Twice in a Lifetime Page 21

  Sally held out a hand, but Mrs Locke bypassed it and pulled her into a firm hug. Sally was pretty sure that wasn’t Mrs Locke behavior, either.

  “I’m sorry to hear about Mr Locke — how is he?”

  “He made it through surgery, now we just have to wait.”

  “I’m sure he’ll pull through.”

  “He better, there are a ton of people out here waiting on him,” Harriet replied. She turned and grabbed Sally’s suitcase, the orange ribbon still attached. She gave Sally a golden smile. “You still keep that on? After everything?”

  Sally gave her a grin. “I kinda think of it as my good luck charm now, so it’s going nowhere. It led me back to you, didn’t it?” she said, whispering the final bit in Harriet’s ear as Mrs Locke walked back to her chair.

  “And please,” Harriet’s mom said over her shoulder, “call me Judy. Mrs Locke sounds like an old lady and I hope I’m not quite there yet.”

  “Judy it is,” Sally replied.

  “Sally McCall, you sly dog, sneaking up and stealing my sister’s heart for a second time!” The voice that spoke those words was deep, and Sally knew just who it belonged to: Daniel. In all the commotion of getting her flight and being here for Harriet, she’d forgotten that today would involve Daniel, too.

  Sally took a breath, getting her bearings, pushing aside the old Sally in favor of the new. The Locke family were going to be in her future, so she’d better get used to being around them.

  “It’s good to see you, Dan,” Sally said, as a third member of the Locke clan took her in his arms and gave her a squeeze.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Daniel added. “Not that it’s not a lovely surprise.”

  Sally smiled. “Harriet was supposed to come to New York, but your dad changed our plans.”

  Daniel introduced his girlfriend, Ava, the one Harriet had told Sally about.

  Sally made sure to put on her best smile to greet the woman, who turned out to be a blonde bombshell, her hair streaked with sunshine. Daniel had done well.

  Ava shook her hand enthusiastically. “Sally — you’re the card designer, right?”

  Sally nodded her head with confidence. “That’s me.”

  “I love your designs. I know Harriet has told me you might take a little time to get set up, but I’d love to trial some of your cards in our shops. But we’ll talk about it another time, this isn’t ideal,” she said, dropping Sally’s hand. “Just to let you know.”

  Sally was awestruck: this woman wanted her designs and she was a buyer for a major store. “I’d love to do some samples for you. But yes, let’s talk another time.”

  “Excellent,” Ava replied, smiling.

  “Now you’re here, you sit with Mom and we’ll go and get some coffees,” Harriet said to Daniel and Ava, guiding them over to her mother, who they both greeted with hugs and kisses. “We’ll be back.”

  Harriet moved Sally’s suitcase next to her mom, then took her hand in hers, and Sally could only smile.

  “So he’s out of surgery?” Sally asked, as her feet squeaked on the cream linoleum underfoot, two nurses walking by in blue scrubs, one of them laughing at whatever the other had just said. The hospital smelled of disinfectant and death, just like Sally remembered when she came to visit her granddad before he died.

  Harriet nodded. “He is. Now we just have to wait for him to wake up and see how the surgery has gone.”

  “They won’t know till then?”

  Harriet shook her head. “It’s a waiting game, but they came out smiling, so we have to assume that’s a good thing. They do this every day, right?”

  They turned a corner and walked into a small cafeteria with around 20 white tables and chairs bunched together, as if conferring. Harriet ordered coffee and five doughnuts, which they took to a corner seat and sat down.

  “Thanks for coming, it really does mean a lot,” she said, taking Sally’s hand over the table. “This weekend has been bad enough without not seeing you, too.”

  “I agree,” Sally said. Seeing Harriet’s face was making everything better. “How was Joanna yesterday?”

  Harriet exhaled. “A mess. I think she’s going to need some time off, although she’s insisting she doesn’t. But by the time I left, she was calmer. She actually said that seeing me so happy had made her rethink her relationship anyway. In the end, she was just pissed she hadn’t been the one to end it. So she’s in shock and she’s got hurt pride, which is never a good look.”

