“What are you even talking about?” June’s back straightened, and tension filled her shoulders and neck.

  “You were lying. I called the hospital.” Lydia rolled her eyes and leaned her elbows down on her knees so she could talk conspiratorially with the therapist, effectively dismissing June from the conversation. “She didn’t answer her office phone, so I called the main number and had them page her. She never answered. She wasn’t there at all.”

  “You have got to stop calling every twenty seconds when I’m at work. Seriously. I have a job. I have to work. I cannot be at your beck and call twenty-four seven.”

  “Let’s pause—”

  Lydia railroaded right over the therapist. “You lied. Where were you? Out with a new girlfriend? I told you that I knew you were cheating on me.”

  “I am not cheating.” June crossed her arms and stared directly at the therapist. “I am not.”

  Lydia continued with a longer laundry list of the things June had done wrong in the past years they’d been together. June just shut down. There was nothing she could do to change the situation, and she wasn’t about to share in therapy or with Lydia exactly where she had been that Friday night. She wanted to keep that for herself, something that wouldn’t taint the friendship she was building and learning to slowly enjoy.

  That was solely for her, no one else. She needed the release, the break, the outlet from the insanity that was obviously going on in her personal life. She needed to have one good thing that wasn’t going to be corrupted. Her decision was final—she would not share that part of her life with anyone in the room. It wasn’t worth the headache when nothing was going on.

  “She doesn’t listen to me ever,” Lydia continued. “She constantly tells me I’m overemotional and not thinking straight, that I don’t trust her and don’t like her job.”

  June snorted. It was all true, minus the listening part. June had told Lydia all those things over the years.

  “What are you laughing at? This is not funny.” Lydia turned on her.

  Shaking her head, June sat up a bit, ready to defend herself. “I have told you most of those things, yes, because they are all true. But I do listen. You’re upset because you don’t feel I spend enough time with you. You get jealous of my job—which I love and which, frankly, supports us financially more than your job.”

  “So, your job is more important than me?”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  The therapist looked lost, just following the ping-pong of the argument back and forth. June pitied her. This was not how a therapy session should go, and it certainly wasn’t how she intended it to go when she suggested it.

  “I said that you feel I am not paying enough attention to you.”

  “Because you’re not,” Lydia fired back. “Where were you Friday night?”

  “I was at work. I got paged, and so I had to stay at work. You know I can’t discuss the details of what happened with you.”

  Lydia scoffed. “You’re lying. I called, remember? Where were you really?”

  “I was on call, and I had to go into work. I was there until two in the morning and crashed in one of the on-call rooms because I didn’t want to risk driving home that late at night on very little sleep. I didn’t think it would be safe.”

  The therapist finally got a word in edgewise. “Do you think you could have communicated that better with Lydia?”

  Sighing, June sat back. “Yeah, I probably could have. But I did let her know I was going to be at work until late. I didn’t think she’d take kindly to me waking her up at two in the morning to tell her I wouldn’t be coming home until morning.”

  “You weren’t at the hospital,” Lydia muttered.

  “I was! I—”

  The therapist interrupted them. “Our time is up, ladies. Before we continue or set up a next appointment, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page and can make it to the next appointment without any major conflicts.”

  “We’ve kept the peace for two weeks while we waited to meet with you. I think we can manage another little while.” Lydia put her charm on.

  The therapist nodded shortly and turned to June. “And you? Are you okay to leave?”

  Shrugging, June nodded her agreement. “We’ll be fine for now.”

  “Okay. I want to meet with you again, as soon as we can, because there is a lot going on here we need to work on. How about next week on Wednesday at one? It’s my first open appointment.”

  “That’s fine,” June muttered. She’d have to take a late lunch for it, but she was sure it wouldn’t be a problem.

  They were ushered from the room, and June stomped toward her vehicle. Lydia ran after her and spun her around with a hand on her arm.

  “Don’t even talk to me right now,” June threatened. “I’ll see you sometime tonight, but I’m on call, so don’t wait up for me.”

  Without another word, she got into her rusty but trusty old car and slammed the door shut before turning on the engine and leaving. Her heart was racing, and she didn’t know where to go or where to turn. She’d officially lied to Lydia for the first time in their relationship. She wasn’t on call that night, but she certainly did not want to go home. Not after that disaster of a session.

  June pulled up to the hospital and parked. She pressed her forehead to the steering wheel and closed her eyes as hot streaks of tears barreled over her cheeks and landed on her thighs. That had been too much. They had somehow managed to keep the peace until then, but it was as though Lydia had just kept it all bottled up and hit the release valve. June hadn’t even stood a chance as soon as they walked into that room.

  She checked her watch and shook her head at the time. She didn’t have much left of her break before she needed to be back at work. Wiping the tears from her face, she tapped her cheeks lightly and shook her head. She had to pull it together for the next two hours, and then she was home free.

  June turned her car off and grabbed her satchel and phone before heading inside. As soon as the warm air from the hospital hit her face, she had an idea. She opened the contacts in her phone and dialed the one person who popped into her mind.

