Turning the Page (20 page)

who could take care of herself, and Lynda could take the Jeep to the bookstore in the

morning.

"That was some dance you had out there."

Taylor swallowed. "Yeah."

"How drunk is she?" The question was loaded, and Taylor knew it.

"She's not trashed, but she can't drive. I won't let her." She looked deeply into the blue eyes boring into her and saw nothing there but concern. She understood at that moment that Lynda

didn't view her as competition for herself. She viewed her as a potential heartbreak for

Melanie. New respect for the café owner welled up inside her. She was grateful Melanie had

somebody else keeping an eye on her. "Lynda, look. If this is meant to happen, there won't be

any alcohol involved," she said sincerely, surprised to feel her eyes misting. "Tonight is not the night."

Lynda was visibly relieved, feeling a sudden admiration for the tal brunette before her. She

exhaled, making a decision. "Can you get her to the shop in the morning?"

"Sure."

"Gimme her keys. I'll take the Jeep home tonight and drive it in tomorrow morning. Julie can

follow me in my car."

They held one another's gaze. "Thank you."

"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for her." Lynda poked her playfully in the ribs.

"You're on your own."

THEY DROVE HOME in relative silence, each simply enjoying the presence of the other.

Melanie was grateful for the ride. She realized as trees and houses whizzed by that she was,

in fact, a little too drunk to drive. Taylor had taken care of her without a second thought. The

idea warmed her heart. She was disappointed when they pulled into the driveway all too soon.

Ben's Saab sat quietly in the dark, and Melanie felt a prickle of anxiety. She was going to have

to talk with him soon.

What the hel do I say? she thought. Gee, Ben, you're a great guy, but I'd rather be with your

daughter. She rolled her eyes, willing the subject away. She'd deal with it later. Much later, if

she could help it.

"We still on for tomorrow?" Taylor's voice cut into her thoughts, bringing her back to the present situation.

"I haven't had so much beer that I forgot the invitation, you know," she chuckled.

"Oh, I know." Taylor backpedaled. "I just thought it might have been...I don't know..." She swallowed nervously. "The heat of the moment or something."

Melanie was touched by Taylor's attempt to give her an out if she needed one. "Walk me to my

door?"

"Sure."

They strolled the short distance to the carriage house in the dark. At the door, they turned

to regard one another. Melanie smiled and stepped up onto the stoop, putting her eye to eye

with Taylor.

Silently thanking whatever gods had caused Melanie to forget to turn on the outside light

before she left, the brunette reached out a hand to caress the creamy skin of Melanie's

cheek with her thumb.

Melanie's eyes closed, absorbing the touch, just as soft lips met hers. Taylor's mouth was so

soft, so sweet. She could taste the tang of lime that was left lingering from her drink.

Despite the gentleness of the kiss, she felt a wave of want course through her blood,

astounding her yet again with its intensity. She briefly wondered if the alcohol haze she'd

been in was causing her senses to go haywire. How was it possible to desire somebody so

much?

Taylor had meant to give Melanie a simple, chaste peck, but her body had betrayed her. Now,

she had to fight to keep it calm and without ardor. It was harder than she imagined, especially

when Melanie sighed softly and pressed into her. She had to use every ounce of strength she

possessed, but she managed to pry herself away from the sweetest lips she'd ever tasted.

Melanie whimpered with disappointment, endearing her to Taylor even more. They stood in

each other's arms, cloaked by darkness, Taylor trying hard to catch her breath. Melanie was

finding herself surprisingly brave due to the alcohol still in her system, and softly pressed her

lips against Taylor's bare neck, utterly shocked by the softness she found there. Taylor felt

her eyes drifting shut at the tentative assault on her overly-sensitive skin. She caught

herself, snapping them open and catching Melanie's face in her hands, forcing her eyes up to

meet her own.

"Melanie..."

"I want to be with you, Taylor."