  “So her girlfriend just up and left?”

  “Uh-huh. Apparently got a better offer from someone else after four years together. Just goes to show you never know what’s around the corner. If this weekend has taught me anything, it’s that.”

  “I know what you mean,” Sally said, taking the lid off her coffee cup and blowing. It was still too hot to drink. “It’s also taught me that long-distance relationships don’t work, for one thing.”

  Harriet’s face fell, the color draining from it swiftly. “If you’re breaking up with me, this is a really inopportune time.”

  Sally smiled, giving a short laugh. “Yes, I fly all the way out here to break up with you. That’s my style.”

  Harriet still didn’t look convinced. “I hope not.”

  Sally leaned over the table and pressed her lips to Harriet’s. The world stopped for a couple of seconds as their lips reconnected, before Sally eased herself back into her seat, light-headed from the contact.

  That was what you didn’t get over a phone line.

  “I’ve missed you so much.” Sally brought Harriet’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “Which is why this can’t go on. I went out last night with Paula and Taylor, and we talked. About us, about this,” she said, moving her finger back and forth.

  Harriet nodded. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, too.”

  Sally held up a hand. “Let me finish. I went for a run this morning and it all became crystal clear. And this happening has only made it more so.”

  “You’re not making any sense, by the way.”

  “Sorry,” Sally said, laughing. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m moving back home, to be with you.” She brought Harriet’s fingers to her mouth again, kissing them gently.

  “I love you, it’s that simple. I always have and I don’t want to waste any more time fighting it.” The words slipped out with ease, and an all-encompassing fire spread through Sally, one that was always there where Harriet was concerned.

  Harriet bit her lip, her face breaking into a widescreen, dimple-led smile. “You love me?”

  Sally thought her heart might burst with love as she nodded. “I really do — you’re under my skin.” Sally reached over and kissed her again, sighing as she sat down. “You always have been.”

  “And you’re moving?” Harriet’s mouth dropped open now, as if she’d only just realized what Sally had said.

  Sally nodded again.

  “But I was going to move to New York,” Harriet said, shaking her head. “It was one of the possibilities Jo and I talked about last night. She’s rethinking her whole life strategy after Viv and can’t decide whether she wants to take the beach house now and work remotely, or carry on with our plan. But for me, it’s become increasingly clear over the past couple of months that you’re where I want to be. And if that means moving, I’d handle it. You’re more important than anything else.”

  Sally grinned, happiness filling her to the brim. “That’s sweet, but it makes no sense for you to move there — everything you have is here. And most of what I love is here, too, including you. And situations like today make me realize I need to be close by, to be able to be with you in stressful times. It’s what girlfriends do.”

  Harriet nodded. “Girlfriend. I don’t think I’ve heard you say that before.” She paused, searching for something in Sally’s eyes. “And by the way, I love you, too.”

  Sally breathed out a sigh of relief, laughing at the same time. “Thank goodness for that, otherwise I j
ust made a total fool of myself.”

  Harriet gave her a grin. “You’re the most beautiful fool I’ve ever met,” she said, kissing Sally’s hand. “And I can’t believe we’re declaring our love in a hospital cafeteria.”

  Sally looked around at the drab walls, the chipped tables, the scuffed plastic chairs. “It’s got a certain something, hasn’t it?”

  “It’s got you, and that’s the most important thing.”

  Sally kissed Harriet again: now she’d started, she couldn’t stop. “I can’t wait to get home and be naked with you, either,” she said, not able to stop blurting that out now either, because Harriet’s declaration was still coursing through her like a sunbeam.

  “Believe me, I can’t either,” Harriet said, kissing her hand again, before staring into her eyes. “Prepare yourself when we get home.”

  Sally shifted in her seat: Harriet’s words had reached inside her, and she could almost feel Harriet’s fingers doing the same, taking her completely. “I’m prepared,” she replied.

