CHAPTER 14 #2
When Finley left her office, India thought about that ski trip.
It hadn’t been just any ski trip, but she hadn’t told Finley that, of course.
They’d been together for a year, and India had intended to propose.
She’d planned everything so perfectly. Finley had agreed to go skiing for the first time in her life, which was a big deal.
Once that had been taken care of, India had booked the resort.
She’d gotten them couple’s massages in the spa and had the resort prepare champagne, strawberries, and a cheese plate for them upon arrival.
Their room would’ve had a fireplace, and she’d planned to make love in front of it after a long day on the slopes.
She had wanted to show off her ski skills to Finley and teach her how to do it herself so that they could go again year after year.
India had known then that Finley wasn’t much for skiing because it had taken her a few weeks to get Finley to agree to the trip, but she hadn’t yet understood that she had been taking too much from Finley and hadn’t given anything back.
She had gone for the romance of a proposal and not for the person she was proposing to.
Finley wouldn’t have wanted a skip trip proposal.
Not only that, but Finley probably would’ve wanted to be the one to do the proposing.
When she’d sprained her ankle, India hadn’t wanted an imperfect trip.
She hadn’t wanted to propose to Finley with her ankle wrapped in an ACE bandage.
She’d canceled the trip instead and planned to propose another time, holding on to the ring she’d bought.
They had broken up the first time not long after that, and India hadn’t ever told Finley about the ring she’d kept in her safe.
That was years ago now. She supposed it was time to get rid of that ring.
She’d never want to give it to another woman, anyway, because it would’ve had bad luck hanging all over it, so she decided to find a buyer for it that night.
It was an expensive ring, and now that she thought about it, she laughed at herself because it was a big ring, and Finley hadn’t ever been a big-ring woman.
How had she gotten it so wrong? India had wanted her future wife to have a ring that she could brag about, but that wasn’t Finley.
Finley didn’t even wear jewelry. India would call her jeweler later and arrange it.
She pulled up Maisie’s campaign site on her computer and looked at the picture of Maisie in the upper left, smiling widely in front of Chapter & Verse.
India smiled too because Maisie’s smile was contagious.
She read through her platform and bio and clicked on the donate link.
She wasn’t sure how much Maisie would need to beat Colter, and Maisie might get upset with her being the donor, so she chose the anonymous option that was available and typed in a large amount.
If that wasn’t enough, she’d donate more.
India entered her credit card information and hit submit. Then, she checked the time and smiled.
“Hey. I’m here. Put me to work. I have an hour, and I brought paninis from the café,” she said as she walked into the bookstore and saw Maisie and Lainey behind the counter.
“It’s lunchtime already?” Maisie asked.
“It is,” India replied and placed the brown bag on the counter, along with the travel container for the four teas she had brought. “I went with tea because that seemed lunch-appropriate. We’ve got iced peach, iced regular, iced passionfruit, and iced raspberry.”
“I’ll take the passionfruit,” Lainey said and pulled the cup from the holder.
“Thank you,” Maisie replied and took the regular.
“No problem,” India said and smiled at her. “So, I was wondering about something.”
“What?”
“What are you doing later? I know the campaign is keeping you busy, but do you think you can spare an evening to go out with me?”
“Like, on a date?” Maisie asked before she sipped the iced tea.
“Yes.”
“She can do that,” Lainey replied instead before she took the brown bag from the counter and added, “I’m putting this in the back.”
“I could maybe do that,” Maisie said. “I could possibly be interested in buying you a drink.”
“Possibly?” India lifted an eyebrow.
“Well, I wanted to thank you for all your help with the campaign anyway.”
“So, it’s a thank-you drink, and not a drink between two people who are on a date?”
“Can it be both?” Maisie asked.
“Yes, it can be both,” India said with a small laugh. “But I’d like to go home and get ready this time instead of wearing my work clothes.”
“So, seven, maybe? I can pick you up.”
India liked the idea of her picking Maisie up better, but she nodded, deciding that she could flex in this small way tonight.
“Seven is good. Where are we going?”
“How about the piano bar in the Quarter?”
“Really?” India asked, surprised.
“Yes. It’s slightly upscale, but still approachable. I figured that would be a good compromise.”
India nodded again and said, “I agree. Maybe after the drink, we could grab dinner.”
“That sounds like a distinct possibility,” Maisie said.
“I like possibilities,” India replied.
“Well, I’m possibly really hungry, so can we just eat and work?” Lainey yelled from the back.
India and Maisie both laughed before India picked up the raspberry iced tea and carried it back with her, leaving the holder and the peach one at the counter in case Sarah was coming in later.
They made their way to the back of the shop, where Lainey had laid out the sandwiches and the cookies India had brought for each of them.
“I got peanut butter,” India said.
Maisie leaned into her, gave India a kiss on the cheek, and replied, “Thank you.”