“You do?”

  “I think it’s always been your room too.” Lena smiled at her.

  “So, I live here now?” Summer asked with a smile.

  “Yes, you live here now,” Lena stated.

  “Okay.” Summer’s smile grew bigger. “Now, I just have to move all my crap in.”

  “Not right now.” Lena leaned in and offered Summer a kiss. “Put your phone away.” She tried to cover the screen with her hand so Summer couldn’t see it.

  “I’m trying to order us food, babe.” Summer laughed. “You do want to eat, don’t you?”

  Lena wiggled her eyebrows and slid down Summer’s body.

  “Yes, I do, actually.”

  Summer nearly cackled as Lena pulled her down into a lying position and spread her legs for the second time that day.

  ◆◆◆

  Summer and Lena spent the rest of their Saturday in their bed, enjoying one another in new ways between meals and breaks. They spent their evening going through Summer’s books and organizing them in the office. They’d have to find bookshelves for them, but in the meantime, they’d rest on the floor. Summer made them sundaes again around midnight, which Lena told her was excessive, but Summer didn’t listen. Instead, she scooped ice cream into bowls while Lena looked on and laughed as some of the chocolate syrup somehow ended up on her shoulder and Summer just had to lick it off.

  “Have you ever had sex on this counter?” Summer asked as she lifted Lena up the same way Lena had lifted her before.

  Lena laughed as one of Summer’s hands tugged at her shirt to remove it while the other one reached for the syrup again.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had sex outside of a bedroom,” Lena admitted.

  Summer pulled back and met her eyes just as Lena lifted the shirt over her head and tossed it aside.

  “Really?”

  “Damon was pretty traditional, and I think I’ve had more sex today than in all the years since my divorce.”

  “Yeah?” Summer smirked at her and held the bottle upside down, allowing the rich brown syrup to drip down between Lena’s breasts.

  “Yeah.” Lena gasped as Summer’s tongue met the bottom of the slow-moving stream and licked up, spreading the chocolate as she did. “I’ve never done this before either.”

  Summer spread Lena’s legs, loving the feel of her soft skin on the inside of her thighs as she kept her hands there and moved between the two smooth legs.

  “I think we should change that right now.” Summer’s tongue met Lena’s pulse point before she sucked the same spot. “And then we can do it in every room in the house.”

  Lena let out a laugh and then stifled it as Summer’s hand found her center over her bikinis she’d put on when they left the bedroom to come downstairs. They hadn’t gotten properly dressed all day. The most clothes they’d had on involved a bathrobe of Lena’s that Summer had thrown on to meet the delivery guy that brought the food, and she’d been naked under it.

  Summer didn’t give Lena time to say no because she could feel the woman beneath her hand was more than ready. While she licked chocolate off her shoulder, neck, and breasts, she slid her fingers into the blue panties and toyed with the wetness, while Lena leaned back and allowed her.

  ◆◆◆

  “Hey, did we know you were coming?” Summer asked when she opened the front door on Sunday mid-morning to see Hailey and Charlie standing there.

  “That’s so cute. You’re using we now.” Hailey walked in, and Charlie followed her.

  “She said she called you,” Charlie said of her fiancée.

  “She lied,” Summer replied and closed the door behind them. “Lena’s out back talking to Van. What’s up?”

  “Van?” Hailey asked as they made their way into the living room.

  “They’re working together,” Summer explained and followed behind them, still a little curious as to why her friends would just show up like this without calling.

  “I did try to call you, you know?” Hailey apparently read her mind. “Your phone was off… again.”

  Summer smirked at the fact that they’d turned their phones off again that morning, when they didn’t want to be interrupted having sex on the sofa Charlie and Hailey were currently sitting on.

  “Sorry. Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong. We were just going to take you guys to lunch. Em and Eva are going to join us. We thought we’d try to at least narrow down a date for the wedding.” Charlie turned to see that Hailey was smiling.

