“I’m sorry. I’d love to give you the word, but I didn’t order it. And more importantly, I don’t know how I’d pay for it once it’s installed.”
He looked at his guys on the ladders, then at her like he, too, thought he was being punked. “It’s already paid for. All you gotta do is sign here.”
Suddenly, a loud bang from inside her shop stripped her away from crane guy. She trotted up to the entrance and cupped her eyes to look inside. “What the fu…”
She charged in and found a full-figured gal in a tool belt wearing a bandana that tamed wild curls. She looked up from a pile of decimated counter. “How’s it going?”
“It would be going a lot better if I knew what the heck was going on around here.”
The woman looked around the room. “Looks to me like you’re opening up a store.”
“I was until my business loan got denied.”
The woman shrugged. “All I can tell you is a woman named Daphne Carsen hired me to demo this retail space and install new product shelving and a sales counter.”
“I’m Daphne Carsen, and why is everyone telling me I’ve done things I have no recollection of doing nor the money to do them with, I might add?”
“Whoa. That’s a mind fuck—excuse me, freak. The money went into my account, and the plans were emailed to me. Do you want this or not?”
“Uh, yes, I do. And you seem quite capable,” Daphne said, staring at the woman’s tree-branch arms.
“Then here I am doing the job. I’m Olive, by the way. Olive Yousamich, general contractor.” She wiped a hand on her jeans and extended it to shake.
“Nice to meet you, Olive. If you’ll excuse me, I’m just gonna go make a phone call.”
“Sure thing” She gave a two-finger salute, picked up her sledgehammer, and resumed her demolition work.
Out on the sidewalk, Daphne stepped past the sign installers and dialed Rikki’s number. “Hi, Rikki. It’s Daphne. I’m sorry to bother you, but I have people here at my shop hanging signs and smashing old counters to bits, and I have no idea why. Wasn’t my business loan rejected?”
“Yes, it was,” she said. “But I guess you have a guardian angel looking over you.”
“Even I’m not naive enough to believe in those. Who was it?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Aha,” Daphne exclaimed. “You could’ve said it was an anonymous benefactor. Now I know who it is.” She ended the call and immediately dialed Nina’s phone. When Nina answered, she spat, “Since when did you get into the silent-partner investing business?”
“I’m fine. How are you?” Nina said.
“Nina, what did you do?” Daphne’s emotions were in such a whirl, her voice cracked as the question made its way out.
“You sound a little tweaked out. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not, especially now that I know how little faith you have in me. And isn’t there some realtor code of ethics that says you don’t go around telling people your client’s business loan was rejected?”
“How could you say that, Daphne?” Nina’s monotone reply reflected genuine hurt. “I believe in you more than anyone, so much so that I simply provided an alternative channel through which you could get your business off the ground.”
“Because poor, pathetic Daphne can’t accomplish anything on her own. How much is the loan for, eight?”
“I borrowed ten to give you some breathing room.”
“I’m coming by tonight with the first payment.” She was about to end the call but couldn’t resist. “And I hope you plan to live to a hundred, because that’s probably when I’ll finally finish paying it off.”
“Yes. As a matter of fact I do plan to live that long,” Nina said, matching Daphne in decibel level. “And you better, too, you brat. By the way, was there a ‘thank you’ queued up anywhere in that tirade?”
The lid on Daphne’s pressure-cooker mood finally blew in the form of a low, rumbling laugh. She leaned against the glass and, when she stopped laughing, exhaled as she slid down to the sidewalk. “Thank you. Thank you so friggin’ much.”
“That’s better. Next time try leading with that.”
“Nina, it’s so much money.”
“It’s really not in the grand scheme of things. Rikki says that contractor is the best in the area, and your signage came out amazing. Go take a look.”
Daphne walked around to the front of the building and gazed up at the sign that loomed over her like the marquee of a dream. Then it hit her. “Wait a minute. How did you know…”
Nina sauntered around from the side of the building still holding her phone against her ear and a bouquet of roses in her other hand.
