Before Megan, Talia wouldn’t have hesitated to do any of those things. In fact, she would have considered herself as full-on in a different time, but Talia had met Faye at a point in her life when it wasn’t so simple for her, and now she’d lost the one woman she knew would make her happy.
Jenna glanced over at the counter, and then Talia realised she still had to take the customer her order.Yeah, because the world isn’t fucked up enough already. She quickly prepared Jenna’s latte and plated up her ploughman’s sandwich, rushing from behind the counter.
“Sorry, the coffee machine was playing up.” She offered Jenna a slight smile, placing her order down. “Enjoy lunch, ladies.”
Talia turned, but Jenna suddenly gripped her wrist. “Excuse me. Are you okay?”
“I, uh…yeah, why?” Talia looked between Jenna and Faye.
“You look upset.”
Talia briefly cast her gaze on Faye, clearing her throat. “I’m fine. It’s been a busy morning, and I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Okay…if you’re sure.”
“I am. But thank you for the concern.” Talia really meant that. Jenna was perfect for Faye; she had a heart just like her. “If either of you need anything else, just let me know.”
* * *
Faye had madea mistake coming here today. It hadn’t been intentional to invite Jenna along, she actually hadn’t done that, but when Jenna called and asked what plans she had today, she’d foolishly revealed that she would be at the bistro. And the lovely Jenna had decided to surprise her.
But the thing that had really thrown Faye was the look in Talia’s eyes as she placed her order. In reality, Faye thought Talia would have been perfectly fine with cutting all contact. After all, she’d never wanted to date her anyway, but Faye had been shocked by the agony in those eyes. If there had been anything Faye was looking forward to today…it was Talia and her pretty face.
She shouldn’t feel that way, she was dating another woman, but as with the ones before Talia…Jenna didn’t quite fire her up inside. She was sweet, a nurse at the local hospital, but she wasn’t Faye’s ideal woman. Still, Faye had promised herself in the last few weeks that she would give anyone she dated the opportunity to change her mind. It was a stupid idea, Faye always relied on that immediate spark, but perhaps that just wasn’t going to happen in her lifetime.
That’s a lie. It happened the moment you met Talia.
But Talia wasn’t to be, and Faye had come to realise that.
She packed up her work for the day, shoving everything into her bag as she drained the last of her coffee. Jenna had left an hour ago for a training programme around the corner, and Faye couldn’t stare at the screen any longer. She needed to get home and into something comfortable, a book and the couch for the night.
As she got to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder, she turned around and bumped into Talia. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Faye held Talia’s upper arms, delighting in the way her muscles moved beneath her hands. “I didn’t know you were there.”
Talia didn’t move; she didn’t back up. “It’s fine. I was just clearing your table.”
Faye let go of those strong muscles, lowering her eyes between them. “How have you been?”
“Honestly? Or did you want the nice version?”
“H-honestly…” Faye looked up to find tears in Talia’s eyes.
Talia’s bottom lip trembled, breaking Faye’s heart. “Miserable.”
Yeah, Faye knew how that felt. She may have been going out to dinner with Jenna, but most evenings since she last spoke to Talia were spent on the couch watching a soppy romcom. She would admit to a few tears here and there. The truth was…she missed Talia immensely.
“You were my friend, Faye.”
But I couldn’t only be your friend.
“And then you became so much more than that to me. Maybe I was stupid to not put up a fight on your doorstep, but I’m not sure you wanted to hear any of it.”
“Put up a fight?” Faye’s forehead creased.
“You didn’t even give me the opportunity to tell you how I felt. You said what you did, and then you dismissed me by closing the door in my face. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?”
“I-I…”
“I thought you were different,” Talia whispered, inconspicuously wiping a tear from her jawline. “Y-you two look really happy together. So, I’m happyforyou.”