Jordan considered the question for a moment. Did she even have a type? As an adult, most of her dates had been with professional women. Like Debra. But was that really her type? When she’d been in college and first exploring her sexuality, she tended to gravitate toward the sporty, athletic type. But maybe that was just a byproduct of who her friends were and the fact that she played intramural sports.
“Maybe it’s not so much looks that define my type,” she finally said. “I think I prefer someone who is…real.”
“Real?”
“Yeah. Real. Honest. True. No agendas, no pretenses.” She looked at Annie. “Genuine. And people like Jessica fit none of those.”
Annie met her gaze, holding it. “And when you were dating before—Debra—did any of those descriptions fit her?”
Jordan smiled slightly. “Not really, no.”
Annie nodded. “Makes sense then that you ended things with her.”
Jordan arched an eyebrow. “Maybe she ended things with me.”
“She would be crazy.”
Jordan raised both eyebrows and Annie blushed slightly.
“I mean…you’re attractive, you’re nice. And you already said the sex was great.”
“Well, thank you for thinking I’m nice,” she said. Then she smiled. “And attractive.”
Annie laughed. “Oh, stop pretending you don’t know how cute you are.”
Jordan was usually indifferent to her looks, but for some reason, it pleased her that Annie thought she was attractive. She thought Annie was as well. Her blond hair was just dark enough to be natural and her blue-green eyes were warm and inviting. When she realized those very eyes were looking back at her, she blinked her thoughts away.
“How about dinner?”
* * *
Annie rubbed her belly and nearly groaned. She shouldn’t have had that last piece of fish. Or the last two shrimp. And she probably shouldn’t have requested seconds on the gumbo.
“I’m going to be as big as a house,” she said. “You’ve got to stop bringing home food from your parents’ restaurant.”
“I know. But it’s so easy.”
“Tomorrow night I’ll cook. Something healthy,” she said as she helped Jordan clear the table. It occurred to her how presumptuous she was being to assume they would have dinner together. But then again, not really. They shared dinner together most evenings. In fact, it was rare if they didn’t.
“How about something vegetarian?” Jordan suggested.
“God, not that healthy,” she said with a smile.
“How much weight have you gained?”
Annie stared at her. “Why? Can you tell I’m getting fat?”
“You’re not getting fat. It was an innocent question,” Jordan said.
Annie lifted up her shirt, exposing her belly. “Look. I can’t button my shorts any longer.”
Jordan surprised her by reaching out and touching her stomach and patting it lightly before taking her hand away. The touch was so unexpected she forgot to breathe.
“Yeah, that baby bump is starting to show.”
Annie grabbed her arm tightly. “Do you really think so? Is it time to tell people?”
“You’ll be three months along pretty soon, right?”
“Another two weeks, yes.”
So far, she’d only told Suzanne and Macy. And her parents, of course. The only others who knew were Jordan and her parents. She had hoped to keep it a secret for as long as she could. But then, why? Was she embarrassed by it? Well, to some extent, yes. She never once thought that she’d be an unwed mother. The truth was, once she got divorced, she had given little thought to ever having kids. Yet here she was, nearly three months pregnant.
“I’m scared,” she said. She felt tears in her eyes and wiped them away. “Damn my hormones,” she murmured.
Jordan pulled her into a hug, and Annie slipped her arms around Jordan’s waist as she pressed against her.
“I know you’re scared,” Jordan said. “But you don’t have to be.”
“My mother barely speaks to me,” she said. “She hasn’t invited me over once since I left.”
“So go see her. Or better yet, let’s invite them over here for dinner.”
Annie pulled back a little and met her gaze. “Why would you want to do that?”
Jordan smiled. “They can’t be that bad. They need to see you, Annie. To see how beautiful you look. To know that you’re okay. To know that it’s…real.”
Annie stared into Jordan’s dark eyes. “You think I’m beautiful?”
Jordan pulled her close again. “Yes, I think you’re absolutely beautiful.”
Annie closed her eyes, feeling safe and protected. “You don’t think I’m fat?”
Jordan laughed. “Are you going to ask me that every day?”
Annie finally realized how intimate their embrace was, and she untangled herself from Jordan. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Annie let out her breath. “I’m tired. I think I’m going to shower and go to bed early.”
“Okay. I’m going to watch a little TV, I guess. Will that disturb you?”
“No, that’s fine.”
She turned to go, then stopped. She leaned closer to Jordan, kissing her lightly on her cheek. “Thank you for everything, Jordan. I mean that sincerely.”
Jordan simply nodded but didn’t say anything. The look on her face said that she was surprised by Annie’s impromptu kiss.
Annie was surprised as well.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jordan stood at the back door, looking out over the mostly empty store. Annie and Molly were in the center checkout area, chatting. There were only two customers. Even though Annie had told her it would be slow, she still assumed that with this many people in town for the festival, they would be busy.
Yesterday evening, she and Annie had helped Brandon and Steven set up the booth. Brandon had been in charge of the inventory, and he’d come by the store first thing this morning to pick up the T-shirts he’d chosen. Ever since she’d given him the responsibility of closing, Brandon had become much more enthused about his job. Even though he’d always been cordial and friendly, he had much more of an “I care” attitude about him now. If she and Annie were both gone from the store, she had no qualms about putting him in charge.
The bell chimed on the front door, and she absently watched the two customers leave. It was only eleven and the morning had already been endless.
“You bored?”
She smiled and nodded, then joined Annie and Molly. “Seriously, why are we even open today?”
Annie shrugged. “Most all the shops stay open.”
“Do they also have booths at the festival?”
“Some do.”
Jordan looked out the windows to the empty street. Well, empty of foot traffic. Plenty of cars were driving past. Unfortunately they weren’t stopping. They were heading down to the city park where the festival was going on.
“I say at noon we put a sign on the door telling people if they want a T-shirt to find our booth at the festival.”
“I don’t mind staying here,” Molly said. “I wasn’t planning on going to the festival anyway.”
Jordan glanced briefly at Annie, remembering their discussion about Molly from the other night.
“Why don’t you go?” she asked. “I thought it was a big deal.”
Molly fidgeted with the keychain display, rearranging the rings by color. “Just hordes of people there,” she said. “Same thing every year. Same booths, same food, same music.”
“When I was in high school, we’d have a group of friends that would go,” Annie said. “It was fun.”
Molly shrugged.
“You know, if you don’t have anyone to go with, you can hang with me and Annie,” Jordan offered. Then she glanced at Annie. “Unless you’re going with someone else.”
Annie smiled. “I would love to go with you.” She turned to Molly. “How about it?”
Molly looked at them skeptically. “What will we do?”