The next morning, Bailey found herself in her garden, her favorite thinking location, weeding again. The rest of dinner with her family had been a struggle. Once Gammy had talked about threatening Pop KZ with a knife the one time he’d been tempted to stray, they’d moved on to other topics, but her mind had been on Skye and her heartfelt pleas in Bailey’s kitchen a few nights before.
Then, right before she’d left, when her mom was saying good night, she’d squeezed Bailey tight and said, “Please think about giving a relationship with Skye another chance. I hate thinking of you alone, and Skye isn’t Mary or any of Uncle Chester’s wives. I really like her, and her willingness to bare her soul to you the other night despite how coldly you rebuffed her proves how much she isn’t like any of them. And remember, you aren’t Uncle Chester. You are so much more like your father and Pop KZ. I love my brother-in-law, but he’s a cad and couldn’t be less like his father or brother when it comes to being a good partner. I love you and want you to be happy. Just think about it, okay?”
Bailey had barely squeaked out an “okay.” She’d given her mom one final squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before she’d left.
Bailey had barely slept that night as her mind had continued to replay Skye’s confession and her pleas for Bailey to change her mind. She still couldn’t think of much other than those tense moments and her mom’s reminder that Skye wasn’t Mary and that she wasn’t Uncle Chester.
She stood from weeding and surveyed her garden. She had enough produce to cook a meal for Skye with food exclusively from her garden, just like she’d promised, and her throat clenched painfully. That was before they’d even started seeing each other, but she’d meant the offer. She would have loved to cook for Skye.
To distract herself, she switched to tending her tomato plants, which were nearing the top of their six-foot cages. She added a few strategic ties to help the plants continue growing.
And had an epiphany.
Tomato plants could only grow as large as their supports allowed them to. If her plants had flimsy three-foot cages, the tomato plants would be much smaller and produce a lot less fruit. Because she had huge cages, her plants were basically growing into trees.
Could the same be true in life and love? Would she have room in her life for work and love if she had the support of a partner who wanted to cultivate both with her? If she could get past her fear and trust Skye to support her, maybe she’d be able to find the strength and room in her life for everything.
Bailey sat back on the edge of her planter box and stared at her hands. Had she gotten everything all wrong? Was she throwing away her first real chance at happiness because of an unfounded fear?
“Are you okay, Bailey?”
She lifted her gaze to see Mrs. Martin standing at the fence. “Yes, of course. Why?”
“You’ve been staring off into space for some time, dear. I could see you from my kitchen window.”
Bailey had no idea that she’d been spacing out that long.
“Also, it took me saying your name a few times before you looked up. That’s not like you at all.”
Sheesh. “Sorry. Nothing’s wrong. Just deep in concentration.”
“Does this have to do with that beautiful woman who hasn’t been around in a few weeks? I haven’t had a chance to mention it to you, but I spoke with her for a few minutes the other evening when she was sitting on your front porch waiting for you.”
“Oh really?” Bailey was surprised. She didn’t think Skye and Mrs. Martin had ever really spoken.
“Yes, she helped me carry in some groceries I was struggling with. She’s a kind girl.”
“She’s a lot kinder than I thought she was when I first met her.” Bailey smiled and remembered all of the small kindnesses she’d found in Skye. Sneaking away to wash the dishes so her mom wouldn’t have to, putting up with Bailey’s entire family invading her home, kissing Patsy on the head before she left the house, actually putting up a fight for Bailey herself…
“I almost didn’t end up marrying Mr. Martin.”
That was an abrupt subject change, but Bailey tried to keep up. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
“His mother didn’t like me very much, and I was afraid I’d never be accepted into his world. But he begged me to marry him and told me I’d given him the strength to stand up to his mother. He told me we’d both regret it for the rest of our lives if we turned away from our love. He was right. I don’t regret a second of the time we spent together. In fact, the only regret I have is that I waited so long to marry him. Every day wasn’t perfect, but that kind of love doesn’t come around every day. If you find it and you’re smart, you’ll do whatever it takes to hold on to it.
