to Joey, who she longed for so much it physically hurt. “I know you’re angry at me, and you have a right to be. But I want a chance to look you in the eye and apologize.” Nothing. “And I don’t want to complain, but it happens to be really, really cold out here. I’m starting to not be able to feel my fingers.”
“Where are your gloves?” a quiet voice asked on the other side of the door. Joey. Becca grinned and stroked the wood beneath her fingertips.
“I left them in my car because I’m an idiot.”
A moment later, the lock clicked, and she heard footsteps retreat. Apparently, Joey had a soft spot for the frozen. Becca didn’t hesitate and let herself inside. The house was warm and smoky, which meant a fire burned in the fireplace. She sequestered her memories of the wonderful conversations they’d had in front of it, not to mention more intimate endeavors. She found Joey leaning against the kitchen counter, arms folded, waiting for Becca. She honestly had no idea what she’d find when she did come face-to-face with Joey, but the woman eyeing her now seemed put together, calm, and confident. Her hair was pulled back in a clip, and lazy waves fell around her shoulders. Her thin maroon sweater had been paired with a plaid scarf. In fact, Joey looked beautiful and polished. No broken human in sight. That had to bode well for them, right? Joey had rebounded.
“Thank you for letting me in. I feel like we haven’t talked in years.” She met Joey’s gaze sincerely. “I’ve hated every second of it.”
Joey nodded. “I’ve been pushing the limit. Sometimes I do that. I shouldn’t have ignored your messages for so long.”
“You pushing it? You don’t say?” Becca grinned, trying for levity and failing. She held up a hand. “It’s okay. I know I deserve it. In fact—”
“Before you say anything more, you don’t have to apologize. You’ve said you were sorry about a million times on my voice mail. We can stipulate it as fact.”
Becca came around the island and leaned against the counter next to Joey, who felt so far away still. Becca hated it. “All the same, I’m sorry. I want to say so looking straight into your eyes.” Joey glanced away uncomfortably. “I hate that the deal didn’t happen, and I hate even more that I held that information back. I think I was worried about you and was, in a misguided sense, trying to protect you from it for as long as possible, and now I feel like such an idiot for it.”
“Yeah, that’s the part that gets me,” Joey said, turning back to her. “I’m not a child. You don’t have to fear how I’m going to react. Why does everyone do that? I’m stronger than I’d ever imagined.”
“I know you are. I didn’t mean to insinuate otherwise.”
Joey kept going, “And I like you, Becca. A lot. But I don’t want to get caught up.” She said the words as if she was deciding that maybe she wasn’t in the mood for ice cream after all. That casual. That nonchalant. How was it that easy?
Becca was stunned and stuttered, her thoughts suspended, “Get caught up,” she repeated, not fully absorbing the meaning behind the words.
“I know myself, and I know that this isn’t going to work for me.” Joey gestured between them. “So why put off the inevitable? I want us both to be happy, and that means I have to remove myself from this equation.”
“No, you don’t.” Becca stared at Joey hard. “I don’t understand what’s happening right now. This has all been blown out of proportion. You’re ending it? Us? Because of a business deal that fell through? No. Joey, sweetheart, let’s just—”
“I don’t think we’re in a place for nicknames.” Her voice was unrecognizable.
“Why are you saying it like you’re an instructor and I’m a student that you’re educating? We know each other. We’re us. Talk to me like I’m Becca. What we have is different. Rare. Haven’t you felt it, too?”
Joey sighed. “The problem is that it always ends the same, and I let myself forget that because I was having a good time with you, falling for the fairy tale all over again.”
“I’m not Simone.”
“No. But you would be.”
“God.” Becca couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Give me some credit. Hell, give the larger world some. Not everyone is going to burn you.”
“Isn’t that what I did the past few months? Give