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Tess was organising the snack counter, the familiar smell of popcorn filling the air as she prepped for the evening crowd. She couldn’t shake the smile off her face. But that was what weeks of great sex did to you.

What had started out so hard had changed into something so easy that Tess could scarcely believe it. The easy chemistry between her and Zara felt like magic.

Sure, Tess still had no idea what it all meant and where it was going, but that wasn’t the worst thing. If they didn’t have the talk, no one could be disappointed. Including Tess.

Just as she finished filling a container with salty popcorn, Zara appeared in the lobby, her expression unreadable. Tess felt a familiar pleasure at the sight of her.

And then she clocked Zara’s body language as she reached the concession stand. Tight.

‘Hey,’ Tess greeted, trying to keep her tone light.

‘Hi,’ Zara said, her tone filled with impending doom. Tess's first thought was, I’m about to get dumped.

‘I just got out of a meeting at Heritage Trust,’ Zara finally said.

Tess swapped one worry for another. ‘Oh?’

‘Yes, and…’ Zara paused, looking for the right words.

‘And they said they think everything is going perfectly and not to worry about paying the loan back because I’m just that cool?’ Tess said as breezily as she could.

Zara took a deep breath, stepping closer to the counter. ‘They’re not convinced the numbers are quite good enough yet. They want to talk to you about it.’

A wave of disappointment washed over Tess. ‘What? I thought things were going well,’ she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. ‘We’ve been working so hard to get people in here. I thought it was paying off.’

Zara nodded, her eyes softening with empathy. ‘I thought so, too. They want to meet this week to discuss their concerns.’

Tess rubbed her temples, trying to process the news. ‘This is such a headfuck. We’ve had a great turnout lately!’

‘They’re just worried that it’s not sustainable,’ Zara said gently. ‘But we can convince them.’

Tess shook her head, feeling a mixture of anger and despair. ‘I didn’t need this.’

Zara reached across the counter, her hand brushing against Tess’s in a comforting gesture. ‘I know. It’s tough. But I’m on your side.’

Tess looked at Zara, searching her eyes for reassurance. But panic was in her system, and it took control of her mouth. ‘You think that’s gonna matter if they decide I’m an idiot who’s running the place into the ground?’ Tess asked.

‘That’s not what they said.’

‘It’s what they think,’ Tess shrugged.

‘You don’t know that,’ Zara said gently.

Tess pulled her hand back. ‘They think I’m failing. That much is obvious.’

Zara stepped back, and Tess could sense a distance between them that she didn’t like. The easy rapport they had enjoyed seemed to falter under the weight of this crap news. ‘You’re not failing,’ Zara insisted, her tone firm. ‘You’ve done an incredible job of turning this place around.’

‘Have I?’ Tess challenged, crossing her arms defensively. ‘I mean, if I had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’

Zara sighed, her expression softening. ‘Tess, it’s just a meeting. They want to be convinced. That’s all.’

‘It doesn’t feel like a meeting to me. It feels like I’ve been climbing up a mountain, holding on by my sodding fingertips to reach the middle, and your bosses are telling me I never left basecamp.’

Zara’s eyes locked onto Tess’s. ‘You just need to remember how far you’ve come. Look at this place—it’s thriving because of your hard work.’

Tess’s heart raced as she felt the warmth radiating from Zara, but the tension between them lingered. ‘And what if they don’t see that and they want to take the place? What do I do then?’

Zara opened her mouth to speak, but the words seemed stuck.

‘Jesus. Very reassuring,’ Tess snapped.

‘Tess, you know I’m in this with you, don’t you?’ Zara said finally.

Tess wasn’t sure what they were talking about now. She tried to keep the conversation on track. ‘The difference is, I lose this place, and I’ve got nothing. And you just move on.’

‘That’s not fair. I care about this place. You must know that by now,’ Zara said, a little anger slipping into her tone.

Tess opened her mouth to argue but found that she didn’t want to. She just nodded. ‘Yeah. Sorry.’

‘We’re a team,’ Zara assured her, a hint of a smile returning to her face. Then her face dropped. ‘Though, obviously, no one can know we’re dating.’

Despite how shitty the last few minutes had been, Tess had to laugh. ‘So I shouldn’t go down on you in the meeting?’ she asked.

‘Shush!’ Zara said, laughing, as a couple of moviegoers passed them by.

Tess gave her a serious look. ‘Yes, I know that. I don’t want… this to cause you any problems.’

Zara nodded. ‘There’s us and this place. And then there’s… Us.’

Tess nodded, reassured. She didn’t want anything to throw them. It was good with Zara. More than good. So good, in fact, that Tess was wondering how long it would take before she blurted out something that was going to make it more serious.

But that day was not today.