“Hey,” Jo called from the kitchen as Aarti passed through the dining room.
Aarti detoured and stepped inside.
Jo dried her hands on a towel. “The staff has almost finished cleaning up the rehearsal dinner. Only the dessert table remains, and they’re moving it to one side for the dancing.”
Aarti knew this because it was her plan in action. “That’s great. Let’s send people home, but keep one or two to clean up at the end of the evening, please.” She glanced around. The bakers had made the pastries and sweets off-site and done final preparations downstairs, but even so, the indoor kitchen looked nearly spotless. The open door to the deck showed staff loading the commercial dishwasher, scrubbing grills, and wiping off surfaces. Jo was all but finished with her responsibilities, at least for today. Tomorrow would call on all her talents to pull off catering breakfast, the intermission, and reception.
“I want to prep a few things tonight. Once they’re finished out there, I’ll ask Geri to stay and help me make the doughs and pre-measure the spices for tomorrow’s dishes. We had some extra time today, so we’ve already broken down the proteins and marinated everything.” Jo leaned against the island. “When I’m finished and you’re no longer needed, would you like to take a walk on the beach?”
Aarti glanced at her phone. “I need to touch base with the DJ, the photographers taking candid shots, and the head of the fireworks crew. And I promised my aunt she could tell me about her prize-winning roses. I’m exhausted and have no interest in dancing, but I need to appear for an hour, for Maya’s sake. After that, I can slip away.”
“Too tired to walk?” A hint of a smile played on Jo’s lips.
Is that what they were calling it now? Aarti’s mouth watered. “No.”
Jo leaned closer but still maintained a respectable distance. “Come to me,” she whispered.
Aarti’s entire body buzzed as she slipped her phone into her pocket. “It’ll be at least ninety minutes.” They both seemed to understand she’d agreed to more than a walk. Something swelled inside her. Nervousness? Anticipation?
Jo tossed the towel on the counter with a grin. “See you then.”
It turned out, Jo didn’t have to wait that long. Aarti Venmoed the photographers their payment and reminded the DJ and the fireworks tech of the noise ordinance. Her aunt Kavita had gushed for twenty minutes about a new variety made by crossing existing rose species, but Aarti couldn’t complain. It’d saved her from dancing with her male cousins or Jackson’s handsy army friend.
She and Jo had agreed to meet at the cottage, but Aarti hadn’t expected to beat her there. Instead of wondering where Jo might be and appearing as though she had nothing better to do than wait around, she showered and changed. Twenty minutes later, as she considered which bottle of wine to open, a light tapping at the sliding glass door made her turn. With a wave, she motioned Jo inside. “Wine?”
Jo closed it behind her. “No, thanks. You’ve changed. Does that mean you’re in for the night?”
“No, I still want to walk with you.” Aarti abandoned the wine and grabbed a hoodie from the back of a chair.
Once on the sand, she directed them away from the house and the music. The sky had turned a purplish-black while she’d showered, casting everything in shades of gray. Jo walked beside her, both of them barefoot, and waves washed over their feet. They’d spoken little since Jo had stripped off her chameleon socks on the deck.
“You’re quiet tonight.”
Jo turned to her, and the lights from the nearest house glinted off her beaming smile. “I’m sorry. I’ve been lost in thought.” She took Aarti’s hands in hers. “I’ve met someone.”
Aarti pulled her hands free and tucked them beneath her arms. “What?”
“Yeah, he’s amazing.” Jo turned over a shell with her toe.
He?
“He’s tall,” Jo held her hand far above her head, “and broad shouldered. And he loves it when I feed him.” She grinned. “Such a hungry boy.”
Aarti let her arms drop. “For fuck’s sake, Jo. Are you talking about the elephant?”
Jo had already taken her by the waist, and she twirled them around. “His name is Jasper. His handler let me feed him watermelon. He ate it right out of my hand.”
Her ebullient laughter made Aarti join in. She put her arms over Jo’s shoulders. After a moment, they no longer spun but swayed side to side. “That wasn’t very nice.” She wove her fingers through the short hair at the nape of Jo’s neck, the indentation from the bandana Jo had been wearing still crisp.
“I thought you’d see through me when I said he.” Jo touched their noses together. “Were you jealous? You dropped my hands like they were on fire. Does this mean you like me, Dr. Singh?”
Did it? Or had she slept with Jo because she’d recently turned forty, had been surrounded by romance all week, and wished she had what Maya had found with Jackson? Clearly, it was more than just sex, or they’d be in bed right now, not taking a moonlit walk on the beach. She wouldn’t dare define it as something more profound than all those things, certainly not this early.
“Fine. I like you.” Aarti pressed her fingers to Jo’s chest. “But this is as good a time as any to inform you that I don’t share.”
Jo covered her hand. “I don’t either. Like I said, I’ve gotten serious about my life the last year. I’ve matured. I’m not hanging out in bars on my nights off looking for a woman to take home.” She moved their joined hands over her heart. “I accepted more professional responsibilities instead of hiding behind Taylor like I had been. Hell, I even gave up cigarettes.”
“I’m glad, because cardiologists aren’t fans of smoking.” In this position, with Aarti’s hand clasped in Jo’s, her fingers tangled in Jo’s hair, swaying side to side to the faint beat from the party, it almost felt like dancing. Except it felt nothing like times men had grasped her, forcing her this way and that while she fought to keep some distance between them. “Are we dancing?”
Jo glanced at their bare feet as an incoming wave soaked them to their ankles. “I suppose we are.” She pressed her hand against Aarti’s lower back until their bodies met. “Is that all right?”
“It’s nice.” Understatement of the year.
A piercing shriek shattered the night, then burst into sparkling diamonds above. More fireworks exploded, and a few houses away, the guests in attendance exclaimed in delight. Then Jo kissed her, and while Aarti could still hear the fireworks, she no longer saw them, no longer needed to. Everything of brilliance was in her arms.
Jo broke the kiss and dipped her, almost dangling her hair in the water. Aarti squealed and laughed as Jo helped right her. Then Jo became serious, touching her face and lips, softly, reverently. Another languid kiss made them sway like the ebb and flow of the waves at their feet.
When the finale ended and muted cheers erupted, Jo entwined their fingers, her stronger ones alternating with Aarti’s. Her lips tickled Aarti’s ear as she whispered, “How’s that for romance, my hopeless romantic?”
My? Is that how Jo saw her? After only a few days? A lump formed in her throat and a fiery ache burned lower.
Jo’s question hung in the air. A walk with her lover on the beach, a slow dance in the waves while the sky exploded above, and kisses that made her convinced she didn’t need oxygen to survive. What would Jo think if Aarti told her it was the most perfect, most romantic night she’d ever experienced? Too afraid to speak those words, she kissed Jo’s cheek instead. “Wonderful. Thank you.” She led them toward the cottage.