Page 12 of Seaside Hideaway

She rummaged through drawers and cabinets, trying to recall where she’d last seen a candle. The storm outside seemed to intensify, the thunder growing louder and more frequent, setting Piper further on edge. When she finally located a jar candle, she had a new problem. There were no matches.

A few minutes must have passed as Piper stood in the darkness, debating her options, wondering if she’d stumble her way up the stairs to get her phone.

Between the rumbles of thunder, Piper could have sworn she heard a knock at the door. She made her way to the window, her hand gliding over the couch as she tried not to trip over anything.

Piper opened the door just a crack to see who it was. “Audrey?” Piper fully opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

Audrey stood on the porch, a flashlight in one hand and a pack of candles in the other along with some matches. “I thought you might not be prepared for a storm.”

“Not in the slightest.” Piper stepped back to let her in. “No working flashlight and no matches for the candles I found.” She went to grab the candles now that the beam of Audrey’s flashlight illuminated the space. Piper glanced back towards Audrey who had closed the door behind her but hadn’t moved any further inside.

Piper spread the candles out on the coffee table and put some in the kitchen. Audrey handed her the matches, and Piper went around to each of them. “Thank you. That’s twice you’ve come to my rescue now,” she added with a smile as she blew out a match.

Audrey returned the smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She avoided Piper’s gaze as she set the flashlight down. “It’s no problem.”

Piper studied Audrey’s face in the candlelight, wondering if she storms like this made her jumpy, because there was definitely something off about her tonight. “Can I pour you a glass of wine? As a thank you?”

There was a beat of hesitation before Audrey nodded. “Sure.”

Piper busied herself pouring the wine, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different. When she came back and handed Audrey her glass, their fingers brushed, and Audrey nearly flinched.

“Is everything okay?” Piper asked, concern furrowing her brow. Had she misread this? Had she made it too obvious how much she was drawn to Audrey?

Audrey took a quick sip of wine without meeting Piper’s eyes. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” she answered a little too quickly.

But Piper wasn’t convinced. As they settled onto the couch, the storm was raging outside, and Piper tried to steer the conversation to something safe like Audrey’s job. Piper had seen her truck, with her landscaping business logo on the side, but Audrey’s responses were uncharacteristically short, like she was distracted by something.

A particularly loud thunderclap made them both jump, Audrey nearly sloshing wine onto her shirt. In the flickering candlelight, Piper caught a glimpse of something in Audrey’s eyes before she could look away.

Their gazes met and held for a second before Audrey once again averted her eyes.

“You seem...different tonight,” Piper said softly, almost a question.

She took a shaky breath, as if steeling herself. “Piper, I...”

But whatever she’d been about to say was lost as another boom of thunder rattled the windows, and the moment was gone. She drained the last of her wine and set the glass down with a definitive clink on the coffee table.

“I should go,” Audrey said, standing abruptly.

Piper got up too, not wanting Audrey to leave like this. She had to know what was going on. “You don’t have to leave,” she said, hating the note of pleading that crept into her voice.

Audrey shook her head, already moving towards the door. “I just...I can’t...” She seemed to struggle with the words, her hand fumbling for the doorknob.

Piper reached out to put her hand on her arm. She felt Audrey tense under her touch. “Audrey, what’s going on? Did I do something to upset you?”

“No,” Audrey said softly, her grip on the doorknob tightening as she grappled with her thoughts. She turned to face Piper, her eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight. “It’s not you, Piper. Okay? I’m trying to process some stuff. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Piper’s hand was still resting gently on Audrey’s arm. “What do you mean?”

Audrey took a deep breath, her eyes searching Piper’s face. “I just... I realized something today,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Audrey, I don’t understand. I thought...” Piper’s voice trailed off. She wasn’t prepared to put herself out there. Not like this anyway. Not with Audrey ready to run out her door. “I thought we were getting to know one another and that maybe, I don’t know, we might end up being friends,” she finished.

Audrey hesitated, her gaze flickering away before meeting Piper’s again. “I know, but I realized that I... That I’m developing feelings for you, Piper,” she confessed, her voice tinged with vulnerability. “And I can’t be around you like this, drinking wine, watching sunsets together. It’s just not a good idea.”

Piper’s heart sped up. So, she hadn’t been imagining things. There was something in the way Audrey had looked at her, something real and tangible. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached up, cupping Audrey’s cheek.

“Audrey,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her own heart. Her thumb brushed gently against Audrey’s skin, savoring the softness. She searched Audrey’s eyes, trying to read the swirl of emotions there. “Would it help if I told you I felt the same way?”

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