterned paper lay neatly on top of the T-shirt.
In case you’d rather notbe seen in public wearing this retro-piece-of-shit dress from the wedding.
The sentence was punctuated with a wink face at the end. “Oh myGod.” She shook her head. Obviously she’d spilled many of her thoughts to thiswoman last night, whoever she was. She pulled on the T-shirt and yoga pants,which were a bit snug, before she slipped through the doorway and crept downthe hall. It led to a decent-sized living area with a breakfast bar that peeredinto the kitchen. She’d hoped to avoid an uncomfortable reunion with whomevershe’d latched onto last night, and it seemed she’d been successful.
On the kitchen counter she found a bottle of water as well as halfa loaf of bread next to the toaster, accompanied by a jar of what appeared tobe homemade jam. Andanother note.
You’ll find coffee in thepot. Drink the water, make some toast, and use plenty of the crystallizedginger jam. Trust me. It’ll make you feel better. I’m going to work and won’tbe back until this afternoon, so no need for you to rush. Make yourself athome. There’s a smoothie in the fridge to take with you. Oh, and you’re morespecial than you realize. Don’t let some spoiled straight girl make you thinkotherwise.
The words resonated in her head in a low, throaty voice, whichsent an unexpected zap of excitement through her. Apparently she’d poured herheart out to a sweet, lovely stranger last night, and she had no idea who shewas.
After pouring a cup of coffee, she sank down onto a barstool andscanned the room. A couch with a square,