  But then Sally saw a cloud cross Harriet’s face. “One thing, though — if you move, I don’t want you to end up hating me. You have to want to do this, too — you can’t just move here for me.”

  “It’s not just for you. This is for me, too. My mom’s going to be over the moon, as is my dad. As for Paula, she’s thrilled; Taylor, too.”

  Harriet raised an eyebrow. “Taylor is thrilled to see you go?”

  Sally grinned. “Yes, but only because she’s coming, too.”

  “To Chicago?”

  “To give her and Paula a try.”

  Harriet sat back. “Wow.”

  “That’s what I said,” Sally replied. “But it’s not just about them — it’s more about us. And the only thing holding me in New York was work, and I can do that from anywhere.”

  “But you love your collective, you tell me that all the time. They’re your people.”

  “They are, and I’m going to miss them all so much. But I can make another here, I’m sure. And I need to be with you, that’s the most important thing. Not work. Even though I’ll probably be working all the time, just so we’re clear.”

  Harriet smiled at that. “Totally clear.”

  “But even if I’m working late, I can still see you, crawl into bed with you, and wake up with you. That makes a big difference.”

  “A huge one,” Harriet replied, taking Sally’s hand in hers. “And I love the thought of waking up with you, have I said that?”

  “You haven’t.”

  “I have now.” She took a deep breath. “This weekend has been so weird in so many ways — Joanna falling apart, Dad getting sick, Mom acting like a hugging machine — weird. But you telling me you love me and you’re moving to Chicago?”

  “Unbelievably weird?” Sally asked, laughing.

  “The least weird thing in my life,” Harriet said. “Thanks for bringing some happiness to the weirdness.”

  “You’re welcome,” Sally replied. “Now shall we get these coffees back to your family before they go cold?”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Harriet drove back to her apartment ultra-fast as usual, but this time, Sally didn’t complain. They’d gone for dinner with Harriet’s family before heading back to the hospital, Harriet’s dad groggy but awake, his progress steady.

  When he’d fallen back to sleep and the nurses had told them to go home, Daniel and Ava had driven back with Harriet’s mom, with Harriet and Sally agreeing to pick her up in the morning.

  All of which gave them one precious night to themselves, and Sally was determined to make the most of it. She’d been waiting long enough, and she was sure this dessert would be the sweetest she’d ever tasted.

  Minutes later, Harriet screeched into the parking space in her underground car park and jumped out, grabbing Sally’s suitcase before locking her car. Then they were in the elevator, Harriet giving Sally an intense stare, her head leaning against the mirrored wall.

  “That was some day,” Harriet said, as the floors slipped by at speed.

  “You can say that again.” Sally stepped into Harriet’s space and ran a finger down her cheek. “You’re gorgeous, you know that?”

  “I could say the same about you,” Harriet said, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Sally’s lips.

  Sally sunk into it willingly.

  “You were amazing today, with your mom, too,” Sally added when Harriet pulled back, her face still inches from hers. “You were really there for her.”

  “I think things are changing in the Locke family, and only for the better,” Harriet replied, kissing Sally one more time. “Like my life in general.”

  When the elevator arrived at their floor, Harriet grabbed Sally’s hand, pulling her down the wide gray hall. Sally had a flashback to Harriet pulling her up the stairs in her lake house, and grinned. She was always happy when her hand was in Harriet’s.

  Harriet dumped the suitcase as Sally walked over to the picture window and looked out over Lake Michigan, the sky a brilliant blue once more. She was standing in Harriet’s apartment as if she hadn’t been aching to be here for the past few hours. As if there wasn’t already a pulsing between her legs. As if she didn’t want Harriet to press her against the glass and take her right away.

  And even though she wasn’t facing Harriet, she could feel her energy, and she hoped she could read her mind.

  Harriet didn’t disappoint, stepping up behind Sally and nibbling the back of her neck. “I’ve wanted you since you stepped into the hospital and into my arms,” she said, pulling at Sally’s red-and-white stripey shirt and tugging it over her head.

  “I know,” Sally replied, as Harriet unclipped her bra, letting it fall to the floor before cupping her breasts from behind, claiming Sally as her own.

