Feeling marginally lighteras the week wore on, Debra perched herself on a stool at her kitchen island, enjoying the bright sunlight as it spilled across her flat. It had rained for days, but today…bliss. With higher-than-average temperatures, too. Maeve sat opposite her with her elbows propped on the worktop, one hand wrapped around a cup of coffee she’d already refilled twice.
“Now, don’t take this the wrong way,” Maeve said, studying Debra with that combination of affection and suspicion. “But you look better than the last time I saw you.”
Debra smiled faintly. “That’s because I actually slept last night.”
“Mm.” Maeve arched an eyebrow. “It’s amazing what eight consecutive hours can do when you’re not waiting for someone’s name to pop up on your phone.”
Debra rolled her eyes, even if Maeve had a point. “I wasn’t waiting. I haven’tbeenwaiting either. What’s the point?”
Maeve didn’t even try to hide her snort. “Oh, please. You’ve been staring at that phone since I sat down.”
Debra smiled, but it hid a multitude of feelings beneath it. Of course she was still hurt that Billie hadn’t been in touch, but shewasn’t stupid enough to pine after someone who could drop her without reason so suddenly. “Two weeks,” she said as she sighed into her cup. “If she wanted to talk, she would have contacted me by now.”
Maeve leaned forward a little. “She wasn’t exactly a stable bet.”
“I know…and it was quick. Far too quick. I shouldn’t have…” She trailed off and swallowed, because admitting she’d let herself fall—even just a little bit—felt strangely humiliating. “Never mind. It’s done now.”
Maeve reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Youareallowed to want something good. Even if it doesn’t last.”
Debra nodded, staring down at their joined hands. She’d been telling herself the same thing since the last time she’d seen Billie, repeating it every time she caught herself checking her phone, but knowing it andbelievingit weren’t the same.
Maeve let go and sat back with a breath. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh, God,” Debra said, bracing herself for another of Maeve’s bright ideas. “That tone never means anything good.”
“Excuse me! Yes, it does.” Maeve’s smile widened. “Do you remember my friend Lucille from my old firm?”
“The one who married that controlling bastard and spent three years trying to rebuild her life afterwards?”
“That’s the one.”
Debra frowned. “What about her?”
“Her divorce is finally done.Completelydone. She’s been out of the country with her sister for six months and now she’s…herself again.”
A thought started to form, and Debra’s stomach instantly tensed. “Maeve?—”
“Hear me out,” Maeve said quickly. “She asked about you.”
Debra stared. “Asked about me? Why on earth would she ask about me? We barely know one another. I’ve only met her once.”
“Okay, fine. I may have mentioned you were single now,” Maeve said with a shrug. “And that you’ve been through something similar. And she…well, her face practically lit up.”
Debra stared up at the ceiling with a groan. “Maeve.”
“What? She’s gorgeous.Andsensible. And funny in that dry way you like. She knows what it’s like to be miserable in a marriage for years.” Maeve paused. “She gets it, Debra. She’d getyou.”
Debra tried to fight it, but she could feel the smile working its way to her lips. Shehadneeded someone who understood. Billie had understood her body and her desire…but not her past. Not her wounds. Not the years it had taken to claw back her sense of self. She’d almost become the person Debra wanted to confide in, and she’d almost opened up fully, but Billie had her own shit to deal with.
She was well-versed in reminding women of who they were and what they could be capable of, but when it came to demons…she was too busy fighting her own.
Still, the thought of dating again felt like picking at something half-healed. “I don’t think I’m ready.”
“You don’t have to be ready for marriage,” Maeve said. “Just…maybe ready for a drink?”
Debra exhaled slowly. It had been two weeks. Two long, silent weeks. She wasn’t naïve; Billie had made her feelings clear with her absence.
Maeve continued gently. “You need someone who actuallywantsto show up. Someone who cares if they hurt or upset you. Someone who doesn’t practically ghost you.”
