“You’ll get there,” Kaia said with an understanding smile. “And I’ll be here when you do.”
“Brunch tomorrow?” Adam suggested. “Just the three of us.”
“I’m in,” Kaia said.
“Yeah.” Josie blinked back her tears. “Me too.”
They fist-bumped on their plans before Kaia finished her beer and headed out. The Friday-night crowd was starting to pick up, keeping Josie and Adam busy. He’d come a long way as a bartender, and she was so glad she’d taken the chance on hiring him. She enjoyed working with Lauren during the week, but nothing compared to having one of her best friends behind the bar with her on the weekends.
“Hey,” he said as they bumped into each other while filling beers. “I wanted to mention, since you’re so worried about your schedule, I was chatting with Lauren the other night, and she mentioned she’d be interested in picking up an extra shift if I ever needed a night off. But what if you gave her an extra shift soyoucould take a night off? Or, if there’s room in the budget, hire her to work Friday nights with me. Maybe you don’t have to be here every night, you know?”
Josie stared at him, blinking slowly. “Yeah, you know what? I’ll run some numbers and see if that’s a possibility.”
Maybe she could afford to give herself a night off, and surely Lauren and Adam could handle the bar on their own once a week. That had always been Josie’s dream, after all, letting other people run the bar while she operated her kitten rescue upstairs. It had always felt frustratingly out of reach, but now, maybe…maybe it didn’t.
She mixed drinks and chatted with customers, too busy even to check the clock until things finally started to slow down after midnight. By two, the crowd had thinned considerably. The front door opened, and she glanced at it automatically, inhaling sharply as Eve stepped through. She had on jeans and a black T-shirt, a very casual look for her.
She slid onto her usual stool at the end of the bar, watching quietly as Josie approached. There was something heavy in her expression.
“Hey,” Josie said, reminding herself at the last moment not to lean across the bar and kiss her. Not for a few more weeks anyway…
“Hi.” Eve’s lips curved in a soft smile.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Just tired.”
“It’s late for someone who worked all day. What brings you out at this hour?”
“You,” she answered simply, resting her hands against the bar. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Oh.” The thought of Eve lying in bed, missing her…well, it was enough to make Josie weak at the knees. “You found me.” She leaned in closer. “I’ve been missing you like crazy all week.”
Adam came up behind Josie, resting an arm over her shoulders, drawing a thinly veiled look of annoyance from Eve at the intrusion.
Josie looked at him in surprise. “What’s up?”
“Let me close tonight,” he said. “I’ve watched you do it enough times, and I can totally handle this crowd on my own from now until then.”
“Wait, what?” What in the world was he talking about?
He lifted his eyebrows meaningfully. “I’m saying, I’ve got this. You two should get out of here.”
“Oh,” she said as her brain finally clicked up to speed. “Really?”
“Yes,” he assured her. “Go.”
She looked at Eve, whose expression was unreadable, then back at Adam. “Okay, but text me if anything comes up, promise? I’ll just be upstairs.”
He laughed, shooing her away. “Get out of here already.”
“Okay.” She slid out from behind the bar, completely giddy at the freedom to do so. “Thank you.”
Eve gave him a grateful look as she turned to follow Josie toward the back stairs. She’d barely closed the door to the stairwell behind them before Eve was in her arms, mouth pressed against Josie’s, kissing her like she’d been as starved for Josie’s touch as Josie had been for hers. They stumbled up the stairs and fell inside Josie’s apartment, kicking the door closed behind them.
24
Josie hurried down Forty-ninth Street, her heart giving a little leap as she spotted Eve leaning against the building ahead. She had on a figure-hugging brown dress that shimmered in the sunlight, accenting the golden highlights in her hair. Mondays had become their unofficial weekly date night, and this one was starting early. Eve had taken the afternoon off work so they could attend an event at one of her favorite galleries together.
