Page 89 of Beautiful Dreamer

Thalia grinned and approached the bar with a very obvious sway ofher hips. Elizabeth also noticed her short skirt for the first time. She sighedand studied the pattern on the wooden table.

“You seem down tonight,” Thalia said, and slid Elizabeth the beerbefore taking a seat next to her on the same side of the booth. Their arms weretouching. Elizabeth glanced at her out of the side of her eye.

“I’ve had better months. I can be honest about that.”

Thalia nodded sympathetically. She was as gorgeous as ever. Herlarge blue eyes blinked in sharp contrast to the paleness of her smooth skin. “Thisis about Devyn Winters. I heard you two had a thing. I’m sorry if you’re sad,Elizabeth. You know, I was hoping I could help.” She touched the back ofElizabeth’s neck and gave it a soft squeeze.

Aha. That’s what this was. Now that she’d been seen with Devyn,who was objectively rated higher on the desirable scale, Elizabeth was suddenlymore interesting to Thalia. Unfortunately, being with Devyn had done theopposite for Elizabeth, because Thalia, even the idea of her, now fell flat.

“You know, I’m not up for this,” Elizabeth said apologetically.She moved her neck away from Thalia’s touch.

“Not up for drinks? We can skip them if you want.”

“And do what?” She blinked back at Thalia.

“Go somewhere a little quieter. A little more personal. We keepsaying we need some one-on-one time.” She sent her a sexy-eyed look.

It was ironic how much that sentence and that look did not affecther, when she would have given anything for either of them just a short timebefore. “You know? I’m going to pass. I’ve followed you around like a puppy dogfor a couple of years now.”

“A very cute and sweet puppy dog.”

“That’s a little condescending, but I’m going to move past it.”She turned so she could fully face Thalia. “The problem is that you treated mereally poorly throughout that time. You canceled plans, dismissed me, andbehaved as if I had no feelings, which I do.”

Thalia chuckled as if reminiscing about the good times. “Butthat’s just part of the game, isn’t it? People circle each other until theyfinally find that moment to click.”

Elizabeth studied her. “Yeah, this isn’t that moment. In fact, Idon’t think there’s one on the calendar for us. I also don’t enjoy playinggames.” In spite of Devyn’s insecurities and the fact that she’d left Elizabethand never looked back, she’d shown her what kindness and support meant in arelationship. Not only that, but Elizabeth’s feelings for Devyn had beengenuine, deep, and real. Nothing like she felt for Thalia. She could see thatnow as clearly as she could see that Thalia’s nose ring was red and possiblyinfected. She pointed. “You might want to get that looked at. In the meantime,I gotta go.Datelineis looking better and better.”

“I’m sorry?” Thalia said, standing to let Elizabeth out of thebooth.

“I’m really not. Have a nice night.”

She walked out of Ronnie Roo’s with her head held high and herconfidence on the rebound. She held on to that confidence when she walked to DustyMcCurdy’s real estate office the next morning to finally see about taking Onthe Spot to a more professional space. Working in her garage had beenconvenient and necessary, but with Elizabeth’s ambition bolstered, and businessso fruitful, it was time to professionalize. Only the hanging sign forMcCurdy’s was gone from the front of the small office building. She stared upat a man on a ladder painting the exterior of the doorframe. The rest of thebuilding had also been given a fresh coat of paint, which really elevated thelook of the property.

She shielded her eyes from the sun. “Any idea what happened toMcCurdy’s? The real estate company that used to have an office here.” Shehadn’t been down this particular street in a while, and wondered how longthey’d been gone. Admittedly, she’d been out of her usual gossip loop.

The man looked down, removed his hat, and wiped away the sweat onhis brow. Summer was almost on its way out, but the temperatures remained quitewarm. “I heard he sold the place. New tenant moves in next week.” He gesturedwith his chin to the dusty-blue sign propped against the side of the building,ready for hanging. In elegant script, it read:The Winters Group. Elizabeth stared at it,not comprehending, and glanced up at the man for answers. He shrugged, clearlyjust there to paint.

Elizabeth didn’t move. She couldn’t. Unsure what this all meantand feeling unsettled, she took a seat on the curb and watched the cars go by.Everything in her felt numb.

To her right, another car engine whirred and quieted. She turnedand watched a black Mercedes, a two-seater, pull up to the curb about twentyyards from where she sat. It wasn’t a familiar vehicle to her, but then the Baywas growing with each passing day. The driver exited the car and came intoview. Elizabeth swallowed. Devyn Winters, wearing a pinstriped navy businesssuit that must have been hand drawn for her body, came around the front of thecar. Her blond hair was down and bounced against the white collar of herstarched shirt. She took off her sunglasses and paused.

“What’s going on?” Elizabeth asked from the curb. She didn’tstand. She didn’t move. She couldn’t until she had more information. Her hearthammered away almost painfully, the un-ignorable reminder that she was nervousas hell.

Devyn gestured to the building with her aviators. “I bought thebuilding.”

“Why?”

“Well, to start with, it was for sale. I saw it hit the MLS andsnatched it up. It needs some renovating and a new coat of paint, a nice newfloor, and replaced windows, but I’ve always liked its location. Close enoughto the heart of town, but far away enough to feel peaceful.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because I’m going to be working here.” She gestured to thebuilding. “This is my new office.”

Elizabeth knew her mouth was hanging open and made a point to shutit. “You’re, uh, moving back to the Bay?” She scratched her cheek casually,because that’s all this was, a casual conversation.

Devyn nodded. “It’s taken me weeks,” she inclined her head fromside to side, “okay, months, to make this decision, but sometimes you have tofollow your gut, or in this case your heart.”

“Your heart?” Did she really just say that? What was happening?

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