Chapter 2

2

T he aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the warmth of the autumn sun filtering through the large windows of the cozy café. Rebecca Moretti leaned back in her chair, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of chai latte, savoring the comforting blend of spices. Across from her, Sarah Fallon took a sip of her cappuccino, a smile tugging at her lips as she set her mug down.

"So, how did your date go last week?" Sarah asked.

Rebecca smiled, recalling the evening she had spent with the charming woman she'd met online. "It was nice," she said, her voice soft and contemplative. "We had dinner at a little Italian place a little over an hour from here. We wanted to meet somewhere that was halfway, but yeah, she was lovely. Great sense of humor, easy to talk to."

"But?" Sarah prompted, sensing the hesitation in Rebecca's tone.

"But she lives two and a half hours away," Rebecca sighed, her fingers tracing the intricate pattern on her mug. "I'm not sure there's much point in pursuing it."

"How are there no gay women here?"

"There are, but they're spoken for. All four of them," Rebecca said with a slight roll of her eyes. "It's just the way it is. Facebook tells me that three women and five men that I graduated with are gay, and they all live in New York, Seattle, or somewhere in California. It's just easier to leave."

"Would you have left? If you'd known?"

Rebecca opened her mouth and closed it again. "I don't know." Sometimes, Rebecca wished that she could have had more self-awareness when she was younger. "Things were different back then. I didn't really think beyond finding a guy to settle down with, and Anthony was the obvious choice. We spent all our time together anyway."

"I don't think I've ever said this out loud, but I'm proud of you." Sarah leaned forward, her blond hair falling across her shoulders. "I'm serious. If I were in your shoes, I would have stayed married."

"Yeah, but you had children. I didn't." Rebecca took a sip of her coffee. "But thank you for saying that. I still feel guilty though. That I wasted Anthony's time. He's starting over too. It's not just me out there dating."

"You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"I know, but…"

"But nothing. I think you forget sometimes how easy it would have been for you to keep going as you were. You weren't unhappy, right?"

"No. I wasn't. But I realized I was into women when I was twenty-five so I stayed in that marriage for twenty more years." Rebecca shook her head. "I still can't believe it took me as long as it did to tell Anthony."

"But you did tell him. And here you are, three years later, officially divorced and trying to meet someone. And I know you will."

"I don't know. Not everybody is as lucky as you."

Sarah smiled, the lines around her eyes fanning as she did. "Don't I know it. Reagan barely tells me who she's seeing, and well, I have to hear about Quinn's love life from the tabloids while I'm waiting in line at the grocery store. I would love for both of my daughters to settle down, but there's no sign of it."

Rebecca brought her mug to her lips and took another drink. Sometimes, she forgot that Sarah's oldest daughter, that athletic teenager who always looked after her younger sister, was now a world-famous actress. "They're still young."

"Quinn just turned thirty, and every time I think that I'm going to have one of Hollywood's rising stars as a son-in-law I find out that she's called things off. Again."

"How is she? I can't even imagine how insane her life must be, having photographers follow her and having her personal life all over social media."

"Normally, I'd say your guess is as good as mine. I rarely get more than a few minutes on the phone with her, but she's here. She came back yesterday."

"For your birthday?"

Sarah nodded. "I don't know how much longer she's staying, but yeah, she said she wouldn't miss it, although I'm not sure how she's going to navigate it."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, to most of my friends and co-workers, even if they've known Quinn all her life, she is still famous, and Quinn knows that she'll draw a certain level of attention. I don't know. I told her not to worry about it, that I'm just happy to have her there, but I don't know." Sarah exhaled softly, pausing before she spoke again. "She didn't seem herself last night at dinner."

"How?"

"She was just… I don't know. Not herself. I couldn't really put my finger on it. Just my motherly intuition, I guess, or maybe I'm reading into it too much. She just seemed more withdrawn than usual. Maybe, I was imagining things." Sarah finished her coffee. "Will you see if you notice anything? At the party anyway, assuming you don't see her before then."

"Yeah, sure. But I haven't seen her since she left for California, so I don't really know how much I'll be able to notice."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "You haven't seen her in nine years? How is that possible?"

"No. I'm not at your house for Thanksgiving or Christmas when she's normally back."

"She really hasn't been home much. Well, either way, maybe just see if you can figure out what's going on with her. She always liked you."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. She'd always gotten along well with both of Sarah's daughters, but she doubted that Quinn liked her any more than any other family friend.

As Rebecca reached for her mug, her phone vibrated against the wooden table, the sound barely audible over the hum of conversation in the café. She glanced down, a smile involuntarily tugging at the corners of her lips as she read the name on the screen.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What's that smile about?"

Rebecca felt a flush creep up her neck, her fingers itching to check the message. She wasn't used to this—the flutter of excitement, the nervous energy that came with a new connection.

"It's Chloe," she finally admitted, her voice soft. "The woman I went on a date with."

Sarah's face lit up. "Really? What did she say?"

Rebecca unlocked her phone. "She's just checking in, seeing how I'm doing."

A warmth spread through her chest at the thought of Chloe thinking about her, taking the time to reach out. It was a small gesture, but it wasn't something she was used to. Any of her attempts at dating these last few years never seemed to go beyond a first date. There'd been two one-night stands, but she'd quickly discovered that as much fun as they'd been, she needed something more than that.

Sarah smiled knowingly. "That's sweet of her. She must be interested."

Rebecca shrugged, trying to tamp down the hope that was building inside her. "Maybe. I don't know. It's still so new."

"Well, why don't you invite her to my birthday party?" Sarah suggested, her tone light but encouraging. "It could be a nice way for you two to spend more time together, see how she'd fit into your life."

Rebecca's eyes widened at the idea. Invite Chloe to Sarah's birthday? She imagined Chloe mingling with her friends, getting a glimpse into her life.

"I don't know," she said, her fingers hovering over her phone.

"Think about it. I know I'm being selfish, but I'd love to meet her. You were chatting to her for a while before you actually met, right?"

Rebecca nodded. "I think that's why our first date went so well. We'd moved beyond all the basics and were just able to enjoy each other's company."

"I have a good feeling about her," Sarah said with a warm smile.

Rebecca inhaled a deep breath and started typing, pressing send before she could overthink it. "Okay. I've asked her," she said, locking her phone and putting it back down on the table between them. "I just have to wait and see if she wants to go."

Sarah started to say something but Rebecca's phone vibrated.

"She said yes," Rebecca said as she read the message, hardly believing it. "And she can't wait."

"Of course she said yes." Sarah laughed softly. "I wish I'd gone into the city with you for Pride. I would have loved to have seen all the women drooling over you."

Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"You're stunning, and I'm not at all surprised that this Chloe can't wait to see you again. You're a catch, Rebecca."

"You're good for my ego," Rebecca said as she slid her phone into her bag, a smile on her face as they got up and left the coffee shop. She hadn't felt this light in a long time.