“Oh?”
“Yes, seeing you reminded me that a broken heart can heal.”
Ouch.Those words chafed an old wound, and Catherine winced. Francesca pushed away from the countertop and stalked towards her with the poise of a panther. She stopped just in front of her, half a head taller, but only because Catherine was still leaning against the worktop and ever-so-slightly reclining away from her.
“You were never very good at understanding me. I meant my heart, not yours. I was deeply in love with you.”
“What?” The word escaped Catherine’s throat, half-question, half-scoff.
“You were my first love… my firsteverything, actually.”
The declaration caught Catherine off balance. Her heart kicked in her chest.
“I thought I had it all figured out,” Francesca continued, “but it tore me apart when you chose not to be a part of my life. You were the one that got away.”
Catherine searched Francesca’s hypnotic eyes and released a shaky breath.
“I treated you badly, and I’m sorry.” The words settled between them like dust. Francesca tilted her chin up and, leaning in slowly, traced Catherine’s lips with the ghost of a kiss.
“Goodbye, Catherine,” she whispered.
Before Catherine dared to open her eyes, Francesca had disappeared from the kitchen, her low heels clicking as she retreated down the hallway. Catherine held her shaking hands before touching a finger to her lips, still tingling with the sensation of Francesca’s ghost kiss, just like her ears were still ringing with that apology.
“Oh, and take the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, if you want tosleep with her,” she called out before closing the door and exorcising herself from Catherine’s life.
Fuck! Did that really just happen?
A tappingat the door pulled Catherine from her well of thoughts. She hesitated in the hallway, not sure if she could handle another round of Francesca Dalton being…whatever that was.
Relief washed over her when she opened the door to Jules standing there instead, shoulders rounded and hands buried deep in her pockets.
“I’m really sorry for being such a creeper and freaking you out, you didn’t need to leave…”
Catherine released a breathy laugh. “I didn’t intend for that to be a dramatic exit. I popped down for another bottle of wine, seeing as we finished the red.”
“Oh? You were gone ages though.”
“That’s because someone keeps leaving the main door unlatched…”
“Shit, did I do it again?” Jules winced and mouthed, “Sorry!”
“You did, and I had a little visitor to see to.”
“Is everything okay?” Jules asked, concern flickering across her face.
Catherine considered the question. Where to even begin explaining Francesca? A long story, maybe for another time, but now she found herself nodding.
“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m fine,” she said, then surprised herself by asking, “As you’re here, do you want to come in and pick a bottle? I have a few that I keep for special occasions.”
Jules’s face lit up with an adorable grin. “I mean, if you’re sure?”
Catherine stepped aside to let her in and then led the way to the kitchen.
“Your home is lovely.”
Catherine had received a similar compliment not moments ago, but this one felt different, perhaps because it wasn’t laced with surprise.
“I mean, obviously I popped in to get Juni the other morning, but I was pretty frantic so not really paying much attention.”
