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And as the days stretched on, and Jess didn’t reach out to her either, the feeling worsened.

She wanted to talk to her. To talk aboutit.She had to. She couldn’t just let it be what it was and never discuss it. With anyone else, she could’ve chalked it up to a onetime lapse incontrol. A moment of desire that got out of hand. But with Jess, it was different. It was more.

She scanned the area, searching for Scarlett in the crowd.

Within moments, she spotted the back of her dark wavy hair bobbing with her familiar infectious laughter.

She crossed the packed front bar to the back, where Scarlett stood at one of the many cocktail tables.

“Hey,” she said, coming up beside her. “Sorry I’m late.”

Scarlett turned to her with a beaming smile. “Don’t worry, you’re right on time. Everyone else just started getting here, too.”

She waved a hand toward the back of the restaurant. “They’re getting the tables ready for us in one of the back rooms. Should be a few more minutes.”

Sam nodded, smiling as she greeted Terrence and introduced herself to the rest of the people standing with them.

“Hey.”

Sam heard Jess’ soft voice beside her, and she turned, her stomach instantly filling with nerves.

“Hey,” she replied, a smile naturally tugging across her lips.

Jess gave her a tentative smile before sliding one arm around her waist and giving her a light squeeze of a hug.

Sam relaxed slightly. At least that felt normal.

She turned toward her, facing partially away from the rest of the group.

“How’ve you been?” Sam asked, hoping she didn’t sound as timid as she felt.

“Good,” Jess replied nonchalantly. “Busy week at work.”

Sam nodded, contemplating whether or not that was the right time or place to bring up what had happened between them earlier that week.

She could wait, but who knew if they’d get another chance to talk without being at a dinner table surrounded by people?

She shifted a little closer to her, dipping her head slightly.

And Jess gave her a look that said she knew the exact words she was about to say.

“Do you want to talk,” Sam started, her voice lowering, “about the other day?”

Jess’ smile faltered, a flash of panic moving through her eyes before she smoothed it away.

“Not now,” she replied, her voice barely audible above the clatter of glasses and the murmur of conversation around them. She pressed her lips into a thin line, a ghost of the easy grin she’d worn just seconds ago.

Then she smiled at a woman who waved at her from across the room.

Sam’s chest tightened, the pit of her stomach twisting. “Okay,” she managed, forcing a nod. It wasn’t okay, but she wasn’t going to push—not there, not with half of Terrence’s friends within earshot.

Jess turned her head, looking back as a man greeted her. They hugged, immediately launching into conversation, and Sam took the opportunity to say hi to Jasmine, who stood by herself near the edge of one of the tables.

The room thrummed with energy, filled with the sound of clinking glasses, bursts of laughter, and the low murmur of overlapping conversations. A steady stream of people moved through the space, pausing to greet Scarlett and Terrence or mingle near the buffet table. The warm glow from the overhead string lights mixed with the camera flash as people took photos.

Sam leaned casually against the edge of a long table near the back of the room as she talked with a small group of guests she’d just met a few minutes before.

Jess approached from behind her, a drink in one hand, while the other trailed lightly across Sam’s shoulder. “You disappeared on me.”