Chapter ten

Nine days later

The shop being closed didn’t mean there was no work. They both knew it, but pulling a grousing Hadley out of bed on Monday only succeeded when Amelia waved a mug of coffee under her nose. Thankfully, it was a simple restock and wouldn’t take more than a few hours.

Amelia went through her online inventory while Hadley stumbled around. She had to laugh at the way it would look to the outside. The uptight taskmaster with a softer side and the wild child jack-of-all-trades who kept things fun.

Reality was almost always more nuanced.

There was her, the detail-oriented business owner, head down over a gleaming laptop while steam curled off a coffee cup by her elbow, while she worried over a shipment that went missing. Worried about her staff, her customers. And there was Hadley dashing through the halls, bare feet smacking on worn floor boards while a toothbrush dangled from her mouth. The one with the big heart and a smile, but one with an eye for body language and tone, a naturally spiritual person who connected with people on a deeper level. And in truth, Hadley had been far more composed of the two of them over the last week when it came to the store floor.

When two staff members were rather late for the Friday night shift, Hadley kept the staff moving. That instinct to think on her feet also got Larsen doing tastings of a wine that had just come in (one Amelia had yet to taste, but the risk was worth it to keep customers happy around their delays). If a customer was rude, Hadley handled it. If someone wanted to book out the Winebrary, she took care of it with Sara’s assistance.

And while Hadley managed the front of the house, Amelia was on the phone, trying to check on the Friday night staff who had gone MIA. They were fine, thankfully and managed to get to work, but she made sure they were settled before sending them out. Then their online shop had received so much traffic, it crashed. A crate of reserved, higher end wines was dropped by the delivery driver. She kept them on time, Hadley kept them motivated. Everything moved in sync.

But lying next to Hadley after cuddling and kissing was starting to make Amelia wonder. They'd been intimate, but only to a certain level; it was hard to find the energy for much after long days in the shop. But that night of the storm lingered in Amelia's memory; the line they'd almost erased but had pulled back from, for the sake of each other. Amelia had kissed Hadley until she was pink in the cheeks and breathless while their hands wandered. But nothing past that. And while her head rattled around with maybes, her heart was full. Because having Hadley in any way was more than enough.

Now she needed to not be such a chickenshit and actually speak up for once. She never had any problems before. This was just…too close to something like yawning void of doubt. Amelia hated it.

So when she heard Hadley approach the kitchen a few minutes later, looking ready to go for the day and smiling ear to ear, she handed over a cup of coffee and said, “Hey, you.”

“Hey.” Hadley brushed a kiss over her lips then immediately downed half the cup. “You look more pensive than normal. You okay?”

Amelia patted the stool next to her. “Can we talk for a second?”

No worry crossed Hadley’s face, thank god, because Amelia would have rushed to reassure her. The thread of the conversation would have gotten lost and then she’d be scared and frustrated all over again. That was no way to communicate. Hadley was her best friend, her one. They could get through anything. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Amelia had gone over this in her head dozens of times. Lost precious sleep over it; times during which she had to force herself to not stare at Hadley, as if her mind still wasn’t certain this had all happened. Them. Together.

She took Hadley’s hand in hers and said, “I am not fishing for anything here. I want you to know that. And what we have makes me so happy. But I feel like we should have talked about the more…physical side of things. Maybe sooner. Because I don’t want either of us to have expectations and those get all mired in doubt or -“

“Ames.”

“Yeah?” Fuck, her heart was pounding so hard.

But nothing on Hadley’s face screamed of fear or confusion. Just gentle reassurance and love. “You want to talk about sex.”

Relief made her deflated “I can’t believe I didn’t just say that.”

Hadley laughed. “I can. I love you, babe, but buttoned-up is high up on the list of personality traits for you. Can I help ease the way a bit?”

Hadley waggled her eyebrows for emphasis and Amelia chuckled. “Yes, please. God, I’m going to be embarrassed forever now.”

“You don’t need to be, but I get it.” Hadley pulled Amelia’s hand up until she could place a kiss on the inside of her wrist. That little touch set Amelia’s nerves on fire. Something flickered to life in Hadley’s eyes as she kissed Amelia’s wrist again. “We can have as much sex or as little as you want. If you don’t want to do that, it would never send me screaming for the hills. Being with you is what I want.” Another kiss and now Amelia shivered. “A lot of people discover something new about their partner the first time they have sex. You and me are spiritual, Ames. We don’t need it, is what I’m saying. But if you want it….” She locked eyes with Amelia and placed a final kiss inside her elbow. Amelia thought she might melt. “I’m ready to learn.”

Amelia’s hesitations and fears crumbled into dust.

Hadley was right there, alive and warm and so beautiful and she couldn’t stand it any longer. Amelia slid off her stool, their joined hands bringing Hadley with her. She was grinning, so wide it stretched the corners of her mouth. “Okay. Me too.”

“You too…” Hadley’s little smirk teased the way her tone of voice did, and it only made Amelia’s stomach twist itself into more knots, but from the good kind of anticipation now. She stepped forward slowly, her hands on Hadley’s shoulders, and steered them to the opposite wall. “So forceful, Ms. de Ville. However will I hold up to your many, many charms?”

Amelia wouldn’t even grumble about the pain later. It was worth the look on Hadley’s face when Amelia cupped her ass and lifted her, forcing Hadley to wrap her legs around Amelia’s waist. Hadley laughed, the sound short and startled, before drawing Amelia up into a kiss, her hands so soft along Amelia’s jaw. “I don’t think you can,” Amelia purred back, watching with satisfaction as the tips of Hadley’s ears turned pink.

“No, I definitely think I’m weak to you.”

“Mmmm.” Gently, Amelia bumped Hadley’s back into the wall, earning a gasp, and she moved forward even more. Pressed into Hadley’s warmth, surrounded by the scent of jasmine and coffee, Amelia kissed her hard. Desperate. Needing more than what they’d done and now that she knew Hadley wanted something more physical, too, desire chased relief and they ran rampant through her.

The beckoning call of the store could wait.