Feeling pressured to take a sip then, Zara did and said, “Jesus, that’s delicious.” She took another slow sip, savoring it now before she tipped the glass and inhaled. “This is the best wine I’ve ever had,” she added, staring at the glass in disbelief.
The woman smiled knowingly at her and asked, “May I join you?”
“Yes,” Arwen replied quickly.
The woman sat down next to Arwen, and one arm went over the back of the booth while her other hand remained wrapped around her drink. Zara watched them stare at one another and felt very much like a third wheel. She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t go now that she had a drink bought by this very confident woman who was about to start flirting with the woman Zara loved. She also couldn’t down this wine in one gulp because it really was the best wine she had ever consumed, and right now, she could really use this. She sipped slowly and watched as Arwen’s blush crept up her cheeks.
“I’m Iro,” the woman said.
“Hero?” Zara asked, thinking she’d heard wrong.
“No, Iro. I-R-O.”
“Iro? That’s an interesting name,” Arwen replied.
“Yes, it is,” Iro said, smiling at Arwen now.
“Oh, I’m Arwen.”
“Arwen? That’s beautiful.”
“My parents are big fans ofTheLord of the Rings,” Arwen explained with an adorable shrug.
“I loveThe Lord of the Rings. I actually have a first edition at home,” Iro shared.
“You do?” Arwen asked.
“I picked it up at an auction a long time ago,” Iro said.
“God, my parents would probably kill for that. Obviously, they named me Arwen, so they loved it, but every year until I was, like, nine, they made me dress up as Arwen for Halloween.”
“Madeyou? You didn’t want to be Arwen?” Iro asked.
Zara sipped her wine and swallowed her regret because she could have avoided all of this by telling Arwen how she felt a long time ago. Even if Arwen didn’t return her feelings, Zara probably wouldn’t be sitting here watching her flirt with this woman with a strange name.
“I wanted to be Legolas. I thought he was cooler.”
Iro laughed and lifted her glass to her lips, taking a sexy sip. Zara wasn’t even sure how sips could be sexy, but Iro had managed to make a believer out of her.
“And when I got older, I wanted to be something else entirely; something more fun.”
“What’s that?” Iro asked.
“A vampire,” Arwen said with a wide smile. “I wanted the plastic fake fangs and fake blood and everything.”
Iro didn’t say anything to that, though. She just stared at Arwen, and the way she was looking at her told Zara something. It was something that churned her stomach. Iro might be interested in taking Arwen home, yes. She might want to try to get Arwen into bed. Arwen, never one for one-night stands, would probably decline and suggest a date instead, but there was something else in that stare, and Iro showed a small, almost imperceptible smile. That look suggested she wanted to keep talking to Arwen about silly Halloween costumes for as long as Arwen did, and if they ended up in bed, that would be a bonus. It told Zara that Iro would likely take Arwen up on the date suggestion.
After years, Zara had just been about to tell Arwen that she wanted to be more than friends. She’d finally worked up the courage and had been about to blurt it out right after they sat down, hoping Arwen wouldn’t dart out of the bar, but this woman had caught Arwen’s eye, and now, they were gazing longingly at one another. Zara wasn’t sure she could take any more of it. She noticed the drink menu, pinned between the napkin rack and the wall, and reached for it, not planning on ordering anything else but needing a distraction.
“Um… which wine is this? I might want to buy a bottle,” she said to distract the two of them from each other for a moment at least.
Iro turned to her and said, “It’s not on the menu, but I bought the bottle. I had to for them to open it. You’re welcome to it. I don’t drink wine.”
“You bought the whole bottle?” she asked.
Iro nodded and said, “Allow me.” Then, she turned to Arwen and added, “I’ll be right back.”
Iro stood and walked over to the bar.
