Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts (Holidays in Heartsong #1)

GIRLS NIGHT

“Hello? Earth to Cora?”

I blink rapidly, then frown at Lauren’s hand—which is waving within inches of my nose—and rear back so she doesn’t slice my face with her pinky finger.

“What?” I snap, though I immediately feel bad about it. It’s not Lauren’s fault I practically have whiplash going from some of the best sex of my life, to thinking Adam was serious enough about me to disclose our relationship to Sturge, to somehow having to wrap my head around watching other women bid actual money to take him on a date. On my favorite night of the year, no less. And the fact that it all happened in less than twenty-four hours has my brain spinning.

“Woah.” Lauren frowns at me as she withdraws her hand. “What is going on with you?”

“Nothing,” I say with a quick, probably unconvincing smile. “I’m just tired. Can we finalize these plans so I can go home and sleep?” Or eat three quarts of ice cream and wallow alone.

“Are you tired because Mayor Skinny Jeans kept you up all night?” Charlie’s eyebrows bounce up and down. She’s currently lounging in her favorite position—sprawled sideways over an armchair. We met at Lauren’s place tonight instead of mine because Harrison insisted on having my house to himself since he so graciously left Adam and me alone last night. Who even knows what Harrison needed the whole house for. Probably to play video games alone in a dark room or something.

I purse my lips at Charlie. “I am not dignifying that with a response.”

A self-satisfied smile curls upward on her dark-painted lips. “Your lack of denial is all the response I need. Was it as Earth-shattering as that night in the hotel, or was it even better?”

The last thing I need right now is to give Adam Sullivan even more brain space than he’s already taken up. It was fun while it lasted, and now it’s over. Which was all it was supposed to be, anyway. It’s not my fault Adam had to keep weaseling his way into my feelings with coffee delivery and chiseled abs and those smoky gray eyes that have been living rent-free in my head all afternoon.

Exasperated at those eyes coming to the forefront of my consciousness yet again, I throw up my hands. They meet my thighs in a loud slap. “You know what? I didn’t come here to get grilled about my love life. Can we just finish the fundraiser prep, please?”

Lauren quietly excuses herself to the kitchen. Aubrey tilts her head and regards me with a furrowed brow. Charlie swings her legs around so she’s sitting up straight, leaning forward slightly. When Lauren re-enters the room, presses a glass of pinot into my hand, and sits cross-legged on the couch next to me, I know they’re all getting ready to stage an intervention.

Just then, Dorothy bursts through the front door, a gust of cold air on her heels. “Sorry I’m late,” she huffs, breathless from the cold. “What did I miss?”

Charlie, Aubrey, and Lauren eye each other, eyebrows raised. But it’s Charlie who speaks up. “Oh, nothing much,” she sing-songs. “We were just trying to figure out what’s got Cora’s panties in a bunch, and we’re pretty sure it’s Mister Mayor.”

I narrow my eyes at her as I raise my glass of wine to take a large sip, but her answering grin doesn’t falter.

“Oh,” Dorothy breathes as she hangs her scarf and coat on the hook in the front entrance. “So you were doing the hanky-panky in his car last night.”

I just about choke on my wine. Lauren pats my back unhelpfully as I cough and pound my chest to dislodge the liquid from my lungs.

Aubrey’s eyes go wide. She takes the glass of wine from me and sets it on the table. Charlie at least tries to hide her chuckle behind her hand.

“How…?” I trail off. I’m certainly not going to admit to anything, even though I am curious where her intel is coming from.

Dorothy waves a hand if this is as big a deal as a sale on Valentine’s Day candy the day after the holiday. “Sherry—your neighbor? Anyway, she told Karen who told me at the shop today that she saw you get in the mayor’s car, and it was a while before you left. You know how those old birds jump to conclusions. I didn’t believe her, of course.” Her eyes twinkle mischievously as she chews on the corner of her mouth. “But I’m starting to rethink my original assumption.”

“Please tell us you fucked Mayor Adam on his heated leather seats.” Charlie is all in now, her body angled sharply toward me and her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.

Nostrils flaring, I take in a deep, frustrated breath. Thankfully, Lauren jumps in before I can say anything incriminating.

“That is none of our business,” she says diplomatically.

Aubrey nods curtly and lays a warm hand on my knee. “Something is clearly bothering you,” she says quietly. “We’re here for you if you want to talk about it. But we can drop it if you’d rather.” She shoots Charlie a pointed glance.

I take a second to look at my friends’ faces. They’re earnest and open. They want to help, that much is clear. Even Charlie looks like she could maybe murder Adam if I told her that’s what I wanted. Which is frightening, but also sweet in her own way. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky to have such wonderful friends who want to be there for me even after I bit their heads off for no reason. I let my anger at Adam seep into this meeting, but even despite that, they are all clearly here for me.