  Sally had never been more happy to be claimed in her life.

  “Drop your jeans, I want you naked and against the window,” Harriet whispered into her ear, her breath hot.

  Sally wilted, her booming desire for Harriet etched into every breath she took. She wobbled as she stepped out of her jeans and boy shorts; her heartbeat was so elevated, it was almost colliding with the stars.

  Harriet pressed herself into Sally’s exposed back, her hand reaching down and cupping Sally’s bare butt cheeks, before moving between the legs, groaning as she connected with Sally’s wet heat.

  A torrent of desire rattled through Sally as Harriet pressed home her point, her hand hot and firm. Sally pressed down, wanting more, but instead Harriet swept both hands up Sally’s butt and back, her skilled tongue following every step, before her teeth claimed the back of Sally’s neck.

  Sally let out a moan. This was what Harriet’s earlier heated stare had been promising, and she was delivering with style.

  And then Harriet’s hand was between her legs again, cupping her, pressing, honing. She heard a hitch in Harriet’s breathing as she moved a hand through Sally’s silky heat, and then Sally shuddered, biting her lip as Harriet slipped one finger slowly inside her, closely followed by another.

  “Oh my god,” she panted, as Harriet placed her other hand on Sally’s butt and then slowly began to fuck her from behind.

  “The thought of doing this to you again has been tormenting me for the past few weeks,” Harriet whispered in her ear. “I can’t believe we’re finally here.”

  Sally closed her eyes as she felt a gushing in between her legs, Harriet’s words sending shockwaves down to her very core. She couldn’t get enough of Harriet: she spread her legs, pushing her butt out, letting Harriet have the easiest access possible.

  Over the past six weeks, this is what had been in her mind: Harriet taking her. So as Harriet sunk into her, Sally let herself go completely, surrendering to them, to their love, to coming home. Because in the end, this really was where she belonged: back with Harriet, back to her home.

  And Sally had no doubt that this moment, right here, was home.

  She rolled her head back as Harriet f
ucked her harder, letting out a loud moan as her orgasm started deep inside, starting out with a light drumbeat, before quickly progressing to a drum solo, coming to a crescendo any minute now.

  Sally was close, so close. She could feel it in her bones, in her veins. She could feel it everywhere.

  So when Harriet slipped her other hand round the front and over Sally’s swollen clit, she bucked her hips, with no idea what to focus on anymore. Harriet was behind her, in front of her, in her very soul.

  As Sally looked out over Lake Michigan and came in an avalanche of pleasure, she shouted out Harriet’s name, wanting to light it up over the water for everyone to see, so the whole city knew how fabulous her girlfriend was.

  Because she was, inside and out.

  Especially when she was inside Sally.

  When Harriet withdrew her fingers moments later, Sally gasped. But then, with her other arm around Sally’s waist, Harriet trailed her index finger — the one that had just been inside Sally — up Sally’s neck and over Sally’s chin, making Sally’s insides quiver. When she pressed that finger to Sally’s lips, moving her head level with Sally’s, Sally wilted again.

  “Look at me,” Harriet said, her voice soft but firm.

  Sally gushed on the spot, doing as she was told.

  “Take it into your mouth,” Harriet said, her jaw set in determined fashion, which only sent Sally’s levels of want even higher.

  The erotic scent of herself was making her even wetter, and when Sally took Harriet’s finger inside her mouth and moved her tongue around it, she had no idea this level of desire even existed: it was beyond anything Sally had experienced before. Harriet added another finger and Sally sucked it hungrily, her lust overflowing.

  Judging by the lust pooling in Harriet’s eyes, it was working for her, too.

  After a few more seconds, Harriet withdrew. Then Sally watched as her fingers traveled south, Harriet plunging them back into Sally, fucking her hard, making her come all over again.

  By the time Harriet had her arm around Sally’s waist for a second time, Sally’s mind was blank, her body only experiencing pleasure in the here and now, nothing else. Harriet had depleted her utterly, gloriously.