Add Romance and Mix Page 10

  “Briley.” Leah touched her hand, and Briley managed not to swoon. “What time are we leaving?”

  “Six-thirty.”

  “I’m enjoying getting to know you. We can always pick up this conversation later.”

  Briley licked her lips. “We can. Yes.”

  When Leah kissed her on the cheek, she tried not to faint, but she couldn’t help the blush that heated her face.

  Leah ran her thumb over Briley’s cheek. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Briley had the good grace not to watch Leah walk away from her and instead turned and focused on the water. Okay. Things were moving along nicely. Indeed. She would have to ask Kat what the next play was.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Who knew it would be so hard to pick out an outfit? It was only dinner with her friends. She balled up the shirt in her hands and threw it at the bed. It wasn’t as if this was the first dinner she’d spent with Leah.

  “Hey,” Kat shouted from where she sprawled out on the bed.

  Briley rolled her eyes, but lost her footing and fell backward into the wall with a thud when Kat threw a pillow at her and hit her in the face. “Rude. Also, I have your stupid sports analogies stuck in my head.”

  “Where are we at?” Kat raised her head.

  “Fourth inning. One on base with one batting.”

  “At least we’re moving along. I wish I could say the same right now. Just pick something to wear. Anything.” She huffed and closed her eyes.

  Currently, she was on her fifth outfit. She pulled at the top, but it didn’t feel right. She pulled it off and threw it in the direction of the bed. “It’s not that easy.”

  “Oh my God. You’re changing again. This is unacceptable, Briley.”

  Briley ignored her as she eyed the other pieces on the bed. “I’m not sure.” They both jerked their head around when the back door opened and Leah called her name. “Shit, she’s here.”

  “Fret not.” Kat jumped off the bed and placed her hands on Briley’s shoulders. “I’ve got this. You get dressed.” Kat kissed her on the cheek and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

  What had she got herself into? It was just dinner. She could do this. Without overthinking things, she grabbed a shirt and pulled it on, deciding to leave the black Bermuda shorts on. After putting up her hair in a bun, she grabbed her glasses, took a deep breath, and opened the bedroom door.

  As she rounded the doorway into the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks as her eyes landed on Leah leaning against the counter, talking with Kat. The white blouse and blue skirt set Briley’s heart racing.

  “We ready?” Briley clapped her hands together.

  “I am if you both are,” Leah said.

  Once outside, Leah touched her arm. “You look nice.”

  “You as well.”

  Briley led the way to the truck then climbed into the backseat, giving up the front seat to Leah, and allowing Kat to drive. It was only a fifteen-minute drive and she kept quiet, content, as Leah and Kat made small talk. She took a deep breath as Kat pulled into the semi-full parking lot that was a block away from the pub.

  On instinct, as soon as Leah’s door opened, Briley held out her hand. Leah smiled and accepted.

  “Such manners,” Leah teased.

  “It’s what I do,” Briley said.

  The cool night and the dozens of restaurants in the area filled the air with a heavenly aroma. Leah walked to her right, and Kat walked a step behind them. Placing her hand on the small of Leah’s back, Briley guided her in and headed in the direction Kat pointed out. Nina and Ashley looked so similar with their long blond hair and green eyes they were often mistaken for sisters.

  “Hey, darling,” Ashley said. She hopped up from her seat and pulled Briley into a hug. “Goodness, Kat, you get better looking every time I see you.” She kissed her on the cheek and turned to Leah with her hand held out in introduction. “Ashley.”

  Leah shook her hand. “Leah.”

  “Let’s sit.” Briley pulled out a chair for Leah, then proceeded to sit in the seat between Ashley and Leah.

  “So, Briley, what do you recommend, since I’ve never been here? Your choices haven’t steered me wrong yet,” Leah asked as she settled in her seat.

