“Ah, see? You’re already great girlfriend material shooting out lines like that.”
“Yay for me.” She pulled out into the city’s traffic. The gray cloud had cleared, and the wind seemed to have died down. That thought took Shay back to Rosie’s lack of closure on her mom. “If you don’t feel any different, howareyou feeling about everything?”
“Lighter, I guess. And there’s still relief floating around too. Mostly, I’m sad that she never changed, and I’m fighting off the negative self-talk that I was never enough for her to want to be a better person or a good mom.”
“You make me want to be a better person.” Shay looked at Rosie as she stopped at a red light.
Rosie’s smile brightened. “I do?”
Shay blew out a long breath and shook her head. “Like you wouldn’t believe. I want to be everything you need.”
Rosie gently fingered one of Shay’s locs. “You already are. I don’t need you to change a thing. What we’ve been sharing, what we’ve become together is more real than any relationship I’ve ever had.”
“Do you miss her?” Shay asked.
“Not in any way to compare to how you miss your mom. And honestly, my mom was never really theretomiss. I’m going to sitthrough the process and let it play out, but I won’t let the ghost of her control my future like she controlled my past.” Rosie caressed Shay’s cheek. “And that future is you.”
Shay pulled into the alley leading to their garage and turned to face Rosie. “I’m getting used to the sound of that. It wasn’t so long ago that I couldn’t comprehend a future that included someone walking that path alongside me.” And now her heart ached with the potential of everything they could share.
They got out of the car and took the short walk to Bonnie’s.
The establishment’s namesake greeted them with a big wave. “Hi, honeys. Go on upstairs. Everything’s set up for you.”
“Thanks, Bonnie,” Rosie said. “You’re a superstar.”
Lori waited for them with two glasses of wine on the mezzanine at the top of the stairs.
“Um,” Lori scanned them both as she handed them the drinks, “you seem to be missing the guest of honor.”
Rosie pulled the urn shard from her pocket and held it aloft for inspection. “I had a little accident. There was an argument between gravity and Mom’s urn. Gravity won, and Mom went for one last swim.”
Lori pressed her lips together briefly. “How did that happen?”
Rosie nodded toward Shay. “I lost my grip on reality, and the urn, when this one told me she loved me.”
Shay grinned. The more she heard that said out loud, the more it seemed to grow in her heart.
Lori arched her eyebrow. “You’rein lovewith my best friend?”
She’d been prepared for this. Rosie had given Gabe hell when she was quietly pining after Lori too. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
Lori’s expression grew even more incredulous. “Don’t you believe relationships are a black hole for your time and emotion, and you get enough of that with your family?”
“Lori!” Rosie put her hand over her face, making it clear Lori had probably just quoted her verbatim.
And she’d been right. But things had changed. Shay simplysmiled. “It’s okay, Rosie. Lori’s just doing her job, like you did with Gabe,” she said and winked. “Spending a lot of time with your best friend has made me see that I was wrong. And I’d been holding onto some other emotional baggage that I’ve managed to cut loose. Now that I’ve done that, I’m clear and free to love Rosie, and I promise I’ll do that with all of my heart and soul.” She wrapped her arm around Rosie’s waist and stared into her eyes. “And if you ever think I’m not doing it right, you can kick my ass.”
“What’s that?” Gabe came up behind Lori and wrapped her arms around her. “Are you threatening to beat up my best friend, beautiful?”
Lori turned around in Gabe’s embrace and kissed her. “I’m afraid it’s more of a promise than a threat. Why? Are you thinking of standing in my way?”
Shay grinned at the size and height difference between Gabe and her firecracker girlfriend, even though Lori wore three-inch heels.
“I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about,” Gabe said. “I’ve never seen Shay like this before, and I’ve seen her?—”
“You can stop there,” Shay said, fearing Gabe might put a number to the women Gabe had seen her with.
Rosie looked at Gabe. “You knew?”