  After ringing that never seemed to end, a distinct voice echoed through the line. “Hey, this is Elle. Leave a message so I can get back to you.”

  Taking in a deep breath, June tried to figure out exactly what she wanted to say. Before the words could leave her lips, her phone buzzed against her face. Pulling it away, she looked and saw Elle was calling her back already. Changing over the call, June answered.

  “Hey.” Air rushed from her lungs.

  “Hey. What’s going on?” Her voice sounded slightly sleepy.

  June silently chided herself. She should have known Elle would still be asleep after working all night, and especially on her day off. She shouldn’t have called.

  “June?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing.” June could almost see Elle narrowing her eyes at her, scrutinizing everything she did: her tone, her words.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  June turned the hallway and keyed into her office. She plopped down in her chair and let out a rush of air. “It’s been a rough day.”

  “Want to talk?”

  “Not right now. I have a few more hours left, and I need to focus.”

  “Tonight, then.”

  “Yeah. Tonight.” June felt the slight upturn at her mouth before she even realized she was smiling at the prospect of seeing Elle again. “I’m off around five.”

  “I’ll pick you up. See you then.”

  Elle’s sleepy tone ended the call, and June hung up, smiling.

  ★

  The last few hours of her shift passed quickly. June bundled up, grabbed her satchel, and headed out to the front of the hospital to wait for her ride as fast as she could. She didn’t want to be there any longer. As soon as she walked through the front doors, she saw Elle parked in her dark-green SUV, engine running, and waving at her. Grinning, June opened the front door and climbed into the warmth of the vehicle.

  “Hey.”

  “Back at you,” Elle responded. “Did you have any place in mind, or did you want me to choose?”

  June leaned back after pulling her seatbelt over her hips. She turned her head as it rested against the seat. “You choose. My mind isn’t working well today.”

  “I have just the place then. I used to go there when we first moved here.” Elle put the car in drive and headed away from the hospital.

  Anticipation built in the center of June’s chest as she waited to see just where they were going. Her mind flashed to the therapist’s office, and a scowl crossed her features. Elle must have noticed because she reached out and touched her gentle fingers to June’s hand before pulling away sharply.

  “You want to tell me what’s wrong?”

  “Not right now.” June sighed. “Maybe tonight, but definitely not right now. Right now, I just want a distraction, some companionship, and a good stiff drink.”

  “That can be arranged.”

  Elle’s hand was on hers again, squeezing. June turned her hand over and gripped Elle’s briefly before letting go. She’d certainly made the right decision in calling her. This was exactly what she needed.

  Five minutes later, Elle pulled up to a small bar a few blocks from downtown. The smile vanished from June’s face as soon as she saw it. It was the same place she’d had her last proper date with Lydia—the one that really sent them down the rabbit hole they were now in.

  Taking a huge breath, June shoved the feelings aside. It wasn’t like there were too many gay-friendly bars in the area. Either Elle didn’t know that’s where they were, or she did know, and June had a few questions she needed to ask clarification on. She shuddered as she stepped out into the cold and headed straight for the door as soon as Elle locked the car.

  They walked in and looked around briefly for a table. Luckily, most of the north side of the building was empty, and there was a decently secluded table for two off in the corner. June headed that direction without another word to Elle. She didn’t want to run the risk of sitting out in the open and someone seeing her and reporting it back to Lydia. Hopefully, since it was the middle of the week, it would be a quiet night, and she wouldn’t see anyone she knew.

  They ordered, and June took off her jacket and set it onto the seat next to her. She spun the coaster between her fingers, not sure if she wanted to look up at Elle or not. It wasn’t until Elle stilled her fingers by gently grabbing them and holding them that they did make eye contact. June eased her hand away and shoved them into her lap.

  “Want to tell me what’s got you all riled up yet?”

  June shook her head. “I think I really just want the distraction.”

  “Distraction I can do.” Elle’s smile warmed June’s heart as it reached her chocolate-brown eyes. “Hmm…whatever can we talk about?”

  “Did you know this was a gay bar?” The question was out of June’s mouth before she could stop it. Swallowing hard, she hoped she hadn’t just offended her new friend, not to mention she really had to learn how to control what she said around Elle. This was consistently becoming an issue.

  Elle leaned forward on the table just after their drinks were delivered and had a gleam in her eye. “I did. My ex-husband, however, did not. Anytime I brought him here, it was a thrill of odd pleasure to watch him squirm.”

  June giggled as she took the first sip of her martini.

  “He didn’t know about me. I suppose that was the first mistake in our relationship, not telling him I’m also attracted to women.”

  Bubbles boiled up in June’s stomach, and she tried to hide the flush in her cheeks by ducking down and sipping her drink again.

  “He is very homophobic. Anyway, he made enough comments to people here that we weren’t welcome back. It’s been at least three years since I’ve been here. I was hoping it’d been long enough, and that without him, they may let me in.”

