Page 42 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?

“I love it when your hair’s down.” Ella’s gaze then dipped briefly to Max’s lips.

“Focus.”

“Sorry. Recurring issue, remember?” She gave a tiny headshake, as if rebooting herself. “Right. So ... in that case, we’d be … an item?” She seemed to be turning the information over in her mind, employing a total poker face. That was new.

Max leaned her head against the back of the couch, her thumb brushing over Ella’s knuckles.

“That’s kind of what I was angling for.” Her heart thudded, wondering what Ella’s response might be, nervous she’d say no.

Nervous she’d say yes, because this was scary territory for the romantically cautious.

Ella searched her eyes for a long moment, then said simply, “I think we do it.” Ella nodded, agreeing with her own declaration.

Max felt the spark of anxiety beneath her happiness, but it was steadying as well. Because this was Ella. And there was no one else she could imagine taking this leap with. “Now we’re always going to remember this hard couch as the moment we decided to go for it.”

A pause. “You mean our hard launch?” Ella asked, clearly over the moon with herself for that one.

Max laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want to come home with me tonight?” It was playful, yet sincere.

“I do want to come home with you. But slow, remember? We screwed things up royally by racing ahead last time.”

“Right, right. Vaguely remember that.”

“At least … for a little while.”

“I’ll follow your lead.”

She sat up straight and rolled her shoulders. “My lead says I should probably get some sleep. With so much pop-up planning this week, I’ve fallen wildly behind. I have three big deadlines looming.”

“Wow. So, business is still good?” Max handed her credit card to their server, who snatched it with a smile and a wink as she glided by.

“It’s booming and I’m getting several new inquiries every day.” She stared after the server. “She just winked at you. Why is the world obsessed with you?” She held up a hand with a laugh. “Never mind. I know exactly why.” Then her brows pulled down.

“Where did your mind just go?”

“You’re out of my league.”

“The most ridiculous sentence you’ve ever uttered.”

“People don’t wink at me in martini bars. They forget to fire me.”

“I have a feeling they do wink at you. Maybe you just miss it.”

“Aww. Really nice save, but it’s not true.” Ella squeezed her hand. “I’ll take comfort in the fact that perhaps someone will someday.”

Max winked right on cue, and Ella laughed.

“Nailed it.”

“You’re totally in the club now.”

They waited for Ella’s car in front of the bar, hiding out beneath the awning when it started to pour.

“Well, at least we have a memorable ending to our night,” Max said, holding her hand out to feel the rain.

A clap of thunder shook the sidewalk, and, instinctively, Max pulled Ella close as the two of them laughed.

That is, until they realized they were now pressed up against each other.

“I’m not sure I mind at all,” Ella said, voice low.

Her car pulled up, headlights cutting through the rain. It was time to say goodbye.

“Let me know you’re home safe,” Max said, reluctant to let go.

“You do the same,” Ella replied, eyes lifting to meet hers. Then she rose onto her toes and tugged Max down by the collar of her coat, their mouths meeting in a kiss that tasted like passion fruit and possibility.

The rain continued to fall, but Max barely noticed. Ella’s lips lingered just a beat longer, like she wasn’t quite ready to let go either.

“Goodnight, Max,” she whispered. “Tonight was good. Really good.” Ella’s eyes sparkled.

“I find that it just keeps getting better.” They went in for one more searing kiss before Ella broke away and made a mad dash for the car, screaming the whole way in the rain as Max laughed.

Ella raised a hand to her through the window as the car pulled away, taking with it the woman who occupied most of her thoughts these days—smart, beautiful, and kind.

Max stood there under the awning long after the taillights disappeared.

The night had taken a U-turn she hadn’t at all expected, but, honestly, it felt like things were supposed to have happened this way.

Her heart thudded like it had just agreed to something it didn’t fully expect, but wanted so badly anyway.

She stood against the wall beneath that awning, waiting for the rain to subside while grinning like a fool in love. Wait. No. Scratch that. She wasn’t in love. Not exactly. The rain had slowed to a sprinkle, and Max decided to brave the elements and head back to the museum.

Still, as she stepped into the soft drizzle, she couldn’t deny one thing: she was definitely falling.

“You’re dressed nice again,” Ella said, taking in Rachel’s maroon blouse with the tie around her neck.

“What do you think of this look? I’m going for ‘I dress better than all of you, but I’m still very much a team player.’”

Ella frowned. “That’s a complicated ask. I suppose I could get there.”

“Good. Leighton Morrow is in town.”

“I have no idea who that is. Should I?”

“If you ever want to work in corporate retail, it might be a good idea.”

“Thank God I don’t.” Ella gave her head a shake. “That was close. Are you going to see Leighton-with-the-last-name about a job?”

“No. But I’m going to a networking event she’s speaking at in hopes of connecting with someone who wants me as their next Someday Vice President.

” She shrugged as if it was totally going to happen.

“She works for Carrington’s corporate in their community relations department.

A New York nepo baby, but she knows her stuff and she’s bisexual.

Plus, everyone important will be there eating small sandwiches and sticks of celery and pretending we love one another. ”

“That sounds awful,” Ella said, frowning.

Rachel nodded around her PowerBar. “Oh, by design. If we aren’t miserable, do we even work in fashion?” She placed her hands on the counter. “So …”

“Hmm?” Ella asked around her yogurt. She was trying to branch out from Hoopties, expand her horizons. She was already dubious, however. Hoopties were the superior breakfast food.

“I’m guessing you saw Max last night after the event?”