  “I can check with Lena. I’m not sure how much longer she’ll be. Van only got here a few minutes ago.” Summer glanced out the back window where she could see Lena and Van leaning over a laptop at the patio table. “Before I do though, can I just gush like a school girl with a crush for a minute?” Summer plopped down unceremoniously into a chair across from them.

  “That good, huh?” Hailey asked with a lifted eyebrow.

  “Hails, I never knew it could be this good,” Summer replied.

  “The sex?” Charlie asked.

  “That too.” Summer smiled back. “We haven’t even known each other that long, but it feels like we have. I owe you big time, Charlie.” She turned her attention to the pixie-haired woman to Hailey’s right.

  “You do?”

  “I wouldn’t have met her without you. You and I met, and you and Lena met. All this time later, she and I meet. I think that’s how it was supposed to happen. I feel it.” She placed her hand on her heart. “It’s like everything I’ve done in my entire life has led me to her.” She kept her eyes on the back of Lena’s head and her wavy blonde hair. “Am I crazy?”

  “No, you’re in love. And I think it’s great,” Hailey stated and took Charlie’s hand. “To change the subject for a second though, what’s going on at work, Summer? Seth’s gone again. You’re back here, but he told me you’re doing the investor’s meeting and the conference.”

  “I don’t want to, but I am. He’s coming back this time. And even though he’s said that before, I actually believe him this time. I haven’t told Lena yet, but I’m going back later this week.”

  “You just got here,” Charlie said.

  “I know, but I have to do this right.” Summer’s eyes turned to Hailey. “I’m going to resign.”

  “What?” Charlie sat up.

  “I win.” Hailey turned to Charlie. “Back rub for me tonight.”

  “Explain,” Summer said.

  “I told Charlie that I thought you’d resign within the next three months. She bet you’d go back and forth about it, but would stay for at least another year. I win.” Hailey winked at Charlie. “Forty-five minutes of your hands on my back with that expensive coconut lotion.”

  “She acts like that’s a big loss for me.” Charlie winked back at her.

  “You guys were taking bets on me?”

  “You have a tendency of saying you’re going to do something and then not do it. Then, you talk about how you’ve made the right decision only to change your mind again. Can you blame us?” Charlie asked.

  “It took you weeks to decide on the curtains you wanted for your very temporary apartment. You bought them, hung them, changed your mind and returned them,” Hailey said.

  “You have curtains in your apartment?” Charlie asked.

  “No, I decided not to get curtains after all. I concede your point, but this is different.”

  “Why?” Hailey asked and leaned forward, matching Charlie’s posture.

  “I’m ready now. I talked to Seth about it. I think he’s ready to be on his own there. I want my own place in the world. I can’t have it there. I’ve always just been Seth’s little sister who wouldn’t have gotten the job otherwise. I’ve put up with it for this long, but I want something different for myself. I want more.”

  “What will you do?” Charlie asked.

  “Finish school and then figure it out after that.” Summer looked back outside. “Be with her. Live here.”

  “Here?” Hailey asked.

  “It is crazy, right?” Summer wondered out loud.

  “It’s only crazy if you think it’s crazy. Do you think it’s crazy?” Hailey replied.

  “No. I think it’s right. I want to move in officially and stop looking for a house here. I’m not going to look for a place in Detroit because I won’t be working for the company anymore. I’ll sell my place in Palo Alto or at least rent it out. I just want to be here with her. I don’t want to waste any more time without her,” Summer said.

  “I think that’s great. Now, can we grab your girlfriend and Van, if we have to, and go get lunch? I’m starving, and I want to get this wedding planning started,” Charlie said.

  “People always think I’m the girly one of the two of us. But, babe, you definitely give me a run for my money sometimes.” Hailey leaned over and kissed Charlie’s cheek.