Taylor smiled. "I know. I want to be with you, too, but..." The sentence slid from the grasp of her brain momentarily as her mouth was covered with another. This kiss was much bolder, and

Taylor allowed the exploration of lips, teeth and tongue for several minutes longer than she

intended. Forcefully pulling herself from the cloud of desire hanging over the two of them,

she tightened her hold on Melanie's face and kissed her way to the redhead's ear.

"Believe me," she whispered as her lips brushed the swirls of skin, sending a delicious shiver down Melanie's spine, "we wil be together. I wil make love to you. But when I do, I want you perfectly, one hundred percent sober. I want you to know everything I'm doing to you and

exactly how it feels."

Melanie held onto Taylor's shoulders. It was the only way she could remain standing, as her

knees had grown so weak they could no longer hold her. She swallowed hard, eyes wide, breath

ragged. Taylor softly kissed her ear, then looked her in the eye.

"Thanks for the dance. I'll see you tomorrow?" All Melanie could do was nod.

"Seven all right?"

Another nod.

After assuring herself of Melanie's balance, Taylor took a couple steps backward. "'Night,

Melanie. Sleep well."

Melanie stood on the stoop several minutes after Taylor was in her own house, waiting for the

blood to redistribute itself throughout the rest of her body. Only then was she able to turn

and enter the carriage house. "Sleep," she mumbled to herself.

"Yeah. Right."

Chapter Twenty

THIS IS QUITE possibly the longest Friday in the history of mankind, Taylor thought with

disgust as she glanced at the clock on her desk for the fifth time in a half-hour.

She was nervous and excited and apprehensive and aroused all at once about her date that

evening. Her entire body was humming with anticipation of such intensity; she was surprised

the people in the cubicles around her didn't hear it.

Tonight was the night. She could feel it in her core. She would be with Melanie tonight. The

physical possibilities of the evening had been playing out in her head all day long. God, she'd

never wanted something so raw and primal in her life. She could almost hear Melanie's voice,

teetering on the edge of ecstasy, a pitch or two higher than usual, quietly begging Taylor for

release. She could imagine the beauty of Melanie's naked form under her own, glistening with

sweat and passion...could hear her breath coming in ragged pants. The thought of the older

woman's creamy soft skin beneath her fingers made her woozy, and she closed her eyes,

gripping the edge of her desk to steady her nerves.

The emotional possibilities of the evening were what scared her. She'd tried to avoid thinking

about them, but it was difficult. She felt so much already for this kindhearted, gentle woman

who had simply appeared out of nowhere barely three weeks ago. It wasn't supposed to happen

this fast, was it? They were supposed to be friends first. Isn't that how it worked? A person

didn't just show up one day and make you fall in love with them, did they? Taylor had always

scoffed at those people...the ones who got together in a matter of days. What was the matter

with them, anyway? Didn't they know it was impossible to fall in love that quickly?

She hadn't fallen nearly as fast with Maggie. It had taken a lot of coaxing, a ton of

reassuring, and a fair amount of good, old fashioned seduction before the smaller woman had

won Taylor over. Taylor had been too practical, too organized, to throw caution to the wind

and just let herself go. Maggie'd had her work cut out for her, trying to make Taylor fall for

her... and Taylor had gone over that edge kicking and screaming. It had been months before

she would even admit that love was, indeed, what she'd felt for Maggie.

So what was this two and a half weeks bullshit? Taylor cursed herself for not paying enough

attention to what was going on.

She'd simply fallen while she wasn't looking. And there was no turning back now.

Taylor rested her head in her hands, leaning her elbows on the desk. Deep down inside, she

knew she had to accept the truth.

In a scant two and a half weeks, she'd fallen head over heels, madly, irretrievably in love with

Melanie Larson. Melanie Larson, a woman who, up until five days ago, had never even kissed a

woman before.

