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“I’ll tell your grandma you left me armed with a plan to raise enough money to buy this place and do the free lessons.”
Libby dropped her phone on the table and parted Reagan’s legs with her foot like she was about to do a strip-search before stepping between them. “No more lies,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Not a single one ever again.”
Raising her eyebrows, Reagan was struck by how quickly the levity in Libby’s mood dissipated. “Never? Not even a little white one? Not even to say you’re right around the corner when you’ve only just left the house?” she joked, desperate to bring back the light, flirty energy she’d been basking in since the day before.
“Nope. Not even to say that I accidentally fell asleep when really I just wanted to bail on a social engagement,” she replied, slipping her hand beneath Reagan’s shirt and running her fingertips lightly over her spine. “All these little white lies I’ve told thinking they’d never hurt anyone have
been closing in on me.” She glanced down before her eyes returned to Reagan’s face all wide and watery. “So, nope. No more lies, not even seemingly harmless ones.”
Reagan cupped her face and ran her thumbs over her cheekbones. The words she didn’t dare speak swirled in her chest as she stomped them down and nodded. “Well, I can tell your grandmother that I refused your help, which could be true.”
Libby shook her head. “I want to help you.”
“I believe that, but I can’t pile on to everything you already have going on, Lib.”
“I’m not as busy as I used to be,” she confessed as her jaw tightened. “This could be a nice distraction from running on my own hamster wheel.”
“What do you mean? People have jumped ship despite all this?”
Libby dropped her shoulders. “I don’t really want to burden you with this. It’s definitely not fourth date material,” she joked, obviously willing the moment away.
Reagan held her closer. “You really haven’t dated a woman before.” She smirked. “By now I should know the names of all your exes, why you broke up, know your credit score and most of your childhood traumas, and have a key to your house. A little business stu isn’t going to sca
re me away.”
Instead of responding immediately, Libby let her head drop into Reagan’s chest. “I’ve lost about a third of my clients, and a bunch of others have placed their search for love on hold indefinitely. There’s been a few new clients to replace them, but not nearly enough. If it wasn’t for what I make from my YouTube channel, I couldn’t stay afloat with how insanely high our overhead is. At this rate, I’ve got about nine months before I have to start funneling my
savings into the business to make ends meet, and I’m starting to worry.”
Reagan took a deep, cleansing breath before crushing Libby in a hug. “I’m sorry you’ve been going through that.
Have you asked your grandma for advice? I’m sure she’s weathered more than a few storms in her day.”
“No.” She sni ed into Reagan’s shirt. “I can’t tell her I’ve messed up so badly. She’ll take the business from me and never give it back. More than once she’s said she’d rather see it end with dignity than die a slow death.”
“Oof. That’s an insane amount of pressure,” Reagan acknowledged. “But, what about no more lying?”
“I better hope she doesn’t ask me outright.” Libby tried to laugh while Reagan dried her tears.
“Maybe we should work on something for you, Lib. Get the blood pumping in Cupid’s quiver.” She shook her head.
“That sounded weird. Anyway, you know what I mean. Your current business is more important than my aspirations, okay? What if we did like a speed dating thing? You can have some inclusive events. I’m sure there’s a whole untapped market of non-heteros looking for love.”
“I like that you call me Lib. No one’s ever called me that.
I’ve been Elisabeth, El, Eli, and for one misguided summer in my teens, Sabeth,” she said before kissing her softly. “Thank you so much for caring, but I’d really rather let it sit for a minute. It’s only been a few months. And December is usually a busy month for new clients.” She smiled. “No one wants to come home alone for the holidays. Let’s give it a little time, and if in the new year things aren’t better, I promise I’ll accept your help. Right now, I really could use the distraction of a new challenge, okay?”
“No lies, right?” Reagan said holding out her pinky finger.
Libby hooked her pinky with Reagan’s and kissed it. “No lies. Now, where the hell is my co ee, Ms. Soto? We’ve got work to do.”
C H A P T E R 3 0
THANKSGIVING THURSDAY STRETCHED into a solid four days of Libby staying at Reagan’s studio. When she’d had to teach pottery classes, Libby camped out upstairs in her little apartment and worked from her phone. It wasn’t the world’s best set up, but she hadn’t wanted to leave their bubble even to go get her laptop. In her entire snobby life, Libby never thought she’d seek solace in a former ceramics factory in Hialeah while living in her female lover’s comfortable clothes. She certainly wouldn’t have expected to love every second of it.
By the time they’d made it to lunch on Sunday, they’d racked up over a dozen dates. Reagan had convinced her that each meal counted separately, and she shouldn’t be penalized for the fact that all the meals happened in her studio while they’d been continuously together.
Sleeping together started o tricky. Libby always considered her sex drive to be on the low side. At least that’s what Davis constantly complained about. She was always too disinterested. Too quiet. Too prudish. Too conservative. But now, she had to constantly remind herself that the no sex rule was there for a reason. The euphoria of that level of intimacy would cloud her judgment. They needed more time