  “I’ll see if Lena wants to go. No promises.” Summer stood and headed toward the back door, leaving the two lovebirds on Lena’s couch. No, it wasn’t Lena’s couch. It was her couch too. It was their couch. She smiled at that thought and opened the door to see Lena immediately look up and smile at her. “Hey, Hails and Charlie just showed up. They wanted to know if we could go to lunch. Ember and Eva are going to be there. They want us to start the wedding planning.”

  “Oh.” Lena turned to Van, who had only just looked up from the laptop.

  “It’s cool. I think we’re about done here. I need to run everything by my attorney anyway,” Van said.

  “You can come too, if you want. You’ve been invited,” Summer told her.

  “No, I should get going. I’m closing tonight, since one of my managers needed the night off. I’ll just head in a little earlier. I’ll call you when I hear back from the lawyer, but I think this is a good idea.”

  “Me too.” Lena stood. “So, where are we going to lunch?” she asked Summer.

  “I didn’t get that far,” Summer replied.

  She held out her hand for Lena to take, while she clutched her laptop between her body and her arm. They headed inside the house, with Van in tow, and then into the living room.

  “Hey, did we know about this lunch thing?” Lena asked.

  “We again, huh?” Hailey glanced at Summer, who just rolled her eyes at her friend.

  “Did I miss something?” Lena questioned with a glance in Summer’s direction and a squeeze to the hand she was still holding.

  “No,” Summer replied quickly but playfully.

  “I’ll see you later,” Van said to Lena. “And it’s nice to see the two of you again,” she said to Hailey and Charlie.

  “Van, you’re single, right?” Hailey asked her.

  “Oh, God. Here she goes again.” Charlie stood, pulling Hailey up with her.

  “Yeah, I’m single. Why?” Van asked.

  Lena sat her computer on the coffee table.

  “I’m going to get my purse. You good to handle this?” Lena asked Summer.

  “I’ll keep her in line,” she replied.

  “Van, call me later?” Lena asked.

  “I will,” Van replied and then returned her eyes to Hailey.

  “My friend Emma, you met her at the bar.”

  “I remember.”

  “She’s single too.”

  “Oh,” Van replied, knowingly.

  “We’re going to The Lantern with her on Friday night. You should come with us.”

  “Because you’re trying to set us up?” Van questioned, and Lena laughed and walked off.

  “It’s better if you just lean into it.” Charlie took Hailey’s hand. “We’ll be in the car. You guys can ride with us if you want.”

  “I was just suggesting that-”

  “Hails, not everyone wants to be set up with someone,” Charlie interrupted and pulled Hailey toward the front door.

  “I should get going. Thanks for letting me borrow her today,” Van said to Summer.

  “She’s really excited about this investment thing, so I hope it works out.”

  “Me too. It’s a huge opportunity for the business, but she’d be giving up the investment.”

  “What?” Summer asked.

  “Because of the conflict of interest thing her company brought up.”

  “Conflict of interest?” Summer asked.

  “I’m sure she’ll fill you in now that we have a plan.” Van gave her a small wave and followed Hailey and Charlie out.

  Lena swayed back into the room seeming awfully chipper for someone without an investment. Summer waited for the door to close behind Van before turning to Lena.

  “Hey, what’s this about you giving up the investment in Strange Joe’s?”

  Lena stopped a foot in front of her, seemingly surprised.

  “I was going to tell you about it tonight, after Van and I got a plan together. Plus, you and I have had other things on our minds this weekend.” Lena wiggled her eyebrows.

  “True, but what happened?”

  “Some asshole at the company cried conflict because I’d be an investor and an employee at O’Shea’s. He’s just out for my blood. He has been ever since he found out about my family.”

  “Your family?” Summer asked and headed toward the front door to open it for them.

  “We own TanAgro. And TanAgro does a lot of business with grocery stores, and that includes O’Shea’s. My grandfather is actually golfing buddies with the CEO of the company.” She walked out the door past Summer, who followed. “He thinks I got the VP job because of nepotism, but he doesn’t know that when I applied for the job, I actually had a different last name. I was Lena Durant. I only changed my name back to my maiden one after. I was in the process of doing it when I got the job. The people who interviewed me had no way of knowing who I was, but that hasn’t stopped him from creating the gossip that they did, and that I’m not qualified.”

