Page 44 of A Little Light

If you don’t get your act together soon, this woman may go looking elsewhere.

Rachel had done a lot of thinking as this week had slowly worn on, and she was very close to asking Andi if that mention of a date was still something she was interested in. She could deny the pull Andi had almost four weeks on since they’d met; she could pretend that she wasn’t miserable as she sat home alone each night, but Rachel knew what was happening here. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, Andi was going to become someone who meant far more to her than she initially thought.

If Rachel had realised anything, it was that using Juliet was a poor excuse. Kelly had been right. They were two entirely different situations. Rachel had overstepped with Juliet but with Andi? She wasn’t sure there was anything to overstep. They didn’t have a contract between them, they hadn’t met as escort/client, and well, Andi was just delightful in every way.

“Hi.” Andi waved Rachel over, her bright smile almost blinding Rachel. “I got you a glass of red.”

“Perfect.” Rachel sat on a stool facing Andi, her gaze briefly drifting to Andi’s toned legs, courtesy of the split up the side of her dress. “Been here long?”

“No. Just a few minutes.” Andi sipped her wine, pushing Rachel’s towards her along the bar.

Before Rachel reached for it, she appraised Andi once again. One last look, and then keep your eyes to yourself. “May I say that you look truly incredible tonight?”

“Thank you. I thought I should make an effort since I was missing last Christmas.”

Rachel wasn’t sure Andi ever needed to make an effort. She was naturally beautiful, and her huge brown eyes only added to her striking features. “Really. You look…gorgeous.” Rachel was lost for words this evening. Andi was gorgeous on any given day, but the dark eye makeup, the long, curled locks, and the dress… Mind-blowing. “Will there be any single ladies there tonight?”

“I have no idea.”

Rachel caught the slight frown Andi wore. “Sorry. I just think that tonight could be your lucky night.” With me, hopefully. Whoa! Where the hell had that thought come from? Rachel may have been considering a discussion, but to wish she would be leaving with Andi after the party? She hadn’t quite imagined that. Not…so soon, anyway. Perhaps it was time to face the music and allow what she was feeling to really take hold. So what if they’d only met a few weeks ago. So what if people had something to say about it. If they were into one another, that was their business alone. Fuck everyone else.

“Why so?” Andi propped her elbow on the bar, resting her head in her hand. She had a dreamy look in her eyes, one that Rachel wasn’t expecting and one that most definitely caught her off guard.

“Never mind.” There Rachel went again with her blushing. She didn’t know why it occurred frequently around Andi, but she was slowly coming around to the fact that it was going to happen whether she liked it or not. Only she did like it. Rachel enjoyed the effect Andi had on her more as each day passed. “So, how far away is this party?”

“Just ten minutes out of the city. Sally and Claire are looking forward to meeting you,” Andi said, pausing as she puffed out her cheeks. “So, I’m apologising now for anything she may say tonight.”

Hmm. What was going on here? Was Rachel actually welcome at this party? “What would she possibly say that requires an apology from you?”

“She has a heart of gold, and I think you’ll get along with her very well…her wife too, but she can be…vocal.”

“Okay.” Rachel’s brows drew together as she sipped her wine.

“Look, I told her about you and me. Well, the potential of you and I when we first met. She likely won’t say anything untoward to you, but she may joke about it. That’s all. Humour her, and then she’ll let it go.”

“What exactly did you say to her? You know, so I can prepare myself.” The last thing Rachel wanted was to go in there tonight without a single idea of anything Andi may have said. While she didn’t believe that Andi would say anything dreadful, she believed being on the same page was a good idea.

“I needed someone to talk to. That night, when we’d been out to dinner, and I said what I did, I woke up feeling less conflicted than I thought I would the next morning. I thought I was going to feel terrible—guilty—but I hadn’t. Sally has always been very good at talking through things with me, especially since Jane passed away, so I told her what had happened when you came back home with me.”

“I see.”

“You have nothing to worry about. I didn’t say anything out of turn about you. I…would never.” Andi reached out a hand, squeezing Rachel’s knee as she smiled. Warmth spread through her, but then Andi quickly retreated. “I only said good things about you.”

Rachel snorted. “Good things. Sure.”

“Oh, come on. Do you really think I’d be disrespectful about you? Just because you’re not attracted to me, I’m not going to say anything hurtful about you to my friends. That’s not who I am.”

Only I am attracted to you. It had never been about Rachel not being attracted to Andi. God, she’d noticed her beauty the moment she turned around and locked eyes with her at the hot chocolate hut. It had just been everything else she had going on in her mind. Only now, those thoughts had started to quieten. Could Rachel tell Andi that? Could she explain that she was beginning to wish she’d never turned her down? What a fucking idiot she had been to do that.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Sally. I don’t want you to change your mind about this evening. I’d really love it if you could still join me.”

She studied Andi. There seemed to be some kind of fear clouding her eyes now. “You don’t have to explain. I can handle people; it’ll be fine.”

Andi grinned suddenly. What a beautiful image to hold onto. “Of course it’ll be fine. Sally can’t wait to meet you. She texted me this morning to ask if you were still coming with me tonight. It’s going to be a great night. I promise.”

Rachel leaned in and placed her hand over Andi’s where it sat on her thigh. “I’m sorry you found yourself in a position that required talking it through with someone. That wasn’t what I wanted.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Andi turned her hand over, lacing their fingers. “That’s just how I deal with the uncertainty of my future. Rather than dwell on it, I talk about it. I’m not afraid of my emotions, Rachel. You stirred something in me, so I have to thank you for that, not expect an apology.”

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