“I did.” A pause. Ella wasn’t sure how to maneuver this conversation.

New territory and all. She decided to fall on her sword and admit her uncertainty.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know the rules just yet.

” She turned to Rachel, palms to the ceiling in question.

“Do I tell you about this stuff or bury it?”

“New to me, too,” she said and tossed in some uncomfortable laughter. Finally, she gave her hair a toss and refocused. “Let’s try telling me. We can always pivot.”

“Fair. So, we grabbed a drink at Dirty Little Secret and caught up.”

“And it was good, I take it?” She didn’t sound overly hyped for Ella or demand every little detail the way she would about any other woman, but she sounded generally supportive, which was huge—bonus points for the new, very adult Rachel.

Ella kept her smile in check because it had been better than good.

Sleep was a glorious thing, but she’d had trouble achieving much because she’d been thinking about Max’s smile.

The way she’d looked in that black dress and overcoat.

The kiss that curled her toes and turned her the hell on for hours after they’d said their farewells.

And when she’d woken up that morning and remembered that Rachel had given them her blessing, it felt like the world was welcoming her with open arms, bursting with possibility.

But there was no need to show any of that off at this point.

“Yeah, it was really good to spend time with her again.”

“I feel like this was a good start. Let’s leave it there. Love you. Impressed that you’re eating yogurt,” Rachel said, pointing at Ella with her small handbag.

“I’m about to trash it. Who am I with this in my hand?” She pushed it away.

“While you figure that out, I’m gonna get out of here and go network my ass off. You’d better design like your life depends on it. Don’t you have a deadline this week?”

“Three. No idea how I’m gonna pull them off. Maybe I do need the yogurt.” She picked it back up again.

Rachel blinked. “This is a battle I’m going to leave in your capable hands.” She patted Ella’s shoulder. “You got this. Maybe you can reward yourself with junk cereal right after.”

“Thanks. Knock ‘em dead with the celery.”

Rachel gave her hips a shake as if dancing to an imaginary beat. Ella could never look that good on an imaginary dance break, another reason she appreciated the talents of others.

Once alone, Ella checked in on Doug, who had been on the phone with the insurance company all morning, trying to wade through red tape, but was making progress. They would start work on transforming the shop as soon as they received the sign-off from the agents handling the claim.

With four bites of yogurt still in the carton, Ella decided she could afford a simultaneous doom scroll while she ate, delaying the start of her work session. A cute talking dog. Her friend Cassandra’s birthday party. Oh—her parents had stumbled onto an impromptu parade in Brussels.

Then she froze.

Her heart spiked into overdrive.

There, in vivid color, was a series of wedding photos.

Britney—the very woman she’d fallen for and been broken by—had gotten married.

To Katelyn, the woman she’d been seeing for the past eight months, the one she’d met shortly before ending things with Ella forever.

They looked ridiculously happy, gazing into each other’s eyes as they exchanged vows, laughing as they fed each other cake, wrapped in a slow dance that screamed, We're so incredibly in love .

The photos offered a near-cinematic glimpse into the day Ella had once imagined for herself. And even though she didn’t long for Britney anymore, she still found herself clutching the counter, breath caught, as a life she’d once pictured played out without her.

The day took on a different tone after that little discovery.

Ella wasn’t exactly unhappy as she added color to her sketch of a big-shouldered soccer player with his foot on the ball, as a sassy redhead stood to his right with a flirty gaze.

Instead, she just felt low. The photos were a blatant reminder of a time when she hadn’t felt like enough.

It honestly wasn’t so long ago, either, and residual waves of self-doubt rolled over her incrementally throughout the morning into the afternoon.

As the sun set, she still felt low and angry with herself.

Britney shouldn’t have the power to affect her mood or diminish her self-worth.

And yet she did. That was on Ella. She closed her tablet and rubbed the back of her neck, sore from staring at the screen, just as an incoming call hit her phone.

She checked the readout and saw it was Max, who was likely just getting off work.

She slid onto the call, already feeling lighter. “Who is this?” she demanded.

“Your attorney.”

That did it. She went warm and smiled easily. “It’s dangerous to tell you this, but when you say things like that, I’m pretty much at your mercy.”

Max laughed quietly. “Well, now you’ve done it. I can woo you with formal closing arguments in my kitchen if you want.”

“Um, I want very badly.”

“Done. Are you ready for this week’s book club?”

Ella deflated. She had exactly one day to read the book she hadn’t had time to get to.

“I’m not gonna make it.”

“Let’s have a reading night. Come to my place. Are you free?” A pause. “I should have led with that. My mom says I was a bossy child, just assuming the other kids would do what I said. I’m working on it.”

“For how long now?” Ella asked with a grin. She was walking circles around the kitchen like a fourteen-year-old missing her girlfriend whom she had just seen the day before.

“About thirty years.”

“So any minute now.”

Max laughed. “What’s the verdict?”

“You’re still doing it!”

“I told you. I’m nothing if not an opportunist, especially when it comes to luring you over here.”

“You mean about tonight? Reading books together? I love the idea. What can I bring? How about popcorn? It’s my first love.”

“Competition from popcorn was a subplot I wasn’t expecting, but now I think I’d very much like popcorn. How would you feel about me whipping up a couple of Cuban sandwiches?”

“Perfect, and I’m an excellent assistant. I can slice those puppies in half like a James Beard-nominated chef. But that’s all I can do. Don’t ask me to actually cook or assemble. I live on cereal.”

“Get over here already.”

“Give me twenty minutes.”