Did she feel the same way about Taylor? Could she? Was it even possible? That was the

scariest part for Taylor, the part that would make her blood run cold and her stomach churn

if she dwelled on it too much. What if Melanie decided this wasn't right for her? What if she

chalked Taylor up to a little bit of experimentation? What if she just wanted to see what it

was like? What if she laughed at the depth of Taylor's own feelings, thinking she was silly and

childish?

What if Melanie broke her heart?

The thought made bile rise in her throat, and she choked it back with effort, her fingers

digging viciously into the foam stress ball on her desk. That's why I can't think about this, she

told herself. Think positive. Think positive. Think positive.

She closed her eyes and a vision of Melanie came unbidden into her mind, causing her mouth to

curl into a lopsided grin. She was smiling sweetly at Taylor, her blue eyes sparkling in the

sunlight, streaks of gold and red combining together perfectly to make just the right shade of

hair... a color she'd only ever seen on Melanie.

This is the woman I love.

The sentence warmed her heart and she tried mightily to concentrate on her work, willing the

hours to pass as quickly as possible.

MELANIE HAD DONE her best to throw herself into her work. Most of the books from

Jeff's inventory were gone now, most donated to libraries...not the most economical solution,

but the quickest. The rest had been purchased by various stores around the state, and she'd

shipped the last box out that morning. New books were arriving every day. She really needed a

computer. There was no way she was going to use the paper route Jeff had taken. She knew

she'd be much more organized and be able to keep infinitely better track of her inventory if

she had it all on a database. She'd have to make a trip back to Chicago very soon. Maybe

Taylor would want to tag along...

She'd received the new sign for the front of the shop a couple of hours ago. She wanted to

surprise Taylor, so she kept it a secret from her. When she'd shown it to Lynda that morning,

however, the café owner whooped with delight.

"The Quil is Mightier? That's a terrific name," she'd stated, scrutinizing the color, which matched the new exterior of the shop perfectly. "And if you ask me, the majority of your

feminists, as well as the lesbians, are Xena fans, so they'll know right away that this is a store

for them. Not one of the better episodes, in my not-so-humble opinion, but a great name.

Brilliant choice, Mel. I commend you."

That was first thing in the morning, when Melanie had thanked her friend for taking care of

the Jeep, which sat parked neatly in the back parking lot. She'd brushed off any attempt by

Lynda to discuss the previous night, not quite finished analyzing it herself and not quite ready

to verbalize any of it.

There was a timid knock on the glass of the front door and Melanie couldn't help but giggle at

the café owner, whose nose was pressed tightly against it. She stood with her hands on her

hips, a mock-scowl on her face, before unlocking the door and letting Lynda in.

"I hope you brought your Windex, young lady," she scolded.

Lynda waved her off with a flick of her hand and looked around. "Hey. Lookin' good. Got an

opening date yet?"

"Week from Monday."

Lynda nodded her approval. "You're really moving right along on things. I'm impressed."

"Be impressed when I actually get customers in here."

The older woman could sense the tension in the air, and she knew it didn't come only from the

impending grand opening of the shop. She was beginning to know Melanie quite well, and she

could tell when the woman was about to open up, when she needed to talk. This morning, she'd

been nearly unapproachable. Now, she was different. Lynda plopped herself into one of the

reading chairs and waited.

"Do you remember the details in Curious Wine?" the redhead asked after several minutes of

stocking shelves in silence.

"Burned into my memory forever."

Melanie opened her mouth, shut it, opened it again, shut it again. She took a deep breath. "In

the book, Lane and Diana... um... fall in love... in, like, a matter of days."

"Uh huh."

She turned to Lynda, the chaos in her mind clearly visible in her eyes. "Has that ever

happened to you? To somebody you know? Or is it just fiction?"

Lynda smiled gently and studied Melanie for several minutes. Finally, she asked the question

she'd been wanting to ask ever since Taylor came in the bookstore nearly two weeks ago, the

question she already knew the answer to. "Are you in love with Taylor?"