“Just food for thought. Speaking of food, I’m looking forward to some of those tomatoes. I’ll see you later, dear. Off to boozy brunch with the ladies. Glad to hear you’re doing okay, but don’t forget that love is the champagne in the mimosa of life. Without it, you just have orange juice, which is fine, but boring.” She shrugged and continued toward her garage.
“See you, Mrs. Martin.” Bailey stood to get back to her tomatoes and saw a text from her mother asking about dinner that night. She apparently wanted to go to some place in Wicker Park, which seemed bizarre, but it was owned by a friend of Roxy’s or something. Bailey didn’t have other plans. She felt like she knew what she needed to do about Skye, but she needed more time to sit with it. And brood. Let it marinate. She couldn’t make another mistake. If she went to Skye, she wanted to be sure that she didn’t have a single doubt, and in that moment, she was doubting everything. Was terrified of everything.
She texted her mom back and said she’d meet them that evening at six.
* * *
Skye parallel-parked on the street and wondered where Tasha’s car was. And why on earth she’d been willing to drive Mama and Babulya to the restaurant. Them needing to shop sounded very suspicious. Especially given how much Tasha didn’t like to drive. Ever.
She pulled off her sunglasses and tucked them into the front of her shirt when she walked into the restaurant, letting her eyes adjust. Could that be…
Someone bumped into her from behind. “Excuse me,” he said and squeezed around, but she couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge him. She was gripped by the person on the other side of the room.
Standing less than fifteen feet away, looking down at her phone, was none other than Bailey. Skye’s heart stumbled over itself, not believing what her eyes were seeing. Could life be that cruel that both their families were eating in this restaurant that evening? Her stomach felt like it was falling straight into a quivering mass on the floor. Could that happen? Someone might need to call 9-1-1.
Bailey was focused on her phone, and Skye could see her little temple twitch. Bailey closed her eyes, and Skye watched her shoulders move as she took a deep breath. Perhaps feeling Skye’s eyes on her, Bailey looked up and made eye contact. Was that a hint of a grimace on her face? Fuck. Bailey started to walk toward her.
Her pulse increased from elevated to frantic, and it felt like all the moisture left her mouth and found its way to her palms, which were instantly slick with sweat. Bailey looked really good, her long legs emphasized by dark-washed jeans.
“Skye,” Bailey said.
“Bailey. Small world, huh?” she said, a small tremble in her voice. The pain of her embarrassment from Bailey’s harsh rebuff after she’d exposed her soul still burned in her throat and at the backs of her eyes.
Bailey’s face looked so blank. “Not as small as you might think. It would seem that we’ve been played.”
“Huh?”
“I forgot, you aren’t as used to this subterfuge from your closest relatives. Apparently, our mothers and grandmothers got together and planned this. But rather than it being for our entire families, it’s just us. No one else is coming.”
“Oh God. It makes so much more sense why Tasha said she was driving. It was because they weren’t ever coming. I feel so stupid, I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry about?”
“Well, this is pretty awkward, isn’t it? I just stood in your kitchen begging you to love me a few nights ago, and now, here we are. Me drowning in my embarrassment for throwing myself at you. Actually, you know what?” Skye said, remembering that she’d done nothing wrong. She’d put her heart out there and had nothing to regret. If anyone should feel regretful, it was Bailey for throwing away everything that they could have had. “I’m not sorry. But I am going to get out of here before I make an even bigger fool out of myself. Good night, Bailey.”
“Wait. Please?” Bailey lightly grabbed her arm. At the touch, Skye’s shoes seemed to grow roots into the polished concrete floor. She looked back and waited for Bailey to continue. “I…I don’t have anything planned to say, but do you want to sit and have a drink? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. And I think there’s more to say. At least, I have more to say. If you have time. If you don’t mind spending a little more time with me, that is.”
Skye wanted to run, but the pleading in Bailey’s eyes had her reconsidering. Bailey had told her the other night that her love wasn’t enough. What else could she add? But a little piece of Skye sensed that this might be their last chance. If she walked away now, she didn’t think she’d ever have another stolen moment with Bailey. Even as she feared for the safety of her heart, she wasn’t ready to say good-bye forever, so she gestured for Bailey to lead the way, either to a table or to the bar.
