Page 49 of The Wisdom of Bug

“You should make the effort, Alyssa.”

“You’re right.”

There it was again, that undeniable tension between them. The eye contact had to stop because it was driving Evelyn bonkers.

“Drink?”

“Please.” Evelyn dropped her purse by the door and took a seat on the couch. Alyssa handed her a bottle of beer and sat beside her. Everything in Evelyn was screaming to reach out and kiss Alyssa. What she wouldn’t give to run her hands through Alyssa’s gorgeous hair.

The atmosphere was heady. If Evelyn didn’t look away soon, she was going to do something stupid. Luckily, there was a knock at the door, which made both women jump a little. Evelyn closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths as Alyssa moved to greet her guest.

Probably her girlfriend, you moron.

“Hannah, what brings you here?”

Evelyn looked over at the door. A very attractive woman stood with her hands in her pockets, looking at Alyssa like she hung the moon.

“I wanted to see if…look, Al, I want you to reconsider.”

“Reconsider?”

“Yes, us, Al…reconsider us. I miss you. I miss your bed.”

Well, that was interesting information. Evelyn didn’t know where to look. She was sure Alyssa wouldn’t want her privy to this conversation. Not when it implicated her cheating on Lil.

“Hannah, I told you how I feel.”

There was an awkward silence. Evelyn wanted to crawl under the coffee table.

“Oh, I see,” this Hannah woman sneered, peering over Alyssa’s shoulder and shooting daggers Evelyn’s way. “You’ve moved on to the next one.”

“Hannah, this is Evelyn. I work with her company. I was just giving her a tour of Four Paws,” Alyssa replied calmly.

“Yeah, right. You’re unbelievable, Alyssa.”

“No, Hannah. Stop. I was honest with you from the start. What I do in my personal life has nothing to do with you. I don’t have to explain myself. Please leave.”

“Maybe I should…” Evelyn began. She would be more than happy to extricate herself.

“No, Evelyn, sit down.”

Sitting back on the sofa, Evelyn gave both women a tight smile. This was friggin’ awkward as hell.

“Alyssa,” Hannah began.

“No, I need some time to cool off. I’ll call you Hannah. Good night.” And that was that. Alyssa shut the door and came back to the settee.

“That was…” Evelyn began with no idea how to finish the sentence.

“Embarrassing. Awkward?” Alyssa grinned.

“Yep, all that.”

“Sorry. I thought Hannah and I were on the same page. Obviously not.”

Evelyn peeled the label off her beer bottle. It wasn’t any of her business, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Does Lil know about her?”

“Yeah, of course? Why?”