“She’s good. She’s having dinner with her church group tonight.”

  “I’m glad to hear she’s made some friends.” And taken the burden off Maggie. “Now, I know I’m a lot of fun.” She chuckled and turned back to the stove. “But wouldn’t you rather be hanging out with Carrie?” She tried to steer Maggie back to where she belonged.

  “What, and play PS2 all night?” She blew out a short breath. “No, thanks.”

  “Is that all Carrie does?”

  “That’s pretty much it, outside of softball and school.”

  “Well, then I need to have a talk with that girl. Pretty girls like you should be out having fun.” She cringed. She should have kept that observation to herself.

  “You think I’m pretty?”

  Just how was she going to get out of this one? She took in a deep breath. “Of course I do. You’re both beautiful girls.” She dropped the pasta into the water. “Carrie just hasn’t moved out of that tomboy stage. When this finishes cooking, I’m going to tell her to stop playing that game.” She didn’t dare turn around.

  “No, don’t.” Lynn startled when she felt Maggie’s hands on her sides creeping down to her hips. “This is right where I want to be.”

  She could feel Maggie’s breath against her neck, and heat shot through her as she reacted in ways she shouldn’t. Alarm bells went off in her head. She hadn’t seen this coming. Well, maybe she had, but she hadn’t encouraged Maggie, had she? She spun around and they stood face-to-face, staring into each other’s eyes. Lynn was frozen, unable to look away. Maggie moved closer. She was going to kiss her.

  She immediately put a hand on Maggie’s chest and said, “Absolutely not.”

  The hurt in her eyes was clear.

  “Is dinner ready yet?” Carrie’s voice vibrated from the living room.

  “Almost,” Lynn said, panic coursing through her as she whipped back around to the stove. “You should—”

  “I know. I’ll go.” Maggie’s voice deflated as she walked into the living room. Lynn heard her tell Carrie she had to go home to check on her mother and couldn’t stay for dinner, and then the door opened and shut as she left.

  Not that they’d ever done anything wrong, but she’d wanted to, and the unexpected sizzle she’d felt for Maggie had made Lynn realize she wanted more from life than being Beth’s housekeeper. She wanted to be happy, which she wasn’t then, but she was happy now, at least that’s what she thought. She hadn’t questioned her state of being until today. Seeing Maggie again made her painfully aware of the difference between being content and being genuinely happy with your life and who you allowed into it.

  Chapter Six

  “I’m so glad you decided to come out tonight,” Stacy said. “I thought you might bail on me again.”

  Maggie laughed. “Are you trying to say I’m not fun?”

  “No. That’s not what I meant at all.” Stacy looked totally embarrassed as she vaulted off the bar stool. “You’re a blast at work, but you never let loose.”

  She swayed slightly, so Maggie put her hand on Stacy’s shoulder and settled her onto the barstool as she slipped into the space beside her. “Settle down, Stacy. I’m only kidding.” She glanced around the bar. “How long have you been here?”

  “About an hour. I came over right after my shift.”

  “Alone?” It seemed Stacy liked to party. She’d asked her to go out multiple times during the less than two weeks she’d known her.

  “Nah. Russell’s here. He’s in the bathroom.”

  “So, you and Russell, huh?”

  “He’s gorgeous, right?”

  They both spotted him coming across the bar.

  “You could do worse.”

  Stacy hesitated, and her face went blank for a moment before she clutched Maggie’s arm. “You’re not into him, are you?”

  “No. I’m not into that muscled, masculine type at all.” She hadn’t known Stacy all that long and wondered if she should keep her preference to herself. But if they were going to be friends, which it seemed they were, she needed to clue her in. “I’m more into the feminine, curvy type.”

  “Oh, thank God. Competing with you would be hell.”

  “Hey, Mags,” Russell said as he took the stool on the other side of Stacy. “You want a drink?”

  “Just a beer, thanks.” She had a shift in the morning, but one beer wouldn’t hurt.