Her knees went weak as Bailey intertwined their fingers and pulled her toward a quiet corner in the lounge area. Bailey dropped her hand to allow her to slide into one side of the booth, and Skye missed the physical connection, but they both picked up drink menus. Neither spoke until they ordered, and Skye waited for Bailey to start. She had already said everything the other night and wasn’t keen to rip that bandage off again.
“Thank you for staying, Skye. Even though this was a stupid setup by our mothers, I wanted to see you. I needed to see you, but I didn’t know how. Not after I’d shut you down the other night. Not after I’d been so aloof and callous. Cruel. I was trying to figure out how I could reach out to you without you rejecting me on the spot when you miraculously walked into this restaurant.”
“Oh?” That was a surprise. Bailey had been cold as an iceberg earlier in the week—hell, even when she’d first seen Skye in the front of the restaurant—but Skye’s heart began to beat a drumline of hope.
“Yes. I’ve believed this whole time that we were condemned from the start because I can’t sustain a relationship with my work burden. I was hurt when you denied our relationship, and I was unsure of where I stood, but more than that, I was afraid. I was afraid that neither of us could or would do what it takes to make this work. I saw an innocent exchange between you and a friend and used it as an excuse. I told myself you weren’t the person I thought you were and reminded myself we never had a chance anyway, so it was better to walk away then.”
“I know it was that interaction with your sub all those months ago that planted the idea that I sometimes manipulate people with my looks, and I’ve realized that you weren’t entirely off base. I refuse to be that person anymore, but you have to understand that what you saw with Rob a few weeks ago was completely innocent. We are friends, even though I want to punch him sometimes, and we were bantering—”
“I know. I’m so sorry about that. I swear, I’m not a jealous person. I saw you, and I was already worried about us and still raw over you having denied the existence of us a few days before, and I just used it as an excuse. It became the reason that we didn’t make sense, and it reaffirmed that we would never work. It was stupid. I was stupid. I was scared, and I ran.” Bailey’s eyes were so wide. Her nostrils flared, and it looked like she was holding back tears.
The server brought their drinks, interrupting the tense moment, and Skye took a long sip of her smoky old-fashioned, appreciating the burn almost as much as she appreciated watching Bailey take a sip of her vodka tonic. She watched the long column of Bailey’s neck as she swallowed and the peek of her tongue getting a drop left on her lip when she pulled the glass away. The world was a cruel place.
She continued to sit silently, waiting Bailey out. Her favorite negotiation tactic didn’t fail her. It rarely did.
“My mom reminded me that you aren’t my cheating ex, nor are you Uncle Chester’s wives, all of whom cheated on him. Also, I am not a cad, apparently, like my uncle is. I’m not sure why I struggled with that for so long. You have a few superficial traits that seem similar to my ex-fiancée, but you are nothing like her in all the ways that matter.” Bailey grabbed her hand. Skye leaned into the touch, loving the feel of Bailey’s skin against her own again. “And I make my own choices, which will never be the same as my uncle’s.”
Hearing that she reminded Bailey of her cheating ex was a bit disconcerting. “You never told me I’m similar to your ex.”
“It’s not something I was conscious of right away. But the thing is, you aren’t that much like her at all. I think I was a little afraid that you were, but you’ve shown me time and again that you aren’t. Mrs. Martin told me this morning that you helped her with her groceries the other night.”
Skye smiled. “She’s such a sweet woman. She told me she’d be happy to give me a tip. When I was able to stop laughing, I told her I appreciated the sentiment, but I was fine. Then she showed me some pictures of her husband. She hugged me and wished me luck when I left. I don’t think she really knew why I was waiting.”
“Mrs. Martin is something else. She told me that she almost didn’t marry Mr. Martin, but he convinced her that their love could conquer anything and that when you found your great love, it was worth fighting for. Then I got to thinking about my tomatoes.”
“That’s a weird hop,” Skye said. “True love to tomatoes?” She rubbed at her earlobe, confused.
“Technically, it was the reverse order, but it’s all going to make sense, I promise. I hope, anyway. Are you aware tomatoes will grow as tall as the support cages around them will allow them to? Most plants stay small because they only have a small cage, but with a six-foot cage, my plants grow into veritable trees because they have the support to keep going up and up. I think that’s what my problem was. I’ve never had someone to help support me, so I was afraid, and I never had a reason to try to make room for love to grow. Do you see what I mean?”
