“Awfully glad I bumped into you last night,” Clare murmured, sliding closer. She brought a hand to Alicia’s face, caressing her cheek.
Alicia’s eyes slid shut at the unexpectedly pleasant sensation. “I’m glad too.”
“What were you doing up anyway?”
“I’d gone to the kitchen for a glass of water,” Alicia told her.
“Rue woke me,” Clare said. “And then I tripped over her into your arms. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was trying to bring us together. Were you, Rue?”
At the sound of her name, the dog lifted her head from the pillow, cocking it comically to the side.
“She pleads the fifth,” Alicia said, almost not recognizing the teasing tone in her voice.
Clare grinned. “Well, I think she deserves extra treats today for her efforts.”
“I agree.” Alicia felt herself grinning back. What had gotten into her this morning? She felt almost as cheerful as the woman in front of her. If sleeping in Clare’s bed had this effect on her, maybe she should have done it sooner.
“Wish I wasn’t leaving today,” Clare said.
“Me too.” In a few hours, Alicia would finally have the beach house to herself, but that didn’t sound nearly as enticing now as it had when she arrived on Friday. In fact, she didn’t like the sound of it at all.
“You’re staying the rest of the week?” Clare asked. Her fingers were in Alicia’s hair, stroking gently, and it was so soothing. Alicia wouldn’t have thought she would like someone touching her hair, but she seemed to like a lot of unexpected things where Clare was concerned.
Alicia nodded. “Unless I get an interview in the meantime, I’m going to hang out here and keep applying for as many jobs as I can find. I’m in no rush to go home.”
“I don’t blame you.” Clare’s other hand was roaming now, sliding over Alicia’s hip. “I need to see this crescent moon birthmark I’ve heard about.”
“Wrong hip,” Alicia told her, rolling over to show Clare the spot.
Clare’s fingers traced it, tickling slightly. “An adorable birthmark and a sexy part of last night’s flirting adventure.”
Alicia’s cheeks warmed. “Thanks for humoring me with that.”
“I wasn’t humoring you,” Clare said, her fingers still tracing circles over Alicia’s hip. “Our flirting started as practice for you, but it turned into something real… At least, it did for me.”
“I…” Alicia felt herself tense. She hated conversations like this. She never seemed to say the right thing. “I wasn’t sure.”
“I like you,” Clare said quietly, her eyes meeting Alicia’s with an unflinching earnestness that stole the breath from her lungs. “This weekend was wonderful, and I’d like to see if it could be more than one night. We don’t live very far from each other at home, after all.”
“Oh.” On the surface, this was everything Alicia wanted, but in reality it would never work. Clare was way too cheerful and social to be in a relationship with Alicia, and she couldn’t bear to watch Clare lose interest once Alicia made things weird back at home. That would destroy the tentative boost to her self-confidence that last night had given her.
No, it was better for them to end on a high note.
Alicia sat up, hugging her knees. “I think it’s better to let what happened at the beach house stay at the beach house.”
Clare sat to face her, taking Alicia’s hand in hers. “Are you sure? I’d really like to see you again, Alicia.”
“I’m sure,” Alicia told her.
Clare looked down at her hands, and the disappointment on her face made Alicia’s chest ache. “Okay, then. For the record, I hope you get an amazing new job with people who appreciate you, and…I hope you find someone who makes you happy in your personal life too. You deserve that. Don’t sell yourself short on either front.”
Alicia’s eyes stung at her unexpected candor. “Thank you.”
“I’m going to work on setting some boundaries with my coworkers too.” A faint smile touched her lips.
“Good,” Alicia agreed.
For a moment, they sat facing each other, and Alicia wished she weren’t naked, because the combination of feeling so bare emotionally as well as physically was overwhelming.