Daphne melted in a smile as she shoved her phone into her pocket. When Nina approached she received the flowers but held them at her side as she hugged her and dampened her ear with her tears. “How can I ever thank you for all this, Nina?” She was trying to pull back to address her, but Nina wouldn’t release her grip. “I swear I’ll repay every penny if it takes me the rest of my life.”
Nina finally let her go and looked adoringly into her eyes. “That’s what I’m counting on, Daph—not the paying-me-back part, but the part about being around for the rest of our lives.”
Daphne studied her. Why was she being so sentimental now? “You goof. We’re friends forever. Nothing’s going to change that.”
“Not even falling in love?”
“What?” Daphne heard her perfectly clearly, but the insinuation crashed into her brain like another chunk of felled countertop.
Nina was staring at her shoes, then looked up, shyly. “I told Lacey it wasn’t going to work with us.”
“Why not?”
“Because I realized I was in love with someone else. She didn’t even need to ask who.”
Daphne stood speechless, trying to appreciate Nina’s beautiful face through clouds of tears.
“Now if you’re not interested in something more and want to keep it just friends,” Nina said, “I can totally respect that. All I ask is that you’re honest about—”
Daphne dropped the roses, flung her arms around Nina’s neck, and kissed her passionately. Nina’s arms then curled around her waist and up her back as she returned Daphne’s passion with what felt like ravenous desire.
They stood on the sidewalk and made out like obsessed teenagers at a bowling alley until Daphne noticed the sudden silence of construction noise around them. When they finally separated, the sign crew and Olive, standing at the entrance, broke into applause.
Daphne grinned bashfully as she bowed her head.
Nina elbowed her playfully and caressed her back. “I think you have some business to attend to.”
The crane operator held up the clipboard. “Now will you sign for the installation?”
Daphne and Nina laughed, and Daphne ran over to scribble her signature on the work order.
After everyone on site had a plastic cup of celebratory champagne Nina had waiting in a cooler in her car, Nina and Daphne left so they could both go home and prepare for their first official date, which was happening that night.
* * *
They sat at a table beside a wall of windows in a fancy, revolving restaurant overlooking downtown Stamford. Piano keys tinkled from across the room as the lights from the city cast an amber glow across Daphne’s face. Nina wanted the atmosphere to be special and unique, as it would be the restaurant they’d forever remember as the location of their first date.
Nina drew her gaze away from Daphne’s soft features, the curve of her smile in profile as she viewed the city below, to top off her first glass of pinot grigio.
“Thank you,” Daphne said. “I love how you always know exactly what to do, like it’s instinctual or something.”
Nina smiled. “All I did was refill your glass.”
“Are you kidding? You picked the most amazing restaurant, selected the perfect wine, and your makeup is flawless. I’d wear it more if it would come o
ut like yours.”
“You don’t need any more makeup, Daph. Your natural beauty is the only accent that face needs.”
Daphne’s wheat-field complexion bloomed with the colors of a winter sunrise. “Well, if you’re sure, then I won’t bother with makeup tutorials.”
“Positive.” She paused, noting how easily Daphne capitulated. “Do I come off as bossy? Not like sexy assertive but pain-in-the-ass bossy?”
Daphne giggled. “No, not at all. Why would you even ask?”
“Noah called me that earlier tonight—he always calls me that—and I got to thinking maybe he’s right. I mean, look. I just refilled your glass without even asking. I literally opened your physical store without asking. Wouldn’t that turn off someone as laid-back as you?”
When Daphne slipped her hand under Nina’s so gently, a shiver fluttered up her arm.
“First off, you’re not too bossy,” Daphne said. “I’m totally going with option one: sexy assertive. I’m just in awe of how you know exactly how to go after what you want without ever second-guessing yourself out of it. I’ve dreamed of being that self-confident. And second, you’re being generous when you call me laid-back. Nina, I’m not. I come off that way because I’m usually paralyzed with self-doubt.”
