Molly sighed as they continued. Her date had been hijacked.

But what made her even angrier was the fact that her eyes kept tracing the open top button of Jordan’s blue Henley and the olive skin that peeked out from beneath. Damn it, why did she have to look good in everything she wore?

As the conversation droned on, and on, and on, her frustration only grew. Instead of listening to Jordan describe how much she loved indie rock, all this new version of Molly could think about was the shiny lip gloss Jordan wore and how her mouth was almost heart shaped and full. Fuck . And now she somehow had a new penchant for swearing. Fabulous.

It was time to get herself out of this, and she saw the perfect opening.

Molly inclined her head and smiled sweetly. “Jordan, I don’t want to interrupt, but I think your date is trying to catch your eye.” It was true. Summer was falling all over herself to look alluring enough to attract Jordan back over to the bar. It was annoying and helpful at the same time.

“I guess that’s my cue.” Jordan offered them one last devastating smile and headed back to Summer.

*

The evening had definitely taken a negative turn. Jordan stared into her empty glass and contemplated the wisdom of a second beer. A no-brainer, given the circumstances. “Hit me, Bobby.”

For the better part of an hour, she’d watched Molly and her date du jour, Annaleigh, chatting cozily in the corner of the bar. It was whatever. She’d told herself from the get-go that she wanted Molly to find happiness, so why was it so ridiculously hard to watch it all go down? Summer’s warm breath tickled her ear. She was chewing gum, which was typical for Summer, but for some reason Jordan found it less than endearing in this moment.

“We should dance,” she purred.

Jordan looked around. The bar did have a small dance floor, but no one used it. “It’s not really that kind of bar.”

Summer tilted her head. “Since when do you play by the rules? This can be any kind of bar we want it to be.”

To hell with it. She had a valid point.

Jordan took a long swallow of her beer and allowed Summer to pull her onto the dance floor in the back of the room. The song that played was bluesy, something from way back. They moved together slowly, earning an interested glance from a patron or two, but it felt oddly welcome, dancing close to someone.

Jordan leaned in next to Summer’s ear. “So did you hear about the kidnapping in the park?”

Summer pulled back, wide-eyed. “No, what happened?”

“It’s fine now. They woke him up.”

A beat of silence hung in the air, before Summer’s face relaxed into a grin. She laughed loudly and slapped Jordan playfully across the shoulder. “You had me goin’ there for a second.”

They laughed together as the song wound down.

The dance hadn’t lasted long, but it had been a welcome distraction. Summer was uncomplicated, friendly, and not exactly hard to look at, especially when she went to such lengths to put it all out on display like she had that night. And there was definitely a lot to display. What was even better? There were no highly sensitive, guilt-ridden feelings involved. And she needed a serious break from those.

As they made their way back to their spot at the bar, Jordan lifted her eyes to the arctic freeze of Molly’s stare. As she met her gaze questioningly, Molly looked away. Okay. What the hell was that about? Molly was allowed to go on any number of dates, but she wasn’t allowed to enjoy herself with a friend without blatant judgment?

Unbelievable.

Summer turned to her. “Wanna get outta here?”

“Definitely. What do you have in mind?”

“We could go for a drive, but given the drinks we’ve had, maybe it’s better if we just walk to my place. Talk about old times or something.” The sultry look in her eyes made it clear the “or something” was the operative part of that sentence. And you know what? Summer was exactly what Jordan needed tonight. Summer was easygoing, fun, and more importantly, wouldn’t view kissing her as a colossal mistake.

“Let me settle up.”

“Bobby, make that two of us.” Molly leaned over the side of the bar adjacent to theirs.

“Date over already?” Jordan asked.

“Something like that.” But Molly was refusing to look at her and that made her all the more heated.

“Something on your mind, Mol?”

She shook her head once, staring at the wall as she waited for her check. Still no eye contact. “Nope. You?”

“No, I’m great. Better than.”

“Clearly.”

“How’s the little bakery?” Summer asked.

That did it.

Molly turned fully and regarded Summer as if she were a teacher dealing with a not so bright student. The patrons who sat between them watched the exchange like a tennis match.

“The little bakery is fine. You should come in sometime.”

“Yeah, I’m more of a Starbucks kind of girl, but thanks.”

Ouch. Even Jordan cringed.

