Page 17 of Passionate Hearts

Brianna nodded, trying to do quick math in her head. That would make Miranda, around twenty- three?

“I’m twenty-two,” Miranda said with a laugh. Brianna knew her cheeks were turning a dark red.

Age was just a number, and Brianna was just twenty-eight. She would be careful to treat Miranda with as much kindness as she would anyone else.

“What do you do?” Miranda asked.

“I’m a travel consultant with Lez Getaway. It’s a travel agency that focuses on helping queer women have positive travel experiences.”

“Oh, wow. That’s such a big girl job,” Miranda tilted her head to the right then back to the left.

She tried not to allow the comment to bother her. But she wasn’t sure what spirit the comment was meant from. Miranda’s friend, Sue, arrived and started setting up her sound equipment.

“Come meet, Sue,” Miranda encouraged.

Sue, was short with dark hair gelled into spikes. The sides of Sue’s hair were shaved. Brianna had to give it to her, she looked about as punk rock as one could get. Sue played her first set and Miranda was ecstatic. Brianna tried to get into the music, but it just wasn’t her scene.

As the night wore on, Miranda spent more and more time with Sue and her other friends. And less and less time with Brianna. Two hours in, it was apparent that there was no reason for Brianna to be hanging around. Miranda had danced with five of her friends but had yet to ask Brianna if she’d like to join. This was the part of dating that Brianna hated. She patted Miranda on the arm and mouthed the wordsI’m going to go on home. Mirandapulled her in for a big hug and gave the thumbs up. Brianna waved bye to Miranda and her friends, then disappeared through the bar’s double doors. Miranda was fun and she’d definitely go to a show with her if she were everinvited. As far as dating went though, Miranda simply wasn’t her cup of tea.

Brianna was thrilled when she pulled into her buildings parking lot. She wondered if Tiff would be spending the night. She wouldn’t know until she came upstairs.

Chapter 7

River’s night with Tiff had been meant to be a time to reconnect. She had wanted to remember what it was about Tiff she’d been drawn to. Instead, it had showed her more reasons to doubt her relationship.

“How’s your week going?” River asked.

She sat on the couch waiting for Tiff to pick a bottle of wine for them to open. Tiff was meticulously inspecting each bottle of wine. River watched as she pulled out one of Brianna’s red wines, examined the label then shake her head in dissatisfaction.

“Busy, as usual. Pretty good though. I brought in a new client.”

Tiff finally found a bottle of wine that was up to her standards and poured two glasses.

“Oh wow. A new client, huh? Tell me about them.”

River was digging deep, trying desperately to find common ground. She and Tiff seemed further apart now than ever before.

“Well, she’s a bit of a real estate tycoon. She owns several properties in New York. She’s here to buy up some locations to use as short-term rentals. She wants a local to help manage her investments here long-term.”

“That’s great. Have you had many meetings with her?”

Tiff’s face scrunched for a moment, her expression unreadable.

“Not too many. We mostly communicate over the phone. She texts quite a bit,” Tiff laughed. River took the glass of wine that Tiff extended to her. She took a sip and forced herself not to make a face. The wine wasn’t her preferred taste, though Tiff seemed to love it.

“How about you? What’s new in your world?” Tiff asked.

River got the distinct impression that Tiff was feigning interest. Maybe that was fair. River’s life was vastly more streamlined since the accident.

“Well, Brianna and I worked from home the first part of the day. Then we took our lunch break, and she pushed my wheelchair around the park.”

Tiff didn’t even pretend to be entertained. Instead, she took another sip of wine and changed the show playing on the television.

“You must be really looking forward to being able to go back to normal activities,” Tiff smiled.

River glanced away then down at the floor. She wished she could come up with the best response. But nothing sprang to mind.

“I am. Slowing down a bit hasn’t been as awful as I imagined it would be though.”

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