Hearing Daphne explain her self-perception, Nina could’ve started bawling at the table. But she took the effective-leader approach. “Okay. That was a former version of you. You’re a businesswoman now. You’re the one who came up with this plan a long time ago on your vision board. You’ve always had this passion in you, and now it’s finally coming to fruition.”
“All thanks to you.”
“It’s been a team effort, Daphne. Business success and failure is almost always a team effort. All you needed was a mentor.”
Daphne looked up and smiled ironically. “Like the kids you volunteer to help?”
“Those aren’t kids, honey. They’re young women who are going to take the world by storm, and I couldn’t be prouder of that program.”
“I know. You brag about that more than you do your son.”
Nina’s cheeks prickled in embarrassment. “I do brag about it a lot, don’t I?”
“I was serious when I said you should become a college professor. You’d be so great. I mean your program is awesome, but you’re able to reach only a few girls a year.”
Nina sighed as the server brought their entrees. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought since you suggested it.”
“Really?”
Daphne’s smile killed her. And she just loved the way the sandy-blond threads of hair dangling from her upswept date ’do framed her sweet face.
“Yes, really. Like major contemplation.”
“So what’s the plan? I know you have one,” Daphne said as she blew on a steaming forkful of gnocchi.
“I’m exploring my options,” Nina said, tantalizing Daphne with her cagey cool. “Connecticut University has an impressive MBA program, and I may look into teaching a night course in the fall.”
“Hearing that makes me so happy.” Daphne leaned back in her chair and spread her napkin across her lap.
“And you want to know something else? I’m positive all that deep contemplation never would’ve occurred had you not planted the seed.”
Daphne grew demure as she lowered her gaze to her plate.
“You look exceptionally pretty tonight,” Nina added, as if poor Daphne wasn’t already writhing in self-consciousness.
“I do?” As she was lifting the fork to her mouth, a single gnocchi rolled off and onto the silky royal-blue button-down that made her eyes seem to scream, “Hey, now.”
Nina contorted her face to suppress her laughter. “Not that I don’t adore you in your messy buns and hoodies, but your swing at elegant beauty always ends up a homerun.”
Daphne finished what she was chewing and leaned closer. “Nina, you are the sweetest, most romantic person I’ve ever met. No wonder why Zack is still a dick to you. He’s gotta be sick over losing you.”
“I could say the same thing about Savannah letting you go, Daphne. You know that old expression, ‘One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure.’”
“I’m living it.” Daphne pushed her dish aside and sipped her wine. “I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to be sitting here in this beautiful restaurant having dinner with you. But honestly, I would’ve been ecstatic having pizza and cuddling with you at home.”
“That’s our next stop,” Nina said. “Honestly, if I have to sit here and stare into your soulful eyes and watch you lick your luscious, saucy lips much longer, I’ll probably combust.”
A naughty blush tinged Daphne’s cheeks. “I’m assuming that means no dessert.”
Nina bit her lip as a warm tingle shot through parts of her not suitable to discuss during elegant dining. “Not here, anyway.”
* * *
Nina had spent a lot of woman-hours mentally crafting how she’d set the scene for the first time she made love with Daphne. She’d envisioned scented candles, chilled wine, and a little seventies soul pumping out of Alexa as they soaked in the bubbly bliss of her indoor hot tub, only a few steps away from her king bed draped in silky sheets. Just anticipating the scene inspired a physical response.
But when they left the restaurant and stood on the sidewalk waiting for the valet, the moon and wind and tree branches played shadow games with them. They gazed at each other, a giggle here, a sigh there. Daphne’s fingers brushed across Nina’s waist, and she kissed her softly. She teased her with a flick of her tongue until Nina forgot they were out on a sidewalk.