  “Hmm, well, their burgers are always a safe bet, but if you prefer seafood, the crab cakes are good and you have to get their sweet potato curly fries.” Briley leaned toward her and pointed at an item on the menu

  “Yay.” Ashley high-fived her. “I’m getting the loaded bacon burger.”

  “I’m getting the crab cakes tonight,” Nina said.

  “Surprise. Surprise.” Briley grinned. “That’s what you get ninety percent of the time.”

  “Good evening,” their waitress said. “What can I get you ladies to drink?” She scribbled their drink order down. “Are you ready to order?” Everyone nodded.

  “Leah,” Nina said, after the waitress delivered their drinks. “What brought you to our city?” Briley already knew the answer and was hoping Leah would answer in the same way she had with her. She wasn’t disappointed.

  Leah tapped her finger on the tabletop. “I closed my eyes and pointed to a map.”

  Nina perked up. “Really?”

  The twinkle in Leah’s eye gave her away. “In the last few years, Evan and I have visited a few times and we both decided this would be the perfect place to settle down.”

  “Evan?” Ashley said.

  “My son.”

  “Oh, how old is he?” Ashley leaned forward to get a better look at Leah.

  Briley sat back and listened as they discussed the difficulties of parenting. Ashley had an eight-year-old daughter. Kat caught her eye across the table and smiled.

  As the waitress set their plates on the table, Briley’s stomach rumbled as the smell of the grilled onions wafted her way. She dipped a curly fry in the special sauce they give with every order and moaned at the first bite. “So good.” Ashley nodded and took a giant bite of her burger. After dabbing her lips with the napkin, she turned to Leah. “How are your crab cakes?”

  “The best I’ve ever had. I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve been here. I will definitely be bringing Evan.”

  “Leah,” Kat cut in. “If you want to know the best places to eat, you should go out with Briley more often. She loves to eat out and knows all the best places.”

  Leah turned to Briley and grinned. “Is that right, Briley? Should we go out more?”

  “I think it’s a real possibility you won’t be able to keep up with me, Leah.” Briley wasn’t sure she’d ever get enough of Leah.

  “Brazen. I like it.”

  Briley rested her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together. “Only for you.”

  “Only me,” Leah repeated. “I can live with that.”

  The emotion in Leah’s gaze pulled her in. As she leaned forward, a cough broke her out of the haze she was in and she jerked up and touched her glasses. “We should make a list.” What was she doing and why was Leah letting her? At a touch on her hand, she turned back to Leah, who held up her fork with a chunk of crab cake on it, offering it to Briley.

  With a blush, Briley gingerly opened her mouth for the sample. She ignored the looks the others were throwing her way. “Do you want to taste mine?” she asked, after swallowing.

  Leah ran her thumb over her bottom lip before answering. “Sure.”

  The knowing looks around the table did nothing to dampen Briley’s mood. “What?” Briley cut off a piece and set it on Leah’s plate. There was no way she would survive feeding Leah.

  They all held their hands up. “Leah, are you going to the dance?” Ashley asked, placing her arm on the back of Briley’s chair and running her fingers along her shoulder.

  “Yes, I am. You?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it. Briley always saves a dance for me.”

  Briley nodded.

  “Briley dances with all of us,” Nina c
himed in.

  Briley threw her napkin on the plate and pushed it toward the middle of the table. She squeaked when Leah placed her hand on her knee and squeezed. Briley looked down at the hand, then up at Leah, who had turned to talk with Kat. If someone would hold a gun to her head, she wouldn’t be able to tell them what Leah and Kat were discussing. The warm hand on her knee screwed with her head.

  Ashley nudged Briley’s elbow. “Do you want dessert?”

  “Do you know me at all?” Briley half whispered.

  “We’ll have two large slices of apple pie,” Ashley told the waitress, after asking everyone their preferences.

  When Leah’s hand on her knee became too much of a distraction, Briley reached down to move it, but to her surprise Leah intertwined their fingers. Okay. This was new. Awesome and new.

