Phoebe snorted. “I’m pretty sure that’s all in your head.”
“I didn’t tell you that we were considering dating. I knew you wouldn’t take it well, and I needed some time without you down my ear about it. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I closed the door in Talia’s face tonight, and I’m beginning to wonder why I didn’t do the same to you.”
“Because I’m your friend.”
Faye approached the door, holding it open as she cocked her head towards the corridor. “You can leave now. I have nothing else to say to you.”
“So that’s it?”
Faye offered a single nod, surprisingly calm considering she was about to have practically nobody she could turn to in life. But she’d never really had Phoebe anyway, so this loss was minimal in the grand scheme of things. “That’s it.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
“Hi, what can I get you?”Talia stood nervously at the cash register, swallowing as Faye eyed her from the other side of the counter.
“Usual. Cappuccino and a bagel. Thanks.”
Talia nodded, her eyes flitting all over the touch screen. Faye looked as though she hadn’t slept in a month, and since thiswasthe first time they’d seen one another in a month, Talia was surprised. Happy that Faye was alive but surprised she was here at all.
“I-I’ll bring it over when it’s ready.”
“Thank you.”
And just like that, Faye was gone again.
Talia prepared her coffee, measuring out milk into the metal jug. She inconspicuously watched Faye as she took her belongings from an oversized satchel, setting everything out on the table as she used to. Only this time, Faye had opted to sit with her back to Talia.
Fucking hell. I really left an impression on her.
She focused on her job, just as she had for weeks on end. Faye being here didn’t need to change anything; Talia would just try her best to pretend she wasn’t in the bistro. In the last few weeks, she’d wished to see Faye, to say hello and ask how she was doing, but then Talia remembered the pain in her eyes as she closed the door on her. And she remembered the hurt she had felt as Faye did so. Because that wasn’t the Faye she knew. In fact, it was the total opposite to what she had witnessed before the night it all fell apart at the club.
Really, that place was becoming a curse for Talia.
She took the pre-prepared bagel from the display cabinet and cleared her throat as she grabbed Faye’s cappuccino on the way out from behind the counter. She noted how Faye’s shoulders curled inward. She was hiding herself again. That only saddened Talia because since they’d got to know one another, Faye seemed to flourish and come out of her shell more. Now, she was back to being the quiet writer in the corner.
“Your order,” Talia said, a shiver running through her body as Faye looked up at her. “I’ve put it on a tab for you. Wasn’t sure how long you were staying…”
“Thanks.” Faye went through her usual routine of adding sugar and grabbing a bite of bagel, the same order she always did it in, but Talia couldn’t pull herself away from the table. She wanted to share the same air as Faye Holmes. “Was there something else?” Faye asked as she turned her attention away from her coffee and back on Talia.
“N-no. It was just nice seeing you again. Bye, Faye.”
Talia turned and exhaled a breath; those same tears she’d wanted to cry the last time she saw Faye were threatening to resurface. And today, it was the last thing she needed.
She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact Faye was here, let alone how she’d just dismissed her. Even if it hadn’t been Faye’s intention—which it was, Talia knew it—it still felt that way.
As she approached the counter again, another customer stepped up, a beaming smile ready and waiting for her. “Hi, can I get a peppermint latte and a ploughman’s, please?”
“Sure. Can I take a name for your order?”
“Jenna. I’ll be at table seven.”
Talia blinked slowly as she watched Jenna approach Faye’s table. And then time stood still when she leaned down and kissed Faye…on the lips.
Fuck!
Did Faye really have to bring her new girlfriend here? To the same spot Talia had met her, got to know her, and in some ways, fallen in love with her? Because she had…with her personality, her comforting nature, her eyes. And if Talia hadn’t been the fool who’d turned Faye down the first time around, their relationship could have blossomed by now.
Jenna threw her head back laughing as she took a seat, her hand working its way across the table and settling on Faye’s. All Talia wanted to do was curl up into a ball and will the rest of this week away. She’d done well to avoid calling Faye, and she’d done well to restrain herself from showing up at Faye’s apartment, kissing her and never letting her go.