On the way home, they groped each other in the car, Nina swerving over the line a few times when she sneaked her hand between a gap in Daphne’s royal-blue button-down shirt. Finally, on the porch, as Nina keyed in the numbers to unlock her door, Daphne’s arm reached around her, and her hand slid inside the front of Nina’s pants, nearly making direct contact with the part of her that had been dying for Daphne’s touch all evening.
By that point, any elaborate seduction ritual she’d planned was moot. Nina barely had time to turn down the covers on her bed, as she preferred to focus on opening that royal-blue shirt, plucking at one button, slowly, agonizingly, at a time.
Daphne breathed heavily against her face when Nina released her from her shirt and then her breasts from the bra as she swirled her tongue behind Daphne’s ear. Daphne seemed to be holding in a volcanic eruption as she trembled under Nina’s touch.
After they stripped off each other’s pants, Nina laid her down and pressed herself against Daphne’s hot skin. The way Daphne clawed at her back as she ran her lips across her neck and collarbone told Nina that an eruption was imminent—for herself, too, as the feel and sound of Daphne’s escalating arousal made her throb with desire.
Daphne writhed beneath her, clearly ready for whatever Nina had planned. No longer able to resist, Nina slowly traced a path down Daphne’s taut body with her lips, stopping to explore and taste her sweet skin along with way.
Daphne’s groans grew louder with every stroke, every lick Nina teased her with. “Don’t hold back, baby,” Nina whispered. “You sound so sexy.”
And soon Daphne’s moans escalated into shouts of ecstasy as she shuddered from Nina’s touch. When Nina crawled back up to hold Daphne, her cheek grew wet from the tears rolling off Daphne’s face.
“Hey,” she whispered in concern. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, yes,” Daphne whispered, then wrenched her arms around Nina like a vise and pulled her tightly to her chest. “I just never knew love could feel like this.”
Seeing the tenderness on Daphne’s face, Nina started choking up, too. No, no, no. There’s no crying in the middle of hot, primal sex.
But Nina couldn’t stop herself. She laughed as her own tears began to trickle down her face, and she moved over to share the pillow with Daphne. She kissed some of Daphne’s tears away and smiled. This was the kind of love she’d wanted to feel all her lif
e.
* * *
Finally recovering from the minor embarrassment of crying after the kind of sex that could rock the earth off its axis, Daphne knew it was time for redemption. She’d lost herself in secret fantasies of this moment numerous times throughout her friendship with Nina, and now she was squandering valuable time emoting over how insanely in love she felt.
Now, more than anything, she wanted to taste Nina, to find out if she’d become as addicting as she’d always imagined. She propped her against a pile of pillows and teased her before diving into her sweet spot. Nina stroked Daphne’s hair gently, but as her tongue bored faster and deeper into her, Nina grabbed her head and moved her pelvis in rhythm with Daphne’s tongue. She was loud and wild, and Daphne thought she might orgasm again just listening to Nina climax.
Having had only Ann Marie as a partner, she’d never known sex could be so magical, so utterly satisfying. Maybe Nina’s complete lack of inhibition, which was highly erotic on its own, inspired that realization, or maybe she’d simply never fallen so intensely, completely in love before.
As she held Nina and Nina gently explored her chest and shoulders with her fingertips, Daphne was certain it was an exquisite combination of both.
Chapter Twenty
The next morning when Nina woke up in Daphne’s arms, she couldn’t remember having fallen asleep. It felt so natural to lie there together, nothing between them as their skin pressed against each other’s. Was she moving too fast, letting her heart grip the reins after ending things with Lacey only a couple of weeks ago? She didn’t care. It had been ages since she’d experienced her emotions with such clarity.
Other than being Noah’s mother, she couldn’t remember when she’d felt so sure about anything, even in her professional life when she’d had to make important decisions swiftly and without faltering. That was her, in the business world. Since Noah was a baby, however, romance had taken a backseat to all her other obligations, as her ex-husband had so often pointed out.
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