  “They seem to not have noticed your presence.” Though June couldn’t disagree more. She was very aware of Elle’s presence: the glint in her eye, the soft scent of her shampoo, the heat that contrasted so starkly with the cold outside. Clearing her throat, June sat back in her chair and crossed her arms in an effort to protect herself. Perhaps Lydia wasn’t as far off in her accusations as June thought she was.

  At the very least, no matter what happened with her and Lydia, June could be assured she’d have a friend in Elle. They seemed to be getting along swimmingly, and that wasn’t something she was about to throw away. June finished half of her drink before she settled it on the table, easing into the conversation. She’d have to order food shortly if she were going to keep her wits about her.

  “So,” Elle began, “is there anyone in your life?”

  “Excuse me?” June blanched.

  “I didn’t—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that.”

  June waved her hand through the air. “Don’t worry about it. It was just unexpected, that’s all.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” June distracted herself by grabbing her drink and downing the rest of it. Lydia was the last thing she wanted to talk about. She put her empty glass down and cocked her head to the side, realizing perhaps where the conversation had been going. “I am a lesbian, if that’s what you were fishing at with that question.”

  Elle’s face lit up before she blushed. “It was in part.”

  June shifted, slightly uncomfortable, but still ready to forget about her afternoon. “We should order some food. Otherwise, you’re going to discover how true a lightweight I really am.”

  They both chuckled lightly as they perused the single paper menu every table boasted. For the rest of the night, they made small talk, learning more about each other, but most importantly, just relaxing in each other’s presence. Something neither of them had done in many, many years.

  Chapter Seven

  Elle parked her SUV and turned the engine off. Skimming her gaze over the parking lot, she searched for June’s rundown sedan to see if she was there yet. Just as she looked toward the entrance to the bar and grill, Elle saw June pull in. Smiling to herself, she slipped out of her vehicle and made for the front doors.

  The warmth inside was welcome. Elle shivered as she threw off the last of the cold from outside and waited for June to come inside. Perhaps this would be the night where they made some progress on their relationship, something she had been looking forward to and patiently waiting for. Perhaps tonight was the night where Elle would finally confess that she had a crush on Chaplain Smart-Mouth. Smiling to herself, she nodded toward the hostess, full of anticipation.

  “It’ll be for two tonight. She’s just coming right in.”

  “All right, it’ll be a few minutes.”

  Elle nodded and moved to sit on the bench in the corner of the entrance, her body practically vibrating with excitement. It didn’t take much longer before June made her way inside and also shivered the last dregs of the cold from outside off her. Elle’s stomach clenched as she caught sight of June shucking off her jacket and slinging it over her arm as was her habit.

  Instead of wearing her normal nice shirt with her clerical dickie and collar, June had on a button-up that was casually unbuttoned at the top, leaving Elle with an enticing view. Biting the inside of her lips, Elle looked her up and down again, skimming her gaze slowly in hopes June might catch on. June had even put on a light coat of makeup, not that she needed it, but it was nice to think she had dolled herself up a bit for their date.

  “Hey,” June said, eyeing Elle with a curious glance.

  “You look good,” Elle replied while she stood up, her voice soft and deep. She took June’s hand, but June almost immediately moved her fingers out of Elle’s reach. Slightly confused, Elle pushed the feeling aside and planted a smile on her painted lips. “They said they’ll seat us in a minute. I’ve never been here before.”

  “It has been a long time since I’ve been here, but they have one-dollar Long Island iced teas this month, and it seemed like too good a deal to pass up when we both finally have the night off and can relax.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Elle smiled again, trying to gauge June’s reactions and feelings. She wasn’t having much luck, but June always seemed hard to read and a bit of a closed book, especially at times when Elle would make some sort of move in the flirting arena.

  “I can seat you now.” The hostess approached them with a pleasant grin on her face.

  Elle brushed her hand in front of her, indicating that June should lead the way. Without hesitation, June started toward their booth. Elle bit her lip as she studied June’s assets, the sway of her hips, the way she glided through the room with confidence in each step. As soon as they got to the table, Elle stopped short.

  “Fuck,” she muttered as realization hit her.

  “What?” June asked, genuinely concerned.

  Shaking her head, Elle backtracked. “Nothing important. I just forgot I left something at the house.”

  “Something important?”

  “I can live without it.”

  June slipped into one side of the booth and Elle into the other. The hostess pressed two menus into their hands before taking a step back and telling them their waiter would collect their drink orders soon. Elle bit her lip, putting her menu up in front of her face to hide herself from June so that she wouldn’t see the flush crawling all over her face and down her neck. Embarrassment filtered over her like hot coals in a fire.

  She had a crush, and not just any crush, she had a major crush. She hadn’t felt this giddy about someone else since—well, since well before Logan came into the picture. She hadn’t even felt this way about him, which she was finally willing to admit.

  Vowing to avoid the topic of her ex-husband for one evening, Elle focused on the drink list in front of her. She worried her lip, not quite sure how to proceed. The mixed messages she was receiving from June weren’t helping her any in trying to figure out what she wanted and when. Well, she’d at least figured out the what, but when was a whole different ball game.