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Her heart soared. Jamie raised a hand in farewell and watched the sedan disappear down the street, leaving her alone, yet hovering somewhere above heaven. Her lips still hummed wonderfully, but the rest of her ached for more. She pushed her hands into the pockets of her favorite jacket and walked to the curb to wait for her ride. After a few minutes, the corners of her mouth hurt from grinning. Was this night meant for someone else? She laughed because they were never getting it back from her now. Jamie Tolliver was somebody as of tonight. She dida clichéd little twirl and held on to whatever these wonderful feelings were, so foreign and welcome. This was a night she’d never forget, a happy reminder that incredible things did happen. Life, apparently, had so much more it was waiting to offer her, and if she played her cards right, she’d have a second date with Leighton Morrow. A third. And then…who knew? She couldn’t think of anything more wonderful. For the first time in years, Jamie felt like the universe saw her.Little her.She gave her head a disbelieving shake, checking her shoes because if this wasn’t a Cinderella moment, what was? In the storybook of her life, she simply couldn’t wait to see what came next.
Chapter Five
Leighton stood in her darkened apartment in front of the large picture window facing the river and replayed every moment of her evening spent with Jamie. She admitted to herself that the date had far exceeded her already hopeful expectations. Jamie, who made her toes curl and her stomach flutter, was smart, witty, down-to-earth, and thoughtful. When was the last time she’d run into that combination? Jamie had also been the perfect conversationalist and dinner companion. The kiss she’d run back for had proven incredibly satisfying, inspiring daydreams about what would have happened if they hadn’t said good night and Jamie had come home with her. Would she have pulled Jamie into her lap and slid her hands up her thighs, inching higher and higher until she took what she wanted?
After such a fantastic night, why was Leighton now clutching a glass of ice water with a needle threaded with dread moving through her midsection? She knew why. She hadn’t been forthcoming with Jamie at all about who she was, her job, or what brought her into Bordeauxnuts to begin with. It had been fantasyland tonight on their date, which allowed her to pretend none of those factors existed. She got a taste of what she and Jamie might be like together, and now she couldn’t erase that knowledge. But this scenario had her waiting for the other shoe to drop. What was going to happen to them when it did? Would Jamie blame her for Carrington’s decision to open a store in Chelsea? It was entirely possible. Would she be furious Leighton had sidestepped important details about her job when directly asked? She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose because who wouldn’t be?She’d gone about this all wrong. Everything was out of order. Dammit. Now what was she supposed to do? Upend it all before it even had a chance to get going?
As she thought through the situation, it almost felt wrong to allow herself to enjoy the memory of Jamie’s smile, the sparks that flew when their gazes connected, or the kiss that had rocked her fully—because it hadn’t been earned. None of it was rightfully hers, and that hurt. She’d been dishonest, and now it colored everything like black paint tossed on a beautiful painting.
Leighton now knew she should have never asked Jamie out without supplying her with all the pertinent details. That was on her. She slid her fingers into her hair and gripped, angry at herself and grieving.
The fact of the matter was that she had to come clean and soon. She got ready for bed, selecting her satin shorts set because the soft fabric against her skin felt like the pampering her soul needed. If only it had helped. She slipped beneath the cool sheets and stared at the shadow shifting on her ceiling for what felt like hours. Sleep was not to be. All was not right in the world, and Leighton had to fix it. The stakes were too high. Her heart was already hoping, reaching.
When she arrived at her office in midtown at quarter to eight the next morning, her plan was to lose herself in numbers and notes until she could summon the courage to swing by the bar and see Jamie before the evening traffic picked up. Maybe they could steal a glass of wine together and have an honest and important conversation. Leighton would come clean and apologize, and hope Jamie would understand.
When five o’clock rolled around, Leighton gave her shoulders a roll and stopped at Mindy’s desk on her way to do what she should have from day one.
“I’m gonna take off for the day.”
“You’re early. This is nice. You’re trying for a life and are to be commended.”
Leighton offered a curtsey. “Trying. There’s a woman I can’t stop thinking about, and I have to go see what I can do about making sure she doesn’t hate me.”
Mindy’s fingers went still on her keyboard. “What a weird sentence. Do you want to rewind? Why might she hate you?”
Leighton, needing to hear the story out loud for clarity, recalled allthat had happened with Jamie up until this point. “So I’m headed over there now.”
“Wow.” Mindy offered up a Snickers from her desk. “You might need this for later. Put it in your bag.”
“Recovery chocolate?” She deflated. “You don’t think this ends well for me, do you?”
“Lay, I’m gonna hope it does, but she needs to know the truth and fast. Strong, awesome women like straight shooters. You’re going to have some ground to make up. And rightfully so,” Mindy said with a small glare. “Now go make it right, and next time consult me about this kind of thing.”
“I hear you. I will.” Leighton sighed. Mindy’s outrage was telling and warranted. She’d screwed this up and knew it.
Along the way to the bar, she stopped at a sidewalk flower sale and picked out a single long-stemmed rose for Jamie. Nervous energy bounced from her head to her toes, and when she rounded the corner to Bordeauxnuts, she found Jamie clicking off a call in front of the storefront. Leighton paused, holding the rose and waiting for Jamie to look up from her phone. When she did, Leighton watched her whole body relax and a smile blossom. She was everything. It was dusk, and the light was fading fast, but Leighton took a moment to memorize Jamie, haloed by the oranges and pinks of the setting sun. Leighton opened her mouth to speak just as Jamie burst into tears.
“Oh no,” Leighton said, letting the rose fall to the side as she moved to Jamie. “I hope I didn’t do that.”
With a hand to her forehead, Jamie seemed to surrender to the emotion and allowed her face to crumple and tears to fall. Leighton guided her to a bench a few yards away, her own heart tugging. She couldn’t stand to see the anguish on Jamie’s face.
“Not you,” Jamie whispered through the emotion.
Leighton instantly took her hand and held on. “Well, I don’t know what I walked up on, but I’m here. We can just sit together.” Jamie nodded, the emotion seemingly stealing her voice. A siren wailed in the distance. Pedestrians passed by on the sidewalk as rush hour ramped up to a roar. Through it all, Leighton refused to let go. Occasionally, she’d rub Jamie’s arm or toss out an encouraging few words. “You’re gonna be okay. I got you.”
Eventually, Jamie took an extra-deep breath and turned to Leighton. “This was embarrassing.”
With her thumb, Leighton dried Jamie’s tears. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” she said quietly. “Just me here.”
A soft smile touched Jamie’s lips. “That’s true. Hi.”
“Hi. Want to talk about it or no?”
“I’m very close with my parents. My dad’s been moving a little slower these days, but we all just thought age.”
“Is there more?”
Jamie nodded. “He’s been struggling with catching his breath more than normal and went in a few weeks ago. They found a spot on his lung that the doctor didn’t like the look of, and now the biopsy is back.” She lifted her shoulders and let them drop. “It’s bad news.”