“Somehow I could have guessed that. Tell you what, Bobby. Keep the change. I have an immediate urge for a shift in scenery.” She dropped two tens on the bar and headed for the door where Annaleigh was waiting. Jordan watched her go. To say she looked devastatingly beautiful when angry was an understatement.

*

In a stroke of great timing, Annaleigh’s cab arrived just as they exited the bar. Shaking off the exchange inside, Molly offered her a smile. “So I had fun tonight.”

“Me too.” Then she seemed to hesitate. “And while I’d love to see you again sometime, Molly, it seems like you might already have a lot on your plate.”

Molly stared back at her curiously, until realization flared. “Oh. If this is about Jordan, it’s nothing. Trust me.”

Annaleigh placed a gentle hand on Molly’s forearm. “I don’t want to overstep my bounds here, but it didn’t seem like nothing. Your eyes were trained on her all night like some sort of gravitational pull.”

Molly’s gaze dropped to the concrete. She felt defeated, exposed. “No. It’s not like that. My partner died four years ago. Jordan is her younger sister. It’s…complicated.”

Annaleigh straightened, her eyes wide. “Yeah, I’d say. Tell you what.” She took a small notebook from her bag and scribbled something on a piece of paper. “Here’s my number. Someday, if you figure it all out, call me. In the meantime, maybe have a conversation with her. Or level with yourself.”

Molly stared numbly at the small blue square of paper. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.” With that, the most promising date she’d had in years slid into the waiting cab and sped back out of her life.

And she was reeling.

The door to The Owl Tree opened and the boisterous sounds from the bar spilled onto the sidewalk along with Jordan and Summer. Molly didn’t even try to hide an eye roll this time. She about-faced and headed down the sidewalk in an attempt to get home and put the whole failure of an evening behind her. And getting the hell away from Jordan was step one.

“Molly, wait up.”

Damn it all. No. She kept walking. Pretend you didn’t hear her .

“Are you purposefully ignoring me?”

She paused and turned abruptly to face Jordan who was only a few paces back. “Apparently not with a lot of success. What is it that you need exactly?”

“Insight, I guess. You want to tell me what happened back there?”

Molly lifted her arm and let it drop. Her anger only growing the longer she looked into those vibrant blue eyes. “I crashed and burned with Annaleigh; that’s what happened. Nice job.”

Jordan narrowed her eyes. “This is somehow my fault?”

She felt her blood pressure shoot up at notch. “Oh yeah, I’d say you had a hand in it. Joining us at our table, gathering as much attention for yourself as you possibly could. It’s what you do. Oh, and then there was the little show on the dance floor. That was a nice touch. Totally sophisticated. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

Jordan’s eyes flashed hot. “Believe it or not, Molly, not everything is about you. It’s not a crime to have a little fun. I was just trying to enjoy the night for whatever it was or wasn’t.”

Molly had to laugh at that one. “Exactly my point. You’re such a player, Jordan. You always have been. Why not just admit it? Speaking of which, isn’t Summer waiting for you?” She craned her neck and peered around Jordan, but the sidewalk was empty.

“I told her I would catch up. Wow. You really don’t like her.”

“Please. She’s been out for me for as long as I can remember. The first day I drove the car my dad got me for graduation, she let the air out of my tires at the movie theater. I had to roller skate home. Good thing I had them in my trunk.”

“Roller skates?” Jordan asked quietly.

“Yeah, roller skates,” Molly shot back.

“That’s…horrible.” But there was the tiniest hint of a smile on Jordan’s face.

“Don’t laugh. It was horrible. I even got a blister.” But damn it, she was smiling now too because it sounded so ridiculous played back now. They stared at each other a moment, the tension somehow cut in half.

Jordan then shifted her focus to a nearby tree as if figuring out what she wanted to say next. Finally, she slid Molly a hesitant look. “Can we maybe admit that there’s something clouding the issue here, something between us?”

Molly was quick to answer because it was easy. “No, we can’t. I’ll see you around, Jordan.” She turned to go. And just when she thought she was home free, she wasn’t.

“Molly?”

She blew out a breath. “Yeah?”

“What if there was no Cassie? Would it be different?”

It was a loaded question and the answer had the power to change everything. There was distance between them on the sidewalk, but she met Jordan’s eyes squarely. She looked so effortlessly beautiful that Molly almost forgot the facts. She could drown in Jordan if she let herself. But the trick was not to let herself. Instead, she answered the question as honestly as she could, because she owed Jordan that. “But there is. There was. And I wouldn’t change that.”