Page 12 of Make Her Mine

Gathering her trash together, Nora stuffed it into a bin and walked off to call her driver. Maybe life would be less complicated if she just confined herself to fantasies and sex toys, after all.

8

“Not again,” Sasha snarled, slamming Ruby’s Green Goddess Smoked Tofu Panini down by the writer’s laptop so hard that a few of the homemade fried sweet potato chips Sasha only ever made for Ruby tumbled off the edge of the plate and onto the tiled bar top. Ruby jumped, eyes wide, and spun on her barstool to follow Sasha’s angry gaze. Esme, equally as startled at Sasha’s outburst, also looked up from where she was checking on the bar’s supply of cold beers and ciders. When her inquisitive eyes landed on the Lounge door, she immediately understood what had ignited Sasha’s fury.

And she blushed up to the roots of her hair because it was Nora. Esme knew she would have to encounter the woman again sometime, but four days after their Friday night tête-à-tête, in Esme’s eyes, seemed a little bit too soon. She swallowed hard. Oh, I don’t have the capacity to deal with… everything she represents. Not right now. Tuesday nights were a surprisingly big draw for the Indigo Lounge, because they had a Diversity Drag night each week. But tonight would be kicking off a month-long weekly diverse drag pageant, with kings and queens of all genders coming to compete for a crown. It had been in the works for months, lots of publicity had been put into it, and after the Chappell Roan Tribute Night last week, interest had only spiked. Esme remained up to her ears in phone calls and last-minute scheduling changes.

It was too much. She could not face Nora at this moment. Getting her out of here was the only solution. Striding over to the entrance, Esme blocked Nora’s path into the Lounge. “What are you doing here?”

To her surprise, Nora held her hands up. “Peace. I came for an early dinner.”

“You came for dinner. Here.” Esme scoffed and shook her head. “It is literally insane that you expect me to believe that.”

“Okay, I also hoped we might be able to talk. Calmly.” Nora kept her hands up. “I don’t want to fight anymore, Es… Ms. Bloom.”

“We don’t have to fight.” Esme tossed her hair back over her shoulder and smiled winningly. “All you have to do is give up your selfish quest to buy this building and throw me out.” And go very far away so I don’t have to think about what happened between us anymore…

“If I don’t buy the Fairchild, someone else will,” Nora snapped, dropping her hands. “And they may not be as inclined to help you successfully relocate as I am.”

As painful as her actual words were, Esme was pleased that she’d gotten a rise out of the real estate tycoon. She was usually so calm and poised, it annoyed Esme no end. This kind of reaction was like catnip. She tilted her head and broadened her smile. “But those are my terms.”

Nora looked down at her shoes and took a deep breath. Then another. Esme got the feeling that she was trying to keep her temper under control, and her delight increased. She also wondered what it might be like if Nora actually lost control of that temper. And if she dared to provoke her…

“It doesn’t have to be like this.” Nora’s soft words interrupted Esme’s wandering thoughts. “I feel like we don’t have to be at odds all the time. It’s the same argument going in circles.” Her blue eyes were clear and steady when her gaze met Esme’s. “Can we talk? Try to get on some kind of less antagonistic footing?”

Her apparent sincerity and—dared Esme even think it—something akin to vulnerability softened the edges of her sharp, polished beauty. And in turn, this softened Esme’s protect and attack instincts. “I…”

“If you have time now, I’d like it if you can join me for dinner.” Nora looked around at the Lounge, at the parade of drag performers that was beginning to trickle through the door and past her. “We can eat here, or we can go somewhere.”

Esme shook her head. “I can’t. We have a big weekly event starting tonight. There’s no way I can leave. You see how people are already arriving, and it doesn’t start for another hour.”

Nora nodded. “I do see. But Esme…” Her voice dropped, and Esme couldn’t find it in her to protest the familiarity. “I think we do need to talk.”

Nervously, Esme glanced around. Sasha and Ruby were watching them closely, along with Cam who’d just arrived to help out at the bar for the night. They all looked curious but were too far away to have overheard Nora. Esme cleared her throat. “Can you come back around 4 AM? At the back entrance.”

Hesitation crossed Nora’s face, but after a moment, she nodded. “I can make that work.”

“Bring Chinese food. There’s an all-night takeout kitchen a couple blocks over.” Esme stuck her hands into the pockets of her long, dark red skirt. “I get hungry after big nights like this one’s going to be, and Sasha closes the kitchen at midnight. The takeout kitchen knows me. Tell them you want an Esme special.”

“An Esme special. Got it.” Nora smiled softly. “Well, I’ll go find myself something for dinner and get some work done. See you at 4 AM.”

“See you,” Esme replied as Nora left. She walked back over to the bar, chewing on her bottom lip.

“What was that about?” Sasha was almost belligerent, her chin up as Esme slid behind the bar. “What did she want?”

“Dinner and a chat.” Esme thought it best to leave things as simple as possible. She was still trying to process the last few minutes, and she didn’t want to outright lie if she didn’t have to.

Cam was frowning. “What could she want to talk about?”

“I’m not sure.” That much was true. “I didn’t give her a chance to tell me.” Also, technically, true.

“You two looked almost friendly,” Ruby noted sarcastically as she slid her laptop into her messenger bag. “Is that a good thing?”

Esme had tied her curls back into a low ponytail for the evening, and she pulled it over her shoulder now to fiddle with the end of it. “I don’t know. I really don’t know anything,” she admitted, and it was a statement that had never been truer in her life.

Sasha was still scowling. “Well, I don’t think you should get too friendly with her. Remember, E, she just wants to shut us down. Profits over sentiment, didn’t you say she said?”

“Something like that.” Esme felt her cheeks going pink again, because remembering the conversation on Friday evening only made her remember what else had happened Friday evening. Which she was pretty sure Nora wanted to talk about more than anything else.

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