Page 16 of Always There For You

And breathing Hadley in right now was doing something to her gut in a way that Amelia had come to recognize as desire. More than raw lust, but the need to take and give and make Hadley hers. And that confused her practicality, her logic; it messed with her tidy to-do list and decades of friendship. But Hadley had always done that, spun her round until her head and her heart were one. So what was different now?

Hadley reading to her, making her tea. Hadley running her a bath, making sure her hands weren’t too swollen or numb by rubbing them with her own. The soft waves of her long brown hair tumbling from those jewel-hued scarves she always wore. Hadley’s freckles and adorable nose and the architecturally stunning slope of her collarbones. The achingly sweet way she cared for everyone around her.

Hadley slicking her skin with oil and whispering confessions into her shoulder blades.

Hadley loved her. That was the difference. And now she knew and it burned.

But Amelia didn't have to idly sit by anymore. Not now. Maybe it would all fall apart. Maybe it wouldn't.

Hadley loved her. Truly. In a way that went beyond their years and years of friendship and trust and all the memories they'd built with rope ladders and notes in glitter pen and books read under the shade of an old oak tree. Those memories lived in Amelia and she cherished every single one. But all that time spent worrying about what would happen if she admitted how badly she wanted Hadley, and how much she loved her? Now it didn't seem so important. Things felt different. They felt right. And if she was going to work this out, and truly talk to Hadley about how she felt, she'd need to find a way to make it special. For her. For Hadley.

For them.

Chapter six

Something was different about Amelia. Sure, Hadley could tell she was nervous as the store opening approached. They all were thrumming with that heady excitement that also came with stomach butterflies and cold sweats, but she’d been through a few big deals like this. Nothing quite this important, as it was Amelia’s store. But when one of the wait staff dropped a tray this afternoon, the sound echoing off exposed brick and glass, several employees had jumped at least six feet in the air. Amelia had been behind the main floor bar, helping Larsen write up the opening night tasting menus, and when Hadley turned to check on them, she locked eyes with her friend. Ames was pale enough but that blast of noise must have split her frayed nerves.

As Amelia excused herself and ducked into the service hallway, Hadley tossed her clipboard onto a table and followed. She waited until they were mostly out of earshot before saying Amelia’s name once.

“I just need a minute,” Amelia muttered as she rattled the doorknob to her office. Her left hand went to her chest and Hadley saw her pluck up the key she’d gifted Amelia and rub it between her thumb and forefinger. She’d been doing that a lot lately.

Hadley stayed back a few paces, not wanting to crowd. “Do you need me to keep working out on the floor?”

Amelia hesitated, sighed. Then leaned her forehead on the door and let her arms drop. “No. Stay.” She turned her head. “Please.”

Hadley slipped in beside her and opened the door. They took up their usual spots in Amelia’s bright, cheery office, with her flopped on the little couch in the corner and Amelia plopping down hard in her cushy desk chair. The chair was custom made and meant to help support her spine and shoulders. It looked like the Stay Puft Man’s brother, all poofy and plush, and it never failed to make her grin.

“You’re laughing at my chair again.” Amelia’s pout was epic but also mostly fake. “Mean.”

“Me? Never.” Hadley grabbed for one of the throw pillows and shoved it under her head. “I keep making us delicious dinners. I made Mr. Buttons three vests this week and you said they made you happy!”

“People are going to think he’s the shop cat,” she replied, not raising her head from her curled fist. “Maybe we need a shop cat.”

“We need a shop cat.” No question in her mind, and Hadley could picture a fluffy rescue sporting all the best vests and little coats. She’d definitely need more fabric.

The half-lidded gaze focused on her sharpened. Hadley suddenly felt as though Amelia was really looking at her. She tried not to squirm. “Take your hair down for me?”

“What?”

Amelia drew a lazy circle in the air, centered around Hadley’s face. “I never see it down except before you go to bed. It’s so pretty. Remember when we tried to French braid each other’s hair in third grade?”

Hadley winced. “Oooh don’t remind me. I still hate curling irons to this day.”

Amelia’s snort was a thing of beauty. “Which one of us thought French braids required frying our hair with your mom’s curling iron?”

“I thought you had to curl each section first! And the curling iron was weirdly heavy and…”

“And I went into fourth grade with a pixie cut.”

“Sorry, babe.”

“I know.” Amelia shifted in her chair, arms now draped elegantly over the arm rests, legs parted slightly as she let the padding cushion her body. It was very hard not to stare at the way Amelia’s favorite worn black jeans hugged her strong thighs. She’d worked hard over the years to build her strength; which made it difficult for Hadley not to acknowledge how much that work had paid off.

Amelia’s throaty purr of words soon startled Hadley out of her daydreams. “Make it up to me by taking your hair down.”

There was a command in Amelia’s voice. Soft but unmistakable. Firm but not unyielding. Something in Hadley wanted to drop to its knees before her. “Okay.” Proud her hands were steady, Hadley reached up and undid the knot at the back of her head. The ends of the dark yellow scarf tickled her neck while she pulled the few pins from her hair. Her hair was thick and heavy and a pain in the ass but cutting it beyond a trim never felt right. And in this moment, Hadley was more than thankful she’d waved away the temptation to cut it right before coming to Breakwater.

Because the way Amelia was looking at her made Hadley’s heart race.

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