“I want it to,” Talia said. “I just…I need some time to get my head together. All of this, all ofyou, has been a huge twist in my life, Faye. I didn’t expect to meet anyone when I moved here, and I certainly didn’t think you would hit on me.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve complicated things…”
“God, you haven’t. Never, Faye. You’re the most uncomplicated person I know. And I really love that about you. You don’t have a bad bone in your body, and I think if I can get my head out of the past…if I can let down my guard…I could really enjoy getting to know you.”
Faye wanted to crawl through the phone and kiss Talia as she spoke those words. All she’d wanted over the last several weeks was a chance to prove herself. Just one date, one drink or one meal, anything to show Talia that she was serious. Now that the potential was there, Faye wasn’t sure how to react. What if Talia woke up tomorrow and changed her mind? Then what? Faye would still pine after her, while Talia continued to ‘be her friend.’
“Is that something you think you could do?” Faye would wait until Talia was ready if she had to. There were no issues with that at all. “I just…don’t want you to consider this if it’s not what you want. I’d hate to think you felt pressured into giving me a chance.”
“One thing I’ve never felt around you is pressure.”
Faye smiled, getting comfortable as she snuggled down further into the bed. “Iwasworking through being your friend at my own pace. But to be honest, I’m not sure I could have ever really been your friend. I’dneverdo anything to make you feel uncomfortable, but I’d be lying if I said I could only be your friend.”
“Yeah?”
Faye felt Talia grin. She felt the warmth of her down the line. “Yes. You caught my attention. What can I say?”
“I-I don’t know. And I’ve no idea what to say to that.” Talia’s voice quivered. “But thank you. For seeing me before the club. For not judging who I am. It’s not often I meet someone so trusting and understanding.”
“Well, you’ve never given me a reason tonottrust you.”
“And I never would.”
“I know.” Faye didn’t want to upset Talia any more than she already had. She wanted to lighten the mood. “This is all Jay’s fault, by the way. Leave it to the gay man to tell the lesbian what to do.”
“Please, Faye. I need to know what he said to you.”
“Nothing I didn’t already know.”
Talia fell silent on the line.
“He spoke about how wonderful you are. How I should try to show you I’m all in. That I don’t care about where you work.”
“Oh, his usual spiel then?” Talia laughed, sending Faye’s heart rate soaring.God, that laugh. “I’d take anything he said with a pinch of salt. You’d think he had shares in my wedding preparations the way he talks about me.”
“Or maybe he knows you so well that I should believe everything he says.” Faye paused. “But then again, I didn’t need him to say any of those things to me. Because I see you daily, Talia. I watch you smile and talk to customers and just have a breathtaking presence. I know that you go home from work and curl up with a book and a cuppa. And I know you have an entirely different life on the weekend, but it’s a life I can live with. So long as I know you’re safe and you won’t come to any harm, I can sleep at night knowing you’re out there doing what you enjoy.”
Faye heard a sniffle down the line, but then Talia cleared her throat. “Do you know all the right things to say because you’re a writer?”
“No. I’m hopeless with words in my daily life.”
“I don’t believe that for one second.”
Faye grinned, but it was true. Unless she was writing one of her novels, she often found it difficult to convey how she felt. She was an introvert with a love for extroverts. Maybe that was a bad idea, but Faye didn’t believe so in this case. “You should. I’m terrible.”
“Well, I’m impressed with everything I’ve seen so far if that means anything.”
Damn, Talia had a good poker face. Faye would have to remember that for future…incidents. “I’m just plain, boring me. But you know what? I’m honest and I don’t go out of my way to hurt people. When I’m in, I’mallin. Surely that counts for something.”
“That, to me, iseverything.” Talia spoke so softly that Faye practically melted into her bed. It didn’t matter what or who Talia’s alter-ego was, this woman was incredibly calming…while being far too beautiful for Faye. “Hey, Faye?” Talia whispered.
“Y-yeah?”
“Can you give me some time? It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I need a minute to understand that someone like you is actually interested in me. As hard as some people find that to believe, I rarely haveanyoneinterested in me. But you…God, I never thought you’d want to date me.”
“Look, I’m not going anywhere, okay? When the time is right, you’ll know. There’s no rush for anything here. You do what you need to do, and when it happens—ifit happens—I’ll be here.”
“I probably shouldn’t say this, not right now, but you’re really gorgeous.”