Part 27 (2/2)
”Presents? I get presents?”
”Absolutely.” Regan got up and went to her bag, pulling out three gifts, each nicely wrapped. Handing them to Callie, she sat back down. ”I hope they fit.” She peered at the flat rectangles, each about an inch think. ”You wear a seven and a half, right?”
Callie rolled her eyes, then tore into the first one. ”Awesome! A guide to plants in New England.” She started to thumb through the book, exclaiming over some striking examples of plants and flowers. ”I'm crazy for reference books.”
”Then you'll like the other two.”
She hugged the book to her body and spent a moment gazing at Regan. ”The other two could be travel guides to Phoenix and I'd love them. The fact that you cared enough to bring me here is remarkably generous. Thanks, Regan. You made my day really special.”
”Aw, shucks. T'weren't nuthin.” She grinned sheepishly.
”It's a lot, and I'll always remember this weekend.” She handed her the book. ”Write the date and where we are in there. I like keepsakes.”
”Will do.” Regan got up and fetched a pen from her bag, sharing a smile with Callie as she sat down and started to write.
Their high, very fluffy featherbed made lying on it feel like being cuddled. Driving had obviously tired Regan out, since she fell asleep just minutes after lying down. But Callie lay there for quite a while, watching Regan sleep. The fire was almost out, throwing off just enough light to highlight Regan's skin with a warm glow. She looked so pretty lying there. It was all Callie could do to stay on her side of the bed. Being with Regan was its own sweet torture. It was unfathomable that they'd never be lovers. But it was hard to hold out hope since they didn't even hug any more. There was a hole in her heart that Regan could easily fill if only she would. But that was hoping for too much...even though that had been her only wish when she'd blown out the candle on her cupcake.
They traveled along the coast, spying glimpses of the sea, tiny islands in the distance, and craggy rocks being punished by the cras.h.i.+ng waves. Callie was staring out the window so intently that she flinched when Regan spoke. ”I was wondering how dating was going for you.”
”Huh? Were we talking about dating?”
”Uhm, no, but I was just wondering how it was going for you.” d.a.m.n! Could I have made that any more awkward? No, that's about as bad as it could be.
Callie didn't answer right away. With each tick of the clock Regan's jaw clenched tighter.
”Why do you want to know?”
That was unexpected. Not the lighthearted way Callie usually answered every query. ”Well, I'm interested... in you... and how things are going for you. We haven't talked about this... at all... so I don't know.”
”Don't know what?” Callie's gaze was level, unblinking.
”I don't know how things are for you. Are you seeing someone...a lot?”
”No. I just had a first date with someone last week. Remember?” Now her expression gentled and she showed a smile.
”Yeah, I remember. I might never forget that, as a matter of fact.”
”How about you?” Her eyes narrowed again, making Regan feel like she was under a microscope.
”No, no one...special.”
”How about unspecial? You never say what you've done on a Friday or Sat.u.r.day night. I always a.s.sume you're despoiling some innocent down on the Riviera.” Now her face bore its usual sunny smile, and her eyes twinkled like they always did when she was teasing.
”No, I haven't despoiled a single soul. I...uhm...haven't been on a date since, oh, probably November.”
”What?” Callie slapped her on the shoulder. ”You're lying!”
”No, I'm not. My friends stopped trying to set me up by November.”
”Why?” Now Callie's expression showed the care and concern that was so easily tapped.
”Because I didn't show any interest in the women they introduced me to.”
”Hmm.” She sat there, not speaking, not giving a thing away.
”Why haven't you found anyone special yet? I know you've been...busy.”
”How do you know that?” The question wasn't sharply spoken, but there was a slight narrowing of the eyes.
”Uhm...I've seen you at the gym a couple of times...with one woman in particular.”
”Oh, you have, have you? I've never taken anyone into the gym. How did you see me?”
She was busted. Well and truly busted. ”I have to drive there, you know. I saw you getting out of a car.” The worst night of her life had been seeing Callie kiss that woman.
”Interesting. Anything else?”
”Well, I saw you saying goodbye to a woman once before we went for our Sunday run.” And had spent the rest of the day trying to ignore the only good reason she had to be with a woman so early on a Sunday morning.
”I've made some friends. But I'm still looking.” Her eyes narrowed briefly and she added, ”I'm still wondering why you ask. You've never come anywhere near the topic.”
Regan took in a breath and tried to keep her voice from shaking. It was time to do it. But she couldn't. It felt like yanking up on the stick right before the plane crashed into a mountain. She was flushed with relief...and disappointment in herself. ”I think it's time to start being more open... about things.”
”Things, huh?” Callie's eyes were nearly burning a hole in her.
”Yeah. Uhm, things we've been thinking about.”
”What have you been thinking about?”
”Well, about a month ago I made a huge discovery.” Her voice sounded like a tightly strung violin string, and she felt a muscle twitch near her jaw. ”I realized that I'd just gotten over Angela.”
”What does that mean?”
What did it mean? It was so hard to make concrete statements about something as slippery as emotions. ”Delaney was hara.s.sing me about my chronic bad mood and I found myself telling her about Angela and Marina.”
”You've never told her?” Callie reached over and put her hand on Regan's arm. Just having her hand there made the world seem like a very safe place.
”Nope. I told a couple of my girlfriends about Angela, but not my family. So when I finally did, Delaney said it didn't surprise her that it'd taken me a year to get over Angela. That something like that always took a long time to heal.”
Callie's expression bore the sad look she got whenever she talked about her heartbreaks. ”It took me two years to get over Rob.”
”Yeah. That's how long Delaney says it takes. A year or two.”
”In my case I spent the second year trying to domesticate Marina so I didn't have time to think about losing Rob. I would have been better off by myself. I jumped from the frying pan into the fire.”
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