They’reprobably not as good as yours, but I tried.
It was from Emma. The pink paper with the faded rose border, thehandwriting, the sweet smiley face punctuating the sentence was all her. What the fuck?What wasn’t as good as mine?
Panda yelled at her with a ferocious meow. “Okay, I’m working onit,” she said as she folded up the note and slipped it into her pocket. Shefilled the cat’s dish, freshened her water, and rubbed the top of her head.
Dex was headed out the door when she spotted the stack ofChristmas lights she’d left for her neighbor next to the couch. Maybe Grace hadgiven him the wrong ones. She glanced at another stack she had piled by theentryway.
She gathered them up, headed next door, and knocked on the door.The door swung open almost immediately. “Hey, Chevy. How’s it going?” he asked.
Her neighbor had a thing for cars, and when he didn’t knowsomeone’s name or couldn’t remember, he called them by the make or model oftheir car. Dex had stopped telling him her name a long time ago.
“Good.” She held the boxes out in front of her. “I think my friendmay have given you the wrong lights last night when you came by.”
He seemed confused. “Um, no. I hadn’t made it over there yet.” Hetook them from her.
“Oh. I must’ve misunderstood.”
“Maybe it was the hot girl who came to see you. The Ford, not theBeemer.”
Ford?Had Emma come by and Grace hadn’t told her? “Oh. Well, you have them now. Youneed any help putting them up?”
“Nope. I got it. Dodge, the new guy across the street is gonnahelp me after the game.” He set the boxes just inside the door. “Thanks forpicking them up for me. It saved me a whole lot of money.”
“Sure, no problem. Merry Christmas,” she said as she turned to go.
“Merry Christmas to you too, Chevy.”
She sprinted back to her house, climbed into her SUV, and headedto Grace’s house. If Emma had come by, Grace should’ve told her no matter howsick she was.
The door into the house from the garage was open when Dex gotthere, so she stopped in the doorway when she heard Grace and Brent arguing.Their voices were muffled at first, but then Brent raised his voice, and sheclearly heard him say, “Emma told me she went to see Dex, and you told her shedidn’t want to see her and sent her away.”
“Dex wouldn’t have wanted Emma to see her like that. Besides, Iwas already there and Dex was sleeping. I didn’t want Emma to catch whateverDex has.”
“Did you ask her? Did you even tell her she came by?”
Dex stepped through the doorway. “No. She didn’t. I had no idea.”
Grace spun around and smiled. “Dex, you look so much better. Don’ttell me you’re going to work today.” She dropped the bag of groceries onto thecounter and moved toward her. “Your fever hasn’t come back, has it?” She triedto touch her forehead, and Dex batted her hand away.
“Why didn’t you tell me Emma was there?”
“I told you. Your fever was high. You just don’t remember. I wasgoing to remind you today. It just slipped my mind.”
Dex reached into her pocket, took out the note, and handed it toGrace. “Did she make the soup?”
Grace closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath. “Yes.”
“Yet you told me you’d made it.”
“No, I didn’t. You assumed.”
“Well, thatmakes a huge difference. I can’t trust you at all, can I?”
“Of course you can. I just left a few details out about yesterday.I didn’t lie to you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why wouldn’t you believe me?”
“Over the past two months, you’ve done everything in your power tocome between me and Emma.”
“That’s not fair, Dex. If Emma had really wanted to stay lastnight, she would have.”
“Seriously?” She glanced at Brent, whose face was blank. “EvenBrent thinks it’s weird that you didn’t tell me.” She turned and went out thedoor.
“Dex, wait!” Grace raced out after her. “I just—”
She spun around, and Grace ran into her. “You just what, Grace?”Dex hauled her into her arms. “Is this what you want from me? To know that Iimagine it’s meholding your hand, kissing you senseless, and making you squirm until you comeevery night?” They were so close, Dex could feel Grace’s rapid breath on herlips. “Do you imagine that with me?”
She took her face in her hands and pressed her lips to Grace’s,expecting the fireworks she’d imagined for all those years to explode insideher. But there were none. The face that flashed in her mind at that momentwasn’t Grace’s. It was Emma’s. I’min love with Emma. She closed her eyes as the warmth rushed overher. Yes, she was absolutely, wholly in love with Emma. “Oh my God. I’ve made ahorrible mistake.”
Grace stood there looking dazed before she backed up and rolledher lips in. “I’m so sorry, Dex. I know I messed up. I don’t know what I wasthinking.” She raked her hand through her hair. “Strike that, I do know. I wasjealous. I should’ve been happy you’ve found someone who can love you in theways I can’t. I amhonestly happy for you, but sad because I want to be part of your happiness andI’m not.”
“I have to go.” Dex spun around to leave.
Grace caught her by the arm, and Dex swung back to her. “Let mefix this. I really do want you to be happy.”
“No. You stay away from Emma. You’ll fuck it up. You can’t helpyourself. Go back inside to your husband.” She jerked out of her grasp.
“But—”
“I mean it, Grace. Stop fucking with me and let me behappy.” Emma had been right about Grace all along. She hoped she hadn’t blownany chance she’d had at being with her. She had to find a way back into herheart.
* * *
Grace could feel Brent standing right behind her now. “What thefuck was that?” His voice echoed in the garage.
“It was nothing.” That was