  He waved the bartender down and ordered drinks for the three of them before he focused on Stacy. It was clear Russell only had eyes for her, and Maggie suddenly felt like a third wheel. She twisted around to peruse the crowd, her stomach jumping when she noticed Lynn and Pam huddled together at a table in the corner. Of course she’s involved with the beautiful blonde with the dazzling blue eyes. Maggie shouldn’t have expected anything else. Lynn was gorgeous and wouldn’t stay single for long. If only she’d been single four years ago when Maggie had graduated from college in Baltimore. She remembered the day vividly.

  She glanced at Lynn as she drove, looking completely gorgeous in a flower-patterned dress that accentuated every curve. Eyes straight on the road, Lynn weaved through traffic heading back home. Somehow, Lynn and Maggie had been left to ride to the house together. Maggie had only one other thing to worry about today: how was she going to get this wonderful woman out of her system? Lynn’s generosity and good nature had pierced her heart, and the more time she spent with her, the more Maggie wanted to be with her.

  Lynn pulled into the driveway, killed the engine, got out of the car, and then waited for her at the walkway while she retrieved her graduation gown from the back seat of the car. “I’m so proud of you. You’ve overcome a mountain of obstacles to get this far,” she said, pulling her into a hug.

  “Thank you.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.” The only good thing about life after graduation was knowing that Lynn was proud of her.

  Lynn sighed. “I was hoping your mom would show up,” she said, putting the key in the lock and opening the front door, letting Maggie enter before her.

  “Guess your call didn’t help.” She pulled her lips into a sad smile. “Thanks for trying.” She draped her black gown, yellow hood, and honors regalia over the couch and then followed Lynn into the kitchen.

  Lynn dropped her purse into one of the maple chairs surrounding the table. “Sure. I don’t know if she’ll come around or not, but I’m here whenever you need me.”

  The glimmer in Lynn’s eye was different today, sensual somehow, as they stood only a few inches apart in the kitchen. A bolt of electricity shot through her, and she moved closer. “Lynn, I need to tell you—”

  “You girls ready to go?” Beth’s voice echoed from the living room, and Lynn immediately backed up before Beth stepped into the kitchen. She’d met them at the graduation, coming straight from the hospital, dressed in heather-gray pants accented with a blazer of the same color and a charcoal button-down shirt underneath. Hanging from her hand were a pair of dark khaki pants and a royal-blue Ralph Lauren polo shirt. Apparently she planned to go out with them to celebrate. Carrie followed Beth into the kitchen and stared at them both peculiarly.

  “I’m going to pass on dinner, Carrie. I have a bit of a headache.” Lynn took the bottle of ibuprofen from the cabinet, popped the top, and shook a few pills into her palm. “Your Aunt Beth will have to do tonight. Then after dinner, you and Maggie can go celebrate.”

  “You do look a little flushed.” Carrie definitely looked disappointed. “If you’re not feeling well, maybe I should stay home.”

  “Tell you what.” Maggie glanced at Carrie. “Why don’t you and Beth go? I’ll stay and make sure Lynn’s okay.” She slid onto a barstool at the counter. “Then you can take Beth to the party afterward.”

  “No. You should go, Maggie. It’s your graduation too,” Lynn said. “I’ll be fine.”

  “It wouldn’t be the same without you there.” Her gaze met Lynn’s and then flittered back to Carrie. “I mean they’ll just talk about sports all night.” She yawned. “I’m kind of tired, anyway. It’s been a long day.”

  “I’d be happy to stay.” Beth glanced at Lynn. “It would give us time to talk.”

  Lynn and Beth had been separated for a few months, and Beth had made it clear on several occasions that she wanted to move back home. Maggie knew Lynn had decided to ask for a separation because Beth spent more hours at work than she did at home. The perils of being a doctor’s wife. Carrie had been caught in the middle of their discussions, and Maggie was her sounding board.

  “No. Tonight’s not a good night for that. My head already hurts,” Lynn said, her voice firm.

  Maggie darted her gaze from Lynn to Beth. “I don’t mind staying, really. Parties aren’t my scene. I’ll just hang out here and watch a movie or something.” Pulling her lips into a light smile, she glanced over at Lynn. Something with Lynn would definitely be the preferred distraction.

