Page 83 of Pierced Pages
She slipped a hand behind Danielle’s head and leaned downward to kiss her, right between the shop window and the parking lot for the universe to see. Danielle wasn’t a big PDA person, but she would never again turn down a chance to kiss Morgan.
Danielle leaned in to the softness of Morgan’s lips and felt her whole body melting away beneath her. Still, she pulled her head back and looked up into Morgan’s eyes once again.
“I’m pretty sure your smoke break is over.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Morgan’s mouth. “Probably.”
“Then I should let you get back to work,” Danielle said. “Tell Jen hi from me, and I hope to properly meet her one day.”
“Will do,” Morgan said, squeezing her hand. “Text me? We’ll figure out a time for this weekend.”
Danielle squeezed her hand back, the weight of the weekend lifting as she left Morgan. But not for long, if she could help it.
Chapter 37
Morgan
Morgan gripped the casserole dish tightly in her hands, hoping they weren’t sweaty enough to drop the rice dressing all over Melanie and Kim’s front doorstep. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. She knew these people. Knew they wouldn’t judge her for her or her food-making abilities. Still, this felt like a big deal.
It was her first official holiday with her and Danielle as a couple. While they’d known each other for a month before that, they’d only been officially dating for a month since the wedding. Two months didn’t seem like enough time to be woven into a family gathering. And yet it simultaneously felt like they’d known each other for years.
She and Danielle fell into an easy relationship over the last few weeks, seamlessly incorporating their lives together and with Lila. Morgan wasn’t sure anymore what she’d been so afraid of. Her spontaneity had folded in nicely with all of Danielle’s plans and schedules.
“Ready?”
Danielle and Lila were both looking up at her with enthusiastic expressions on their faces. They had both seemed asexcited as she was anxious to have her there with them for Easter lunch.
“Ready as I’m going to be,” she said.
Danielle knocked with one hand, cradling a bottle of Pinot Grigio with the other. A few moments later, the door swung open wide as Melanie greeted them each with a warm, welcoming hug.
“Come in, come in. So glad you’re here,” she said, stepping aside for them to enter. She wore a breezy spring dress and flats, with plastic bracelets clacking together as she gestured to the side. “You can put that on the folding table set up in the corner by the kitchen.”
Morgan walked over to where Melanie directed her, and she found Kim standing beside the stove, mixing something that looked like potato salad, which made the kitchen smell like freshly boiled eggs.
“You made it!” Kim abandoned the bowl and spatula to walk over and give Morgan a hug as well. “Glad you could make it.”
“Me too,” she said. And it wasn’t a lie. She really was glad.
“I guess you didn’t take Felicia up on her invitation?”
Morgan shook her head. “She understands that I’m not going to any holiday gatherings if Mom’s there. But we have a sister date next Sunday.”
“I’m so glad you two are reconnecting,” Kim said. “It’s really good to see.”
“I’m happy about it, too.”
Getting to know her sister again had been a nice bonus to the last couple of months, besides her relationship with Danielle. She never really thought that was possible, but here they were.
A knock on the door sounded throughout the small but cozy house, and a few seconds later Lila shouted, “Aunt Gerri’s here!”
Morgan turned to see Danielle’s other good friend entering the room. She was as tall as Morgan, but her high-waisted slacksand cream-colored blouse with elegant gold jewelry that shone off her dark skin made Morgan feel woefully underdressed.
After greeting the others in the living room, Gerri walked over to place a bag of bread rolls and a store-bought carrot cake on the folding table beside the rice dressing.
“Good to see you again,” Morgan said.
“You too.” Gerri gestured at the food she’d brought in. “This is all they’ll let me bring since the great bean salad fiasco of 2023.”
