Page 39 of Spicy Sapphic Christmas

Pursing her lips, Bea straightened her shoulders and walked directly toward the small group of people. She stood between Jo and Bunny and extended her hand to Allegra. “Hi. It’s good to meet you.”

“You as well,” Allegra said with a patented smile. “I was so happy when Siena shared that you both had agreed to join in our charity event.”

“We love giving back to our community,” Bunny chimed in, practically drooling over Allegra.

If they were alone, Bea would have some sharp words for Bunny. Something about not falling on her face on the way out. Bea clenched her jaw, knowing that her face didn’t match the calm, smiling ease that the others had managed.

Why was Mandy texting Jo again?

“That’s something Jo and I would love to do more of, so the opportunity was perfect.” It wasn’t much of a lie. They had talked about it. They just hadn’t planned on it happening yet. Jo slid Bea a curious look.

Was Jo looking to start up a relationship with Mandy again? Because that would be a bad idea. Hands down. The devastation Jo had experienced during their last breakup was enough for one lifetime.

“Perfect. Well, I thought I should tell you a bit more about the Holbrook Foundation so that you know exactly what we’re raising funds for.” Allegra looked at each of them, making eye contact.

Oh, she was good at this. Schmoozing. It was exactly why she was in the executive director position, wasn’t it? The muscles in Bea’s shoulders tightened even more. She didn’t like it. It felt so underhanded, and the way Bunny was all over Allegra in an instant really put Bea off of the whole situation.

Maybe Bea really was just another notch in Bunny’s belt.

Allegra gave the spiel. Bea only half listened, making eye contact with Siena and nodding toward the door. Siena raised an eyebrow at her and shook her head.

“We’re wanting to help the people who need it most. Research shows that a stable mother relationship with any child will propel that child forward on the right foot when they hit adulthood. So we try to help single mothers as best as we can to give them a hand up in finding their place and stability in this current culture.”

Bea stepped closer to Jo and touched her arm lightly. She hated that they were stuck here and couldn’t talk. She really needed to ask Jo what the hell was going on.

“They make such amazing waves for mothers,” Bunny jumped in, turning to Bea and Jo. “My mom was a single parent. It’s tough out there. Next to impossible to survive.”

Bea stilled. Bunny came from a broken home? She cringed. Why had she thought that? Some crass crap her father would say, and she hadn’t managed to break free of its grasp on her completely yet.

“We’re working with Holbrook on a different fundraiser next year.” Piper jumped into the conversation. “It’s for some work with soldiers.”

Bea was impressed. It seemed the Holbrook Foundation was doing a lot of work. But she still had a sense of unease in her belly, something she couldn’t shake that had absolutely nothing to do with Holbrook and everything to do with the gorgeous woman that Bunny couldn’t stop fawning over. And the fact that Mandy was texting, again.

What the hell did she want?

Bea hung to the back, letting Bunny and Allegra chat away. She eyed them carefully. Jo came to stand next to her, giving her a funky look.

“You look like you want to murder someone,” Jo muttered under her breath.

“Why are you texting Mandy?”

Jo sighed heavily. “I’m not texting. She’s texting.”

Bea turned and stared at her sister, her strong, hurt, and manipulated sister. Jo had fallen head over heels in love with Mandy, and she’d never managed to untangle herself from the woman despite their multiple breakups. Bea pushed her fingers through her hair.

“I don’t like it,” Bea said.

“Well, neither do I, frankly.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to express my gratitude for your volunteering to work this event. It’ll help us raise the funds to meet our goal for the next year.” Allegra folded her hands in front of her. “But I know you have a lot of work to do, so I’ll let you get back to it.”

She said her goodbyes and walked out with Siena. Bea shot Jo a sharp look before following behind. She would take care of the Mandy problem if it was the last thing she did. She allowed the anger to surge into her, needing it to make clear to Siena how dangerous this woman could be.

Bea trailed Siena, waiting until she’d said goodbye to Allegra. Siena turned around, facing Bea with a confused and curious look on her face. “Did you need something?”

“Yes.” Bea bolstered herself. Jo was going to be so ticked off at her for doing this, but something had to be done. And it was Bea’s job to protect her little sister in every way possible. “There’s a woman, Mandy Obrist. She’s harassed Jo for years, and she’s popped back up recently. She has a way of… getting into places she shouldn’t be allowed.”

“Oh?” Siena stepped closer now, her entire body movement shifting into one of concern.

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