Page 45

Azalea had no idea where she’d gone wrong. She couldn’t do anything right lately, it seemed. She curled her fingers round the edge of the piano bench and gripped it tightly, holding on for dear life. Everything about the last twenty-four hours had gone wrong. Closing her eyes, she pressed her head to Jewel’s shoulder and drew in a deep, steadying breath.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Jewel spat, but she didn’t move, so Azalea took that as a good sign.

“I should have told you sooner.”

“You should have told me, period.” Jewel’s tone was sharp.

“You’re right.” Azalea sat up straight and reached for Jewel’s hand. “I shouldn’t have kept that from you.”

They fell into silence, but the tension that had been around them for the last day had significantly lessened. Azalea felt it so strongly in her chest that she knew she’d made the right decision to finally have this talk and get some answers.

“Have you ever thought of me as more than a friend?” Jewel asked timidly.

Azalea paused. She wasn’t sure how to answer that. She had at one point, five years ago, had a small crush on Jewel, but she’d never seen it going anywhere. She’d convinced herself over the intervening years there was nothing between them but friendship, that there never could be anything more. She had so forcefully and truly believed it for five years that giving the pretense up was terrifying.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Jewel jerked her chin up. “What?”

“It was years ago, J. I realized it would never happen, so I moved on.”

“Moved on? Just like that?”

Azalea shrugged. It hadn’t been as easy as she made it sound, but at that point, she hadn’t known Jewel could potentially feel the same way. She didn’t answer Jewel directly. The subject was uncomfortable and not one she wanted to delve into much more. She didn’t want to be Jewel’s first because of curiosity. Jewel deserved someone who could make her happy, and Azalea was definitely not that person.

“Let’s have fun tonight,” Azalea stated, hoping to change the subject.

“Fun?”

“Yeah. Let’s make some cookie bake and popcorn, drink some wine, and just have time, you and me.”

Jewel gave her a skeptical look.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“All right.”

“Good.” Azalea turned to the keyboard in front of her. “You should teach me how to play this sometime. Whatever you were playing was beautiful.”

“Chopin.”

Azalea shook her head with wide eyes. “I have no idea, but it was gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” Jewel’s cheeks were still stained pink, and it brought a lovely rush of pleasure to Azalea. To think someone like Jewel might even think about her like that was an honor and an accolade. It took some time, but soon enough their conversation was flowing, and Jewel had given her a very basic lesson on the piano.

* * *

Azalea had been extremely careful the rest of the day to give her time and attention to Jewel, to make her feel like the break in their relationship wasn’t there, because it wasn’t. Azalea wanted to remain friends for as long as they could, she wanted the relationship to grow and build and continue.

It was after ten in the evening when Azalea popped the cookie dough into the oven. Normally the two of them would be well asleep by then since their schedules dictated they wake up early, but both Jewel and Azalea had wanted more of that quiet one-on-one time after the Robinsons had returned. They were a noisy bunch, and Azalea was craving the quiet. She slid the popcorn bag into the microwave and hit the timer for it to cook.

All day, she couldn’t stop thinking about Jewel’s question. Yes, she’d had a crush at one point, but all those feelings were gone. Except throughout the afternoon, they kept popping up in the most random ways. The smile Jewel gave her, the over-the-top roll of her eyes when Mr. Robinson would make some sort of comment under his breath about his wife or kids, the excitement and energy Jewel always seemed to have circling around her.

Azalea’s stomach clenched as she stepped toward the roaring fire. Jewel turned, the smile on her lips gorgeous, serene, and unmasked in any way. She had longed to see her smile like that again, to see Jewel so relaxed, and it seemed an afternoon of time and effort well spent had allowed that. Azalea faltered as she slid onto the couch next to Jewel.

“Cookie bake is going to take a bit.”