Saylor grabbed onto Tia’s arm with her hands, holding on and gripping as if Tia was her lifeline. The tears fell freely from Saylor’s eyes, cascading down her cheeks and onto Tia’s skin. Saylor’s body racked with a sob, then another, before she finally shook her head.

  “I swore to myself I wouldn’t do this.”

  “Do what?”

  “Let it affect me.”

  “What is it, Saylor?” Tia combed her fingers through Saylor’s hair. She’d done this with so many people throughout the years—her friends, her family, her nieces. She was the bringer of comfort for everyone, and surely she could do this for Saylor.

  “Jameson.”

  I knew I’d want to kill him. Tia kept her lips sealed shut on that one. It wouldn’t help anything, but she hated seeing Saylor in such turmoil. Whatever Jameson had done, he had better be worth it in the end, and he had better start living up to this amazing woman he had. Because Tia had figured out pretty quickly that Saylor was hands down amazing.

  “Want some liquid courage to tell me all about it?”

  Saylor relaxed. She sucked in a sharp breath and pulled away, looking up at Tia. Their eyes met. Tia’s breath caught in her lungs, pulling tightly to coil in the center of her chest before sliding its way down purposely. Oh, now this is dangerous. Tia was letting herself get too close to Saylor, too quickly. The only advantage to all of this was that Saylor was happily engaged—no, scratch that—engaged to a man.

  Tia wouldn’t stand a chance.

  At least she better not.

  “Yeah. I would.”

  Tia blinked hard, trying to remember what she’d even asked. Because without context, it was impossible to figure out what Saylor was saying. She dropped her gaze to Saylor’s mouth, to her pink lips, the way she held them, the fullness of each one, just how damn kissable they would be. Tia tightened her shoulders and pulled away slightly.

  Right. Liquid courage.

  “Sure. We can go to that bar a few blocks over.” She at least caught herself before she suggested her apartment which was in the upper floors of this building. Taking Saylor somewhere that private would make it impossible for Tia to avoid what she was feeling. She needed space and people surrounding them to keep her in line. “Think you can walk?”

  “I know it.”

  They grabbed their jackets and locked up as they left. Tia kept her eye firmly on Saylor to make sure that she wasn’t pushing herself too hard. She really didn’t want someone injured on her watch. When they got to the table and had drinks ordered, Saylor’s shoulders instantly relaxed.

  “Um…” Saylor leaned in. “I can help out while Jericho is out.”

  “Oh! Good.” Though now Tia wasn’t entirely convinced that was a good thing. To be stuck day after day with Saylor when she was attracted to her was either going to break that attraction down or it was just going to build it right up. She really hoped it would be the former.

  “If that’s still okay.”

  Tia nodded sharply. “Yes, of course. I need all the help I can get.”

  “Perfect.” Saylor wrapped her hands around the drink that was set in front of her. She didn’t take a sip, but she did stare at Tia over the rim. “That was part of the issue tonight.”

  “Working for me?” Tia ordered two shots before the waiter left. If she was going to sit here all night, then she needed some liquid courage of her own.

  “No.” Saylor winced. “Well, kind of. Only because it’s not a real job.” Saylor said the last two words with a roll of her eyes. “Because it’s temporary, not because it’s unworthy.”

  “Right.” Except Tia had heard that it was unworthy so many times over the years that she wouldn’t have been surprised if Jameson meant it that way. It was meant as a diss because it wasn’t a real job, meaning one with a regular paycheck that had normal nine-to-five hours. Tia held those comments in, though, because they were the last thing Saylor needed tonight.

  “He’s upset that I don’t have a job or friends yet.”

  Tia frowned. “It takes time to make friends.”

  “That’s what I told him! It’s not easy to move. It’s even harder to make friends when I don’t have a job or someplace to actually meet people.”

  Tia took the tequila shot from the waiter and set it in front of Saylor, then she took her own. “Bottoms up.”