  “I think your success speaks for itself.” Summer took Lena’s hand as they watched and waved at Van, who pulled out of the driveway, and walked in the direction of Hailey and Charlie, who waited for them.

  “He’s technically right. I can’t argue with him on the ethics of it all. I made some changes to the original plan so that everyone comes out a winner.”

  “But you’re not an investor?”

  “No, I’m going to loan Van the money privately and at a cheaper rate than any bank would. O’Shea’s doesn’t need to know where she gets the money from anyway. She’ll be able to afford the initial overhead, and I’m not losing out on being an investor completely. We’re just doing it differently. I will own 25% of the company, and any of the money due to me will actually go into a charitable organization I’m going to set up and name after Leo.” She smiled as she arrived at the car door and opened it for Summer. “I’ll fill you in on the rest later, but it’s a good idea, and it’s going to help people too.”

  “That’s amazing, Lena.” Summer leaned over and kissed her sweetly.

  “Gross. Get in the car, you two,” Hailey scolded.

  CHAPTER 29

  “I miss you,” Lena told the screen.

  She was lying in bed setting up her new iPad case that she’d purchased specifically for her FaceTime dates with Summer during their time apart.

  “I miss you too. Tell me how it went. I’m dying over here.” Summer was sitting on her sofa, waiting for a pizza to arrive, since it was hours earlier in California.

  “They’re considering it. I don’t have a definitive answer yet,” Lena replied.

  “I thought you said you’d have an answer today,” Summer returned.

  “I thought I would.” Lena adjusted herself in bed so she could lie on her side and still see Summer’s face. “They seemed to be okay with the idea. The boss is big on Chicago. He grew up on the South Side and is a self-made man. Any time he’s able to see a profit and somehow also help people, he doesn’t require much convincing.”

  “Then, why no answer?” Summer asked.

  “I think he was just putting on the show to appease the rest of the VPs. He’ll tell me tomorrow. I’m pretty sure it’s a go.”

  “Have you told Van yet?”

  “No, not yet. I don’t want to get her hopes up. I told her it went well, but that they’re still considering.”

  “That’s nice of you. Hey, what are you sleeping in tonight?” Summer nodded with a smile.

  Lena smiled back at her and pulled on her t-shirt.

  “Yes, it belongs to you,” she replied to Summer’s real question.

  “I like when you wear my clothes,” Summer said and continued smiling. “So, can you come here this weekend?”

  “I don’t think I can, Sum.” The smile left her face. “I have a mountain of paperwork to do for one of our new locations. If the deal is approved, I’ll need to keep up the momentum and get everything ready to go by Monday so that we can move forward. O’Shea is a fast mover once he makes a decision.”

  “Sounds like my polar opposite,” Summer retorted.

  “No, you have hard times with decisions themselves. There’s a difference.” Lena suggested. “And I haven’t seen you having a hard time with any big ones lately.”

  “I’m here vacillating between leaving this job tomorrow or staying on for the next few months.”

  “Why?” Lena asked.

  “Because I don’t want to leave anything undone,” Summer replied.

  “I hate to tell you this, babe, but anytime you leave a job, you’ll be leaving more than one thing undone. The higher up you are, the more things will be left behind for others to work on in your absence, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t leave.”

  “Do you want me to leave right now?” Summer asked her with lifted eyebrows.

  “What? No,” Lena told her definitively. “I want you to do what you want. I love you, and I’d like you here with me, but I understand what a job like that entails. I’m a VP myself, but I grew up with CEOs and politicians. I get how much work goes into it. I get that you want to stay around for a while longer, or at least until Seth gets back, to make sure everything is as finished as it can be when you do leave.”