Skye was starting to but was still afraid to believe what she thought Bailey was trying to say. “Maybe,” she said, hedging her bets.
“I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t say that the other night. I was too afraid that we were going to hurt each other in the end. But I do think—I know—that our love is enough. We can figure out all the rest.”
Skye squeezed her hand but wasn’t ready to let her off the hook yet. She took another sip of her drink. “That running thing has to stop. I know you talked to me after the second incident, but you really didn’t even let me explain. You just shoved me away and gave up on us. When you’re hurt or upset or worried, you have to talk to me.”
“I know. I have this tiny tendency,” she held her index finger and thumb a millimeter apart, “to run away when I’m afraid or hurt. I promise you…” Bailey squeezed Skye’s hand until she looked at her. “I promise you, I won’t ever do that again. We’re a team, and we need to figure out our problems together.”
“What about your lack of time? Can you really find time to be with me?” Skye was so close to throwing herself—and so desperately wanted to throw herself—across the small table, but Bailey had been so damn adamant about not having enough time for anything real. If they were going to do this, she wanted to make sure they were both all in. She couldn’t give her heart fully unless she was confident Bailey was going to do the same.
“I’ve already started handing off a lot to Alice. We’re doing well enough that I can hire another full-time person to take more off my plate too. I was reluctant to let go of some of the reins, but I’ve realized I can’t control everything. I have to be able to trust my employees, which means giving Alice more freedom, and I’m sure you and Ellie will tell me if anything starts to go amiss. Though I’m confident that she’s going to be great.”
“Really?”
“Really. I love you, and I can’t imagine a future without you anymore. Every time I try, it’s monochrome and drab and lonely. So what do you think? Will you be my tomato cage? Except, my living tomato cage so we can grow together. Can we make this our last new beginning?”
Skye laughed. “Being a tomato cage seems bizarre, but I like the sound of the rest. And I want to be whatever support you need, so if it’s a tomato cage, count me in. I love you too.” She leaned across the table to capture Bailey’s lips as best as she could. She’d missed the perfect feel of them. The smell of Bailey. Her entire body gravitated toward her, but the edge of the table pressed into her stomach and kept her from kissing Bailey the way she needed to.
Bailey must have felt the same way. She slid into the booth next to Skye until their knees touched. “That’s better,” she said softly.
Skye nodded and ran her thumb along Bailey’s cheek; her skin was so soft. “I’ve missed you so much. I was so afraid I would never get to touch you like this again. Talk to you like this again.”
“Me too.” Bailey held Skye’s hand to her cheek and turned her head to tenderly kiss Skye’s palm and then each of her fingertips. Bailey’s warm, wet breath sent a shiver through Skye, and she leaned closer, squeezing Bailey’s thigh with her other hand to keep her balance when she started to swoon.
“What you do to me, Bailey, I swear.” Skye slid as close as she could and found Bailey’s warm mouth. It started as a gentle brushing of lips, but the feel of Bailey nipping her bottom lip sent an electric current through her body, and she opened her mouth. The lavender and vanilla scent that Skye always associated with Bailey surrounded her and pulled her in, welcoming her home like an old friend. Skye’s head was light as Bailey’s tongue quickly found hers. She moaned softly and tried to pull Bailey closer.
Bailey leaned away and murmured, “Perhaps we should take this somewhere else? Somewhere a little more private?”
Skye didn’t want to stop kissing, but she feared wolf whistles might break out around them if they didn’t, so she acquiesced. “You read my mind.” But as Bailey went to stand, Skye held her in place.
“Aren’t you ready to go?”
“Almost, but I can’t live another moment without telling you how much I love you, and I don’t care who knows it. I might take out an ad in the Chicago Business Magazine just to make sure everyone does.”
“You’re something else, Ms. Kohl. I love you more than I love to breathe.” Bailey stood and took her hand. She helped Skye up, and as they walked together to the exit, Skye couldn’t help but feel like they were walking hand in hand toward the rest of their lives together.