  She wasn’t all that happy when the liquor slid down her throat and burned her tongue or when the salt and lime chased it down. She’d thought this would be a nice night out, but she was just getting angrier by the second at a man she’d never even met. Saylor set the shot glass down heavily, her cringe full-on now.

  It was honestly adorable.

  Tia reached up to wipe the drizzle of lime juice from Saylor’s chin but she stopped herself just in time, handing a napkin over. “How does he expect you to have friends so quickly?”

  “Probably because he makes friends everywhere he goes?”

  “Friends or networking?”

  Saylor shrugged. “Probably a little of both. He’s really good at talking to people.”

  “Sounds like a classic extrovert who doesn’t understand introverts.” Tia spun her fingers in a circle on the table so she could stop looking at Saylor. The more she looked, the more she wanted to steal Saylor away from the big bad Jameson, and she really had to stop thinking like that.

  She knew absolutely nothing about this man. And she only had one side of the argument, and everyone’s position was always skewed. But there were things that stood out to her, that reminded her so much of her brother and sister-in-law, things that made her think she should say something now before it was too late.

  “Yeah.” Saylor frowned into her drink before taking a long sip of it. “We haven’t finished our argument.”

  “So you’re going home to it?”

  She shook her head. “We’ll finish in the morning. Hopefully.”

  “I thought you were excited about him coming back.”

  Saylor sighed heavily. “I was.”

  “And now?” Tia wanted to know, but she really shouldn’t be prying like this. She should just let Saylor tell her what she wanted to share and leave it at that.

  “I don’t know,” Saylor whispered. “Does that make me an awful person?”

  “No.” Tia reached for Saylor’s hand, wrapping their fingers together in a tender touch. “You’re not a bad person for having feelings.”

  “Then why do I feel so awful?”

  Tia’s heart broke a little more than it had before. She lifted Saylor’s hand and pressed her lips to the soft skin before she realized what she was doing. Belatedly, she set Saylor’s hand down but didn’t pull away completely. “My guess is because it’s still raw, and you’re hurting, not just from the argument, but from everything you’ve experienced since moving here, and you haven’t found a good place to find healing yet.”

  Saylor canted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need healing.”

  “We all need healing,” Tia countered, dropping Saylor’s hand and snagging her glass. This was getting way too personal. She wouldn’t tell Saylor what had happened in her past. That would bring up way too much, and Tia wouldn’t be able to control herself through it.

  “Maybe you’re right.” Saylor reached for Tia’s hand again, lacing their fingers and then dropping their joined hands into her lap. “But tonight I’m just hurting.”

  “I can see that.” Tia squeezed Saylor’s hand tightly, hoping it would be as much a show of support as possible.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever measure up.”

  “Measure up to what?” The question was out of Tia’s mouth before she could stop herself.

  Saylor snorted lightly, blushing as she ducked her chin. “Expectations.”

  “Whose expectations?”

  “Jameson’s. Mine. Yours. Everyone’s.”

  “Saylor.” Tia let out a huge sigh and closed her eyes. This ran deep. Way deeper than she was going to be able to deal with in one night of liquid courage. “Expectations will steal your joy in life, you know that, right? They’re always unmanageable.”

  “I know.” Saylor looked Tia directly in the eye. “I’ve never managed to get rid of them.”

  “So what do you expect then?”

  “I expect to get married. Have a baby or two. Live life like I’m supposed to do.”

  “What are you supposed to do?” Tia leaned in, wondering if this was the right direction to push or not.

  Saylor shook her head slowly. “If you asked me that last year, I would have told you that I was going to coach. I was going to be one of the best damn coaches there was, and my kids would thrive in skating. They’d figure out exactly what they wanted to do and they would go for it.”

  “And now?” Tia rubbed her thumb lightly over the side of Saylor’s hand, realizing far too late that Saylor was still clutching it in her lap.