I take in another deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling much calmer with them surrounding me. “Adam and I…” What? Had a couple of super hot nights together? Were maybe starting to be something more? “We slept together. Again. But it was more than that. Or at least, I thought it was. He delivered me coffee. Asked me on a real date.”

Aubrey practically swoons. Dorothy nods approvingly. Lauren’s hand finds the tense place between my shoulders, and she rubs it as if she knows the other shoe is about to drop.

“But then he volunteered to take Gareth’s place in the date auction,” I say in a woosh, as if trying to get the words out before they leave a bad taste in my mouth.

The women stare at me, unblinking. Waiting. Funny, I thought they’d be just as irritated at that as I was.

“That’s it?” Charlie asks, leaning back in the armchair, clearly disappointed.

I pinch my brows together. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it?’ Everyone knows you don’t volunteer for the date auction if you have a date!” I exclaim.

“Well, yes,” Dorothy says carefully. “But was it established that you two would be going together before he volunteered?”

I wrack my brain, replaying the conversation in my office before Sturge so rudely interrupted. I had thought Adam was going to disclose our relationship. But had we decided anything?

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “But it was definitely headed in that direction,” I justify quickly.

“Maybe he was doing it because he knows how much this event means to you.” Aubrey sighs and her eyes go all heart-shaped. “Which would be really sweet, don’t you think?”

Dammit. Maybe he was. And that would be really sweet, too.

But I’m still angry, because no matter how they want to slice it, it’s definitely something we should have talked about given all the signals he was firing off that suggested he wanted more than just a couple of nights together.

I turn to face Lauren. Surely, if anyone is going to back me up, it’ll be my oldest, dearest, and best friend.

As if she can read my mind, she winces apologetically. “Sorry, Cora. I’m with the others on this one. It really doesn’t seem like he did anything malicious and was only trying to help. Which is cute.”

Traitor.

“Is this really about the date auction?” Charlie asks skeptically. “Doesn’t seem like something our fearless leader would be all torn up about.”

I chew on my lip, thinking for a second. “Partly,” I say slowly. It also seems criminally unfair that I was actually loosening up. Taking a chance. Not to mention how much I liked that version of me. But I’m not sure I’m ready to admit that out loud. “You’re right,” I say instead. “What really bothered me was that he was so close to declaring something about us, and he pulled the rug out from under my feet at the last minute.”

Charlie purses her lips and nods. Just when I think she’s going to say something understanding and compassionate, she says, “Ahh. Wounded pride. That makes more sense.”

I grumble and shift uncomfortably in my seat, mentally taking back every kind thing I just thought about these women. “I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now, either way. Someone is going to bid on him, and he’ll have to take her out, and I’ll have to wait until the whole ordeal is over to see him again.” That is, if he doesn’t fall in love with this other woman in the process. The very thought of it causes an ache to settle itself in my chest. I rub at it to try to soothe the pain, but no luck.

Everyone in the room eyes each other again. I hate when they do that. I never like what they say afterwards.

“Why don’t you bid on him?” Aubrey asks.

I scoff. “I can’t do that. For one, I don’t have the money.”

Charlie scrunches her face up in disbelief. “You’re single. You have a good job. And I know for a fact Harrison has been paying you rent. The most anyone has ever gone for at one of these things is, what, seven hundred? You’re telling me you don’t have seven hundred dollars to spend for the good of the city?”

When she puts it that way, it doesn’t seem so bad. But that’s not the only issue. “I can’t just publicly declare my interest in him at a town event,” I say incredulously. “What would people think?”

“Probably that you’re two consenting adults who want to spend time together,” Lauren says.

“People don’t care about this stuff as much as you think,” Dorothy chimes in.

“Says the woman who was spreading rumors about my sex life,” I mutter. She shrugs as if that’s a fair assessment.

Aubrey shifts so she’s kneeling, barely able to contain her bubbling energy. “I think you should do it.” She bounces up and down and clasps her hands in front of her chest. “It would be so romantic.”

I glance at everyone, their eyes trained on me. They all want me to bid on Adam, that much is clear. But it’s also clear that they don’t want me to do this for the drama. They want me to be happy, and this is a way to do that.

Would it be so bad? After all, I wanted him to acknowledge our relationship publicly this morning. What’s the difference, really?

I hum noncommittally. “I’ll think about it,” I say quietly. Before their smiles can stretch too far across their faces, I click my pen and pick up my trusty clipboard from where it had been sitting on the table. “Now, can we please finalize these plans? No one will be bidding on anyone if the fundraiser falls apart before it can even get started.”

Aubrey rocks backward with a grimace. “Is now a bad time to mention there’s been a strep outbreak at school?”

“Is there anyone left to perform?” Lauren asks.

Aubrey shakes her head. “Not unless you want me to pretend to be a preschooler.”

I draw a thick line across the first page. “Canceling the children’s pageant.”

Charlie and Dorothy each rest a hand on Aubrey’s shoulders while Lauren gets up to refill our wine. We’re going to need it.