  Once they’d finished eating dessert, Kat paid for dinner and Briley pulled her hand away from Leah, dug a twenty out of her purse, and laid it on the table for a tip.

  Ashley insisted on darts, and Nina and Kat jumped up and joined her. Briley leaned back in her chair and focused on Leah, noticing that Leah’s attention was on her.

  Leah placed her hand on Briley’s forearm. “You don’t have to stay with me if you want to join them. I know how competitive you are.”

  This is exactly where she wanted to be. “I’m not good at darts. You know I don’t like to lose. Why put myself in that position? Besides.” She adjusted her glasses. “Your company isn’t unpleasant.”

  “Is that so?” The smile that played at Leah’s lips sent shockwaves through Briley.

  “Yes.” She tapped her fingers on top of the table, but didn’t dare to turn from Leah’s gaze.

  “Relax, Briley. This isn’t the first time we’ve had dinner or spent time together.” She patted her forearm before pulling back. “Your friends seem nice.”

  “You just make me nervous.” Briley emptied her beer. “They are. I got lucky in that department. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

  “I’ve had people like that over the years. They are hard to come by, and you should hold on to them if possible.”

  A sadness shaded her words that Briley hadn’t heard before. She decided to change the subject and shifted in her seat so she faced Leah fully and placed her elbows on the table. “What’s the one thing you’ve never done that you want to?”

  Leah ran her finger along the lip of her glass. “I’m not much of an adrenaline junky, but I have always been curious about skydiving. Evan has almost got me convinced that it’s something we should do. A bonding experience.” She shuddered. “Almost.”

  God, could this woman be any more endearing. “Beth and I skydived about five years ago. It was scary as fuck, and not something I will ever do again, but I don’t regret it. I can’t explain the feelings of free-falling. Fear, dread, and immense exhilaration. It was an incredible experience.”

  “You almost have me sold, but it’s going to take more than a pretty face to convince me.”

  “Well, what would it take?” Briley leaned forward, but jumped back when a hand landed on her shoulder.

  Kat slipped her arm around her shoulders and eyed them both. “Nina won both games. What a surprise.”

  “Already.” Briley laughed nervously. “That was fast.” She shredded her napkin into tiny pieces. Her heart still pounded, and Leah still stared at her.

  “It’s getting late.” Kat patted her shoulder. “We should be going.”

  Leah glanced at her watch, then picked up her purse. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.”

  “Me either.” Briley grabbed her things and followed behind them. Nina wrapped her arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear. “I like her.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  Outside the restaurant, Nina and Ashley hugged Briley and Kat goodnight, told Leah they would see her next time, then walked in the opposite direction.

  Briley slipped her hands in her pants pockets and walked beside Leah. She managed to stay upright when Leah slipped her hand through her arm and pressed up against her. At the truck, she opened the door for Leah.

  Leah winked at her. “How chivalrous.”

  “Yes, well.” Briley shut the door and climbed into the backseat. At home, Briley walked Leah to her door. “Dinner was good.”

  “It was.” Leah reached forward and straightened Briley’s collar. “I enjoyed myself.” Leah leaned back against the front door.

  Briley rocked back on her heels. “Me too. I’ll start on that list of places to go and then we can get going on it.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  “I should go.” Briley pointed to her house. “It’s getting late.”

  Leah nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast.”

  “You will.”

  “Good. Good.” Leah pushed away from the door and for a moment, Briley thought she was going to kiss her, but she only dug the key out of her pocket. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  When she walked through the back door, Kat was waiting for her. “What’s wrong?”

  Briley flopped down in a kitchen chair and accepted the cup of tea Kat handed her. She recounted what happened on the porch with Leah. “I wanted to kiss her and I think she would have let me, but I don’t want to mess this up.”

  “I think you should let her make the first move.”

  “I know. It’s just, I’ve never felt like this before.” Briley slipped her glasses off and rubbed her eyes.