  Saylor opened her mouth like she was going to speak and then stopped. She waved at the waiter and smiled so sweetly. “I think we need another round of shots. Make it a double.”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk?” Tia laughed as soon as the waiter left.

  “Nope.” Saylor leaned back in her chair, still holding tightly to Tia’s hand. “Just myself.”

  “Well, I think you’ll succeed.” Tia laughed and finished off her first full drink of the night. It had been a while since she’d gotten good and drunk, but she could at least still walk home. Then again, if Saylor was going to get sloshed, she’d have to take Saylor home first to make sure she was safe before heading home herself.

  “We can only hope.”

  Tia held Saylor’s gaze intently for a moment before breaking it. As much as she wanted to steal her hand back, she wasn’t willing to break the sweetness that was coming between them yet. “So what are you supposed to do now?”

  “Make friends I guess.” Saylor rolled her eyes. “Find a real job.”

  “Whatever a real job is?”

  “Yup. Whatever that is.” She sighed heavily but grinned fully when the four shots were set in front of them. “Perfect.”

  Saylor let go of Tia’s hand to set up for the next tequila shot. Tia took the chance and tried to put some more space between them. It really wouldn’t do either of them any good if she got caught up in the fantasy that Saylor McGinnis could be. Because Tia would get caught up in it. Just like she’d gotten caught up in Kirsten. And they could all see what a disaster that was now.

  She just had to keep her distance. Because she was way too old for this shit. No drama. No deep relationships. The last thing she needed was something complicated.

  “Bottoms up,” Tia said, smiling when Saylor tipped the shot glass upside down into her mouth.

  “Bottoms up,” Saylor responded, the first genuine smile of the night gracing her lips.

  Tia loved seeing that.

  That was perfect.

  nine

  Saylor moved into the office after the kids’ class. They had quite a break before the adult class came in that day, and she needed it. The muscles in her legs were jelly. It had been so long since she’d used them this much, and it was damn near impossible to walk.

  Still, she snagged the push broom to clean the floor while Tia did something over at the stereo. Saylor tried not to pay attention to Tia for the first hour she’d been there, but after that, she’d given up. Tia was something else entirely, and Saylor found herself riveted to every move that she made.

  Saylor didn’t want to be more than five feet away, which was ridiculous.

  But their night out had put Saylor right. She’d needed that more than anything. And it wasn’t about complaining about Jameson, it was just feeling like she’d found someone who cared. Saylor pushed the broom around the room, finishing up, and then grabbed the dustpan. She rolled her shoulders when she stood up again.

  “How is your ankle holding up?” Tia asked, coming over to take the broom from Saylor’s fingers.

  “It’s fine.” Saylor gave her a smile, leaning in slightly. “I didn’t twist it that hard.”

  “Uh-huh, sure. You didn’t fall right on your ass either.”

  Laughing lightly, Saylor nodded. “Well, I did do that. Talk about embarrassed.”

  “So was it more hurt or embarrassment that made you close off that night?” Tia put the broom back in the small closet and closed it up, locking it. She pocketed the key into her leggings and turned around to face Saylor.

  Saylor’s breath caught. Tia truly was a magnificent human being. It wasn’t just her kindness and caring nature with every single person who walked through the doors, it was also the fact that she was stunningly gorgeous. Saylor bit the inside of her cheek at that thought. Since when had she started thinking women were gorgeous?

  Oh right, when she was about twelve and realized boobs were a thing.

  Chuckling at herself, she shook her head and ended the internal conversation.

  “Saylor?” Tia asked, coming a little closer. “What just went through your head?”

  “Nothing.” Saylor’s cheeks were on fire. She would not, under any circumstances—or torture—admit to what she’d just thought about. Telling Tia that she’d thought about her breasts was a massive no. Saylor wiped her now sweaty palms along her hips and turned around to see if anyone else was coming in yet.

  Except no one was.

