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blowing her nose loudly.

She was furious with Samantha. After all they'd been through together, Melanie couldn't

believe the reaction her cousin had had.

Melanie had always been able to overlook Sam's selfish motives and conceited statements,

because they had never extended to her. As Sam's flesh and blood, she'd always been safe

from the biting comments and self-serving actions. This morning had hurt her more than she

cared to admit, and Melanie had actually found a tiny bit of perverse pleasure in telling Sam

about the bookshop.

She had to go back. It was that simple. She had the bookshop, her new apartment, and the

movers already lined up. Bailing out like a coward was not an option she had ever entertained,

and she certainly wasn't about to start now. No, she would return to Rochester, move into her

new place and open The Quil is Mightier, just as she had originally planned. It was that other

matter that she couldn't seem to sort out...the one about falling in love with a woman named

Taylor, then proceeding to destroy the relationship Taylor had with her father in a matter of

minutes.

Melanie was definitely having trouble with that one.

She was so angry with herself. If she had just kept to herself, not led Taylor on the way she

had, stayed away from Ben from minute one, none of this would have happened. The father and

daughter would have ended up casual acquaintances of Melanie, and their relationship would

still be intact.

Melanie wondered about the validity of that statement. Would it have been that way? Could it

have? The pull she felt drawing her to Taylor was undeniable and virtually unavoidable. She

wasn't sure she could have stayed away from the gorgeous woman even if she'd wanted to.

Which she hadn't.

As if she wasn't feeling enough guilt over the mess she'd made between Taylor and Ben, she

started to wonder how Taylor was feeling. It was quite clear how the brunette felt about her.

Nobody had ever made love to Melanie the way Taylor had. Nobody had ever worshipped her

body that way, concerned with nothing more than Melanie's pleasure. She'd never been in bed

with somebody that loving and that giving. Taylor loved her; that much was obvious. And how

had Melanie reciprocated? By running like a scared child, leaving poor Taylor to wonder what

was going on in Melanie's head and exactly where she stood.

Melanie dropped her head into her hands as fresh tears leaked from sad, blue eyes. Escape

had seemed like a good idea that morning. Now, she wondered what kind of person she had

become. She had never run from anything in her life, but she'd abandoned Taylor without a

second thought.

"God, she must hate me," she muttered aloud, raking her fingers through her hair in

frustration, disgusted with her own behavior.

This whole mess was driving her nuts. She wanted things to slow down...wanted the myriad of

thoughts swirling through her head like debris in the eye of a twister to stop, just for a

minute, so she could catch her breath. She needed a touchstone, something, someone who

knew her. She needed to be grounded. She needed familiarity. She craved it.

Without giving herself time to think twice, she picked up the cordless phone on the end table

next to her and dialed a number.

"Hello?" The phone was answered on the first ring by a husky, male voice.

"Is Angela in?"

"Sure. Hang on."

There were muffled voices in the background, a child squealing happily, as if being tickled.

"Hello?" came the beloved voice. Melanie was amazed to feel herself immediately relax.

"Hi, Angela," she said, unable to keep the smile out of her voice. God, it's good to hear her.

"Melanie. Oh my God," Angela gushed. "Were your ears ringing? I was just talking about you today."

"As a matter of fact, they were." Melanie played along, letting the familiarity of Angela's voice drip over her like honey, soothing her anxieties immediately. "How are you?" She heard the child again, erupting into toddler-size giggles. "Is this a bad time?"

"For you? Nonsense. It's good to hear from you. I've been worried. I tried to cal you last

week, but there was no answer and I couldn't get your machine."

Melanie glanced at the phone, seeing the blinking red light that indicated the tape had run out.

"I've been out of town. So, how are you? Everything okay? The kids? Grandkids?"

"Everybody's great. I found myself a terrific part-time job in a little flower shop near my

house."

"Good for you." Melanie was glad to hear that Angela had found something that didn't force her to work ten-hour days, as she often had at Rucker and Steele. "You like it?"

"Love it. I practically run the joint, and I'm still home with plenty of time for dinner..." Angela stopped herself, stumbled a bit on her words. "Not that working for you—"

"Oh, please, Angela," Melanie interrupted her. "You worked like a dog when you worked for me.

I know that. I'm glad you found something better for you. Really."

"So, you went out of town, eh?" she asked slyly.

"Yes, I did. I took that break you suggested."

"Tell me all about it."

An outsider didn't need to hear one shred of the conversation to know how it affected

Melanie. Her body visibly relaxed, sinking into the cushions of the couch, her feet making

their way to the coffee table and propping themselves upon it comfortably. Melanie tucked

her hair behind her ear, laughing often, eyes sparkling as she told the story of her incredible

disappearing cousin and the bookstore that just fell into her lap. Talking to Angela, truthfully

the one person in the world who knew her best, stabilized her instantly.

"You've mentioned this Taylor person an awful lot," Angela commented after Melanie finished her recitation. Angela and Melanie had never gotten into such personal issues as one another's

love lives, but the former secretary had never heard her ex-boss speak of anyone with such

warmth and high regard. Melanie was like one of Angela's children, and Angela paid attention

to her as such, monitoring the young woman's happiness as any mother would. She worked hard

to keep the knowing smile from appearing in her voice. "She sounds like a nice girl."

"She's wonderful," Melanie replied simply, the smile in her voice glaringly apparent.

They talked for another fifteen minutes about Angela's family, Melanie's move and what they

missed and did not miss about their previous jobs. The conversation was like a magic elixir for

Melanie. Suddenly, things didn't seem quite so bad...at least not anything she couldn't handle.

"Wel , I'll let you get back to your family," Melanie finally said, reluctant to end the

connection. "It was great to talk to you. I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, Melanie," Angela said sincerely. "I think this bookstore is going to be good for you."

"You think so?"

"Everything will be fine. I'm sure of it."

Melanie heaved a sigh of relief, surprