Page 38 of A Little Light

“I really appreciate that.” Andi beamed a smile and loosened her shoulders. It seemed Andi had succeeded in doing what she’d set out to do, and now she could relax. “Right, so, another drink?”

Rachel turned her watch towards herself, wrinkling her nose. It was time to make an exit without allowing her disappointment to show. Andi didn’t need that in her life. After all, Rachel had been the one who put a stop to anything starting. “Actually, I should probably call it a night. I have a few things to take care of at home.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.” While Rachel loved Andi’s enthusiasm, she’d gotten what she wanted, so now she could dial it down a touch. “Can I walk you back to the loft?”

“I’ll be fine. You’ll be okay getting a cab?” Rachel gathered her belongings and got to her feet. She hated the thought of leaving Andi alone in the city, but this was about to turn into business, so business Rachel would step into that role.

“Of course, yeah.”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you around, Andi. Thanks for a lovely evening.”

Andi stood up, frowning ever so slightly. “Yeah, uh, I’ll call you.”

Rachel turned and weaved her way through the tables, holding her composure for another moment or two. She was sure Andi hadn’t intended to insult her, but as she left what could have been a perfect evening, she felt exactly that.

Chapter 12

“I’m leaving now,” Jean, Andi’s co-worker, said as she popped her head around the door to Andi’s office. “You should think about doing the same thing. The traffic is manic out there tonight.”

Andi smiled. “I’ll be leaving soon, too. I just have a few bits of paperwork to sign off on, and I’ll be out the door.”

“Okay, well, did you want me to wait and give you a lift home?”

Andi appreciated Jean. They’d worked together for the last ten years, and in those years, they’d grown closer than just co-workers. Jean had always been around for when Andi needed to offload. More so in the last year. “No, you go on. I…need to go into the city anyway before I go home.”

“You’re crazy. I don’t know why you do it to yourself.”

Andi didn’t need to go into the city, not really. But she did want to unexpectedly drop by the loft and hope Rachel was home. She’d tried contacting her for the last five days, but Rachel hadn’t returned a single call or text message. Andi didn’t know why, but something felt really off between them. Which was unusual given the fact that they’d had a great night with one another recently. “I’m visiting a friend, not shopping.” Andi eyed the clock. “Now, get going. You’ll hit the rush hour traffic yourself, otherwise.”

Jean held up a hand. “I’m going, I’m going. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You will. Safe drive home, Jean.”

Jean left her office, whistling a Christmas song as Andi watched her gather her belongings through the window that separated her from the rest of her staff. She rested back in her seat, baffled as to what had gone wrong between her and Rachel. Andi didn’t recall anything happening that shouldn’t have the other evening. What the hell had she done?

She cleared her throat and lifted her phone from the desk. She would call Rachel once more, and then she was heading over there. She hated not knowing where she stood with someone.

But the call went to voicemail after a few rings.

“Hi, Rachel. It’s Andi…again. I was wondering if you were around to talk at all? I feel as though something is up, and I’d like to clear the air if that is the case. If you could call me back or just send me a quick message to let me know you’re okay, I’d really appreciate it. Bye.”

Andi lowered her phone again, blowing out a deep breath. She supposed she couldn’t make Rachel talk to her, but she also couldn’t sit back and wait. They had arrangements to make for the upcoming Christmas party at Hillary’s. And not only that, Rachel meant a lot to her. She made Andi smile and laugh unexpectedly. And she made her feel far less hopeless when it came to her dating future. Rachel…brightened her days without knowing it.

It said a lot about who she was, too, when it came to offering Andi some of her time to help with the dating scene. She hadn’t wanted to ask Rachel such an embarrassing favour, but Rachel had been a sweetheart about it. Andi always knew she would be, though. It seemed she trusted Rachel more than she trusted her closest friends.

She stared at her phone, willing it to ring, but it remained silent…just like Rachel. Andi couldn’t bear this for much longer, so she gathered her things and powered off her computer for the night. She could take her paperwork home with her and work on it later. Right now, she had something to make right. What that was remained to be seen.

* * *

Rachel eyed her phone where it rang on the couch beside her. Kelly had been calling her for days, and so had Andi. Why was she suddenly in such high demand? She lifted the handset, chewing her lip. Did she really want to tell Kelly how her ‘friend date’ had ended earlier this week? Kelly wouldn’t stop harassing her if she didn’t.

“Hi,” Rachel said as she cleared her throat. “Everything okay?”

“I’ve been calling you!”

Rachel caught Kelly’s tone immediately. “Sorry, I’ve been sorting stuff out here. The place looks like it belongs to me now, so that’s nice.”

“Yeah, lovely. Really happy for you! Now, tell me about Saturday night. Did you ask her?”

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