  Because they had two hours before the next class.

  Right.

  So what the hell was she supposed to do now?

  “Jericho and I usually get dinner together on days like today, and we plan for the upcoming week.” Tia caught Saylor’s attention, and when Saylor’s gaze reached her eyes, Tia’s lips curled upward into a huge smile. “So do you want to get some dinner?”

  “I…” Did she? Saylor’s stomach clenched at the thought, but it wasn’t because something bad was happening. Or was it? She couldn’t quite tell. Something about spending so much time with Tia set her on edge, but it wasn’t just the time, it was the fact that she felt close to Tia in such a short period of time. As if Tia understood exactly what she was going through.

  “But if Jameson’s home, then you’re free to leave if you want.”

  “What?” Saylor blinked hard, trying to follow Tia’s line of thought. Jameson was home, but she hadn’t even thought about going to have a meal with him. She’d wanted to go out with Tia, she was just trying to figure out why exactly she wanted that. “No, we can go.”

  “Perfect. There’s this little place just down the block from here that I love.”

  “Okay.” Saylor smiled uneasily as they walked toward the office and grabbed their jackets. It seemed Tia walked just about everywhere in town. Saylor had yet to see her driving a car or calling a rideshare.

  Once they were outside with the door locked, Saylor shoved her hands in her pockets and waited for Tia to take the lead. She had no idea where they were going, and she was determined to follow Tia as well as she had so far. Tia wrapped an arm through Saylor’s and pulled her to the right.

  So they were off that way.

  Having Tia wrapped around her was a different experience altogether. It was so much like the other night when they’d been drinking and Saylor had held her hand for what seemed like hours. She hadn’t wanted to give that up.

  This was so much like that.

  Comfortable.

  Easy.

  There was a closeness here that Saylor longed for. She closed her eyes as Tia walked, wondering if she could feel comfortable not knowing where she was going so long as Tia was in the lead, and sure enough, she didn’t make one misstep along the way.

  “We’re here,” Tia said as she held open the door for Saylor.

  It was a quaint little place, barely big enough to hold fifty people.

  “It’s Italian food. I find on days like this that I need to load up on the carbs to push through the week.”

  Saylor laughed as she slid into the seat across from Tia. This was better. If she could look at Tia instead of reaching for her hand, that would be more professional, wouldn’t it? Although, if she were being honest, nothing about her relationship with Tia had been professional. The woman didn’t scream boss, and Saylor hadn’t really screamed employee. It was much more like they were two friends working together to accomplish something.

  Teaching kids to dance.

  That’s what they were supposed to be focused on.

  Except Saylor had struggled all day with that. She’d been riveted to every move that Tia made. She hadn’t wanted to let Tia get more than a few steps from her. What exactly did that mean?

  “You ready to order?” Tia asked, the sweet scrawny waiter hovering over the side of the table.

  “Oh. Um… I’ll just have what she’s having.”

  Tia gave Saylor a confused look before she ordered her own dinner and a glass of wine. Saylor hadn’t expected to drink during this working dinner, but she would take the wine, she supposed.

  “What’s going on?” Tia leaned back in the chair and eyed Saylor.

  There was no getting out of this one. Tia had her pinned with a look that meant business. Saylor had been on the receiving end of it before, but this time, a wave of pleasure ran through her. They weren’t here because of drama. They were here simply to spend time together as friends.

  “Nothing bad, I promise.” Saylor folded her hands in her lap, leaning back in her own chair to mimic Tia.

  “You’ve been pretty distracted today, which isn’t like you.”

  Saylor pursed her lips, a shiver running through her. Jameson never would have noticed that. God, she really needed to stop doing that. What was that saying? Comparison is the thief of joy? Yeah, that’s it. If she compared Tia to Jameson, it would only send her straight to ruin. Saylor folded her hands in her lap and twisted her fingers together.

  “I guess I’m not used to working such long hours.”