  “No one ever said it would be easy. From my calculations, you’re up two to three and it’s Leah’s turn up to bat.”

  Briley slipped her glasses back on. “That’s where we are at?”

  “I’m the coach. I should know.”

  She rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

  Kat took both of their empty cups and set them in the sink. “I do. I’m sure you’ll see her tomorrow.”

  “Gee, what gave you that assumption?”

  “Don’t be a smartass. After all, tomorrow is another day.” Kat called as she walked away from her and down the hallway.

  Briley got up and glanced out the kitchen window at Leah’s house. She still intended to make a list of all the places she wanted to take her, the dance and the Encampment being at the top of it. She took a deep breath, turned away from the window, and locked up the house. For the first time in a long time, she felt ready for the unknown and whatever the future held for her. She just hoped that future included Leah.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Briley crept down the hallway the next morning, so as not to wake Kat. After all the food she ate yesterday, a run was definitely in order. After a quick peek out the kitchen window to make sure Leah wasn’t out and about, she opened the kitchen door and walked out, making sure the door shut quietly behind her.

  The first mile went surprisingly fast and as the world started waking up around her, she did quite a few double takes at all the smiles, waves, and looks she received. Which was odd…even on a good day.

  She had a feeling it wasn’t her three-year-old cut off sweat pants and ratty t-shirt she wore that affected these people. By mile five, her legs were starting to tremble, and the looks she was receiving only continued to intensify. When Cara, a teenager that lived a block from her house, ran past and high-fived her and a teenage boy she didn’t know practically cut her off to fist bump with her, she had a feeling she wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

  At the turn to her house, she slowed to a walk to catch her breath. As she pulled her water bottle from her belt, Kevin, the neighbor no one wanted to be alone with, tipped his hat and told her how damn lucky she was to have such a fine woman like Leah. Suddenly, it dawned on her what was happening. She saluted him, because he preferred that greeting, and fast-walked past his house.

  The gossip mill from the church the day before must have speed raced around her neighborhood for everyone to think that she and Leah were an item. The riverfront and Midway didn�
��t help matters either. A slow smile graced her lips until she realized that everyone around town thought that they were an item. What was she supposed to do now? The last thing she wanted was for Leah to be uncomfortable.

  She was never so glad to see her house before in her life. Only two more neighbors had made any type of gesture in her direction. One had given her two thumbs up and the other one had, to the best of her knowledge, tried to attempt some obscene gesture with his hands, but only ended up looking like an idiot. She’d smiled and waved at him, which only seemed to piss him off even more. Next month she would throw an extra cookie in his basket when she handed them out.

  Her steps faltered when she noticed Leah’s kitchen light on and saw a shadow pass by her window. She hurried through the back door, slammed it shut, and leaned back against it with her eyes closed.

  “If you would have woken me, I would have run with you.”

  Briley grabbed her chest and jumped a foot off the floor. “Christ, give a girl a warning first.” She hunched over on her knees and steadied her breathing before raising up and glaring in Kat’s direction. Kat grinned at her and handed her a cup of tea. “Thank you.”

  “What has you so jumpy? Could it be? I don’t know.” She snapped her fingers. “The fact that suddenly you and Leah are married with two point five kids and a cat.”

  “What? Don’t be stupid.”

  “I received four calls this morning about it.” She rolled her eyes. “Four, Briley. About you and Leah. Good grief. I had planned to sleep in.”

  “Shut up. Those busybody people at the church sale yesterday don’t know how to mind their own business.”

  Kat rubbed her chin. “Seems to me everyone thinks you’re a good match.”

  “What?” Briley adjusted her glasses and sat forward.

  “After the church thing, the riverfront, and dinner last night, I feel we are on the right path.” Kat squeezed Briley’s hand.

  “I think so, too.” She jumped up and poured her tea out, opting instead for a cold glass of milk.

  “Last night, she only had eyes for you.” Kat drew her into a hug. “Do you know what will make you feel better?”