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nbsp; “That’s an excellent point.” Lily laced her hands behind her head and stared at the sky, hazy with silver stardust and hovering low over the endless, glittering expanse of dark water. The breeze drifting in from the surface of the water smelled clean and faintly sweet, like the green honeysuckle that draped itself over the curved stone doorways in Cuba. The scent unfolded in the rain and hung in the air only for a few moments at a time until the cobblestones dried in the sun. “Let me guess. Charlotte’s favorite rum is Havana 7 Reserve?”
Alex raised herself up on an elbow and waited to speak until Lily met her eyes. “I wouldn’t know. She came to my cabin a few nights before you got here and said all the right things, but I turned her down.”
Lily nodded and bit her lip. It was clearly none of her business why Alex would turn down a blond bombshell who was practically throwing herself in her direction, and asking about it would clearly be inappropriate. “Why did you give Charlotte a pass? Tell me everything.”
Alex laughed, the sound skipping like stones across the water. “I knew you weren’t going to let that one slip past you.” She picked up Lily’s hand and turned it over, then held her palm just above it. “Do you feel that?”
Lily closed her eyes, reminding herself to breathe as she felt the warmth of Alex’s hand just above her own. “It’s heat. Like a late summer afternoon, when the heat is so intense you can see it moving like water in the distance.”
“Exactly.”
Lily opened her eyes at the sound of Alex’s voice, deep and soft beside her, more touch than sound.
“Chemistry.” She trailed a finger across Lily’s palm. “It’s a prerequisite.”
* * *
Sara looked up as Moxie came back from the bathroom. She shut the dishwasher door with one hand and picked up a pink tea rose saucer of chocolate chip cookies with the other, holding it out for her.
Moxie took it, then looked around and hesitated. “Where do you want me to put these?”
Sara just smiled, nodding at the door. “They’re for you, silly. Sam left to pick something up at the retreat, and I’m headed to bed. I thought you might want to take these up to your room. They’re from the cookie jar on the counter. Sam is in it constantly, but I try to keep it filled so it’s there whenever anyone needs a snack.”
Moxie’s gaze dropped again to the saucer as she said good night and started up the stairs. Sara turned off the living room lamps and was headed upstairs too when she remembered the appointment she’d made for the following morning.
“Hey, Moxie?”
Moxie turned, already halfway through one of the cookies. “Yeah?”
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Sara picked up her glass of scotch from the table. “Do you have time to go into town with me?”
Moxie nodded and pushed her glasses up on her nose, finishing the last of her cookie.
“I called and got an appointment for you with my eye doctor. He’s going to update your prescription, and you can pick out some new glasses.”
Moxie shook her head, a slightly panicked look on her face. “Glasses are expensive. And mine are fine. They’ve been cracked for two years. I’m used to it.”
Sara poured a quick mug of milk and handed it to her on the stairs. “I know everything is different, and that has to be scary. But just because you’ve had broken glasses for two years doesn’t mean you didn’t deserve better than that.” Sara paused, her voice softening. “And just for the record, it’s okay to eat. All you want, in fact. It’s okay to take up space. And it’s more than okay to need to see where you’re going.”
Moxie nodded, the way one nodded when listening to a foreign language.
They climbed the stairs together. Moxie put the milk and cookies on her nightstand, then sank down on the edge of her bed and looked up at Sara. “Thank you.” She looked exhausted as she rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. “For the glasses and the clean clothes and stuff.” Moxie looked at the ceiling and steadied her voice. “My mom was pretty wasted most of my life. I mean, she tried hard…” She trailed off, and Sara watched her fingers tighten around her glass. “But I think I was always taking care of her, you know?”
Sara reminded herself to breathe. The first spark of trust was shimmering in the space between them, and she didn’t want to do anything to break the spell.
Moxie sighed, the lines of her shoulders thin and sharp under her hoodie. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you.” It was all Sara could do not to hug her. She looked so small on the edge of the bed, folding her glasses carefully on the nightstand and pulling her hair out of the worn ponytail holder she slipped onto her wrist.
Murphy was right. Moxie was a little badass, but that was because she’d had to be. Everything inside Sara longed to make things easier for her, to hold the world off long enough to give her some space to be a kid.
Sara said good night and closed the door quietly behind her. She stood at the top of the staircase and listened as Sam’s keys turned in the lock downstairs, then went to meet her in the kitchen.
“Hey, beautiful,” Sam said, picking up the scotch Sara had set on the counter. “I thought you’d be in bed by now.”
“I realized something tonight.” Sara trailed her fingers down the back of Sam’s neck. She felt her world shift with every word, like a boat turning into the path of the bright gold sun setting over the water. “And I wanted to see how you felt about it.”
“Hit me.” Sam wrapped her hands around Sara’s hips and pulled her close.
“Baby, you know I’ve never wanted anything more than to have a family with you, but…” Her voice cracked, and Sam pulled her into a hug, only letting go when she found her words again. “But I’m done with the fertility drugs and in vitro treatments. I’m just…done.”