  Beth flattened her lips. “Okay then. We’ll have all the fun without you two.”

  “Thanks, Mags. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Beth doesn’t drink too much,” Carrie said, turning to give Lynn a hug.

  “I think you have that backward,” Beth said.

  “Either way, both of you girls be careful.” Lynn watched them go out the door, then popped the top off the ibuprofen bottle and slid the pills back into it.

  “You’re not going to take them?”

  “I don’t really have a headache. I was just trying to avoid going out and have some alone-time tonight.” She put the bottle on the shelf and slapped the cabinet closed. “That certainly backfired on me.”

  “Why didn’t you want to go out?”

  Lynn shot her a look.

  “You didn’t want to go out with me?” Maggie didn’t hide her disappointment. She’d hoped Lynn had at least some interest in being with her, even if it was just platonic.

  “Yes. I mean, no.” She moved around the counter to where Maggie was sitting. “I know you have some kind of crush on me and don’t want to encourage you.” She let out a heavy breath. “I thought, as time went on, you’d get over it.”

  “I have,” she lied. It was much more than a crush, and since her mother’s abandonment, her feelings for Lynn had only grown deeper.

  “Maggie, don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’ve been doing all day.”

  “What?” Maggie played dumb, giving her a puzzled look.

  “The flirtatious comments and those little looks you were shooting me in the car. Not to mention the way your hand brushed across my thigh every time we went around a corner.”

  “I was just trying to keep my balance.”

  “Maggie.” Lynn frowned. “I’m not stupid.”

  “Was I that obvious?” Maggie laughed at herself. “I’m sorry I lied. But I can’t help it. You seem to bring that out in me.” Lynn studied her for a moment, and Maggie wasn’t sure how to take her scrutiny. “I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable. Honest.”

  “Your flirting should be harmless.” Lynn let out a breath.

  “But?” Every inch of Maggie waited for Lynn to finish her sentence, hoping she had the slightest of chances.

  “Maggie, you’re a beautiful girl, and any woman would be lucky to have your interest, but tempting as it is, I can’t be attracted to you. Even though Beth and I are separated, we’re still married.”

  Maggie pushed out of the barstool and stood up. “You’re tempted?”

  Lynn smiled nervously. “It’s hard not to be. You’re the perfect package. Sweet, funny, beautiful.” She let out a heavy breath. “Believe me, if you’d come along at another time in my life, you’d be in big trouble right now.”

  Maggie locked her gaze and didn’t falter. “Big trouble?” She quickly closed the space between them, not about to miss this opportunity. She needed to feel Lynn’s soft lips against hers, just once.

  She’d dreamed about it so many times, and when it happened, she wasn’t disappointed. It was everything she’d imagined, only better. Lynn fell into her and seemed to relax as the kiss grew deeper, tongues mingling softly, breaths ragged, lungs fighting for air. She let her hands roam up Lynn’s sides, feeling their way to her soft, billowy breasts. Suddenly the kiss was broken, and Lynn was staring blankly into her eyes.

  “That shouldn’t have happened.” Lynn put her fingers to her lips.

  She brushed the hair from Lynn’s forehead and let her fingers trail across her cheek. “But it did.” Maggie locked the front door before she took her hand and led her toward the bedroom.

  Lynn took a few steps with her before she stopped, let her hand drop, and created more distance between them. “No, that is definitely not happening.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I think you should go.”

  “I don’t want to.” Maggie felt the stabbing in her heart. She’d crossed the line, and Lynn wouldn’t meet her on the other side. She didn’t want whatever she had with Lynn to end. Not this way. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Can we just hang out on the couch and watch a movie? Please?”

  Lynn had let her stay, but it was torture sitting so close to Lynn and not being able to touch her. However, she’d done something stupid, and the distance between them was clear. Now Lynn was within reach again, but still just out of her grasp. She turned back to the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey. Not a wise move, but considering the circumstances, she needed something more to calm her nerves.

  * * *

  Maggie didn’t feel a bit of pain when Pam slid the needle for the IV into her arm. She’d held perfectly still in hopes that her head would stop throbbing soon. As soon as Pam had gotten a look at her this morning, she’d swept her into an exam room and hooked her up.

  “You don’t drink much, do you?” Pam asked as she checked to make sure the fluid was moving in the IV.

  “No.” She spoke softly, trying not to let her voice disturb the monster with the sledgehammer currently living in her head.

  “Where’d you go?”

  “Lafferty’s.”

  Pam pressed her lips together. “I was there for a bit last night. Didn’t see you.”

  “I saw you…and Lynn.”

  “You should’ve come over and said hi.”

  “Absolutely not. I mean, you two looked pretty involved in conversation. I didn’t want to disturb you.” It was already hard enough. She refused to socialize with Lynn and her girlfriend and should’ve left as soon as she spotted them.

  “So, I’m assuming you stayed at the bar much later than we did last night and drank much more than you anticipated.”

  Maggie nodded.

  “You don’t seem like the type to have to unwind after work. So why’d you do it?”

  Maggie pried open an eye. “Something from my past crept up on me.”

  “Something or someone?”

  “I should hate you.”

  “But you don’t.” Pam spoke with conviction, and she was right.

  “No. You’re too nice to hate.” She let her eyes close to avoid the blinding light filling the room. “Promise you’ll be good to her.” She opened her eyes and stared up at Pam. She was still a little drunk, and her filter was completely broken.

  Pam rolled her lips in and took in a breath. “So, listen. I’m going cover for you this time. I’ll tell Dr. Baird I pulled you to assist me today. Don’t ever do this again, or I’ll make sure you get fired.”

  “Thank you.” The woman was a saint. Maggie had just told her she should hate her, and she still planned to help her.

  The door flew open, and Lynn came into the room. “What’s going on?” She rushed to her side and felt her forehead. “Are you sick?” She rushed around the bed to check the IV bag, then stared at Pam. “She’s drunk?”

  Pam tilted her head and gave her a flat smile.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Lynn’s voice had lost its concern and gained a whole lot of anger. “If you’re serious about being a doctor, especially a peds doctor, you can’t just go get blasted whenever you feel like it. These children depend on you, not someone else, to give them your very best all of the time.”

  She didn’t need a lecture this morning. “Don’t worry. I know exactly what it takes to be a doctor. I don’t need you to tell me.” Maggie sat up and took in a deep breath to silence the hard-rock drum solo in her head before she reached to pull the needle out of the back of her hand.

  Pam stopped her and pushed her back onto the bed. “Don’t touch that until the bag is empty. After that, come find me.” She turned to Lynn. “You, I need to talk to, now.” She took Lynn into the hallway just outside the door, but Maggie could still hear them.

  “Why is she drunk?” Lynn still sounded angry but totally baffled. Maybe the feelings Maggie had were truly not mirrored by Lynn. “She knew she had a shift this morning.”

  “She was in the bar last night. We didn’t see her, but she saw us.”

  “So she got this drunk?”

  “You have to tell her,” Pam said, and Maggie knew there was no chance for them now. They were probably already living together and on the road to pure marital bliss.

  “I can’t. That would only make things worse.”

  “Look at her. She’s a drunk, lovesick puppy, and that’s your fault. Get the situation under control, or she’s going to fail. You don’t want that on your conscience, do you?”

  “No. I don’t want her to fail. That’s not my intent at all.”

  “Then take care of this.”

  “Okay, but I can’t talk to her when she’s drunk.”

  Pam seemed to be satisfied with that response, because the conversation ended. Maggie wiped the tears from her eyes and rolled to her side. She hadn’t wanted anyone to see her like this, especially not Lynn. Total fail.

  * * *

  Lynn closed her eyes, and her stomach rumbled as she thought about the last time she’d seen Maggie. Four years ago, the last time she’d seen her before Maggie left Baltimore and never looked back. It had all been prompted by Carrie finding them together the morning after her graduation and assuming something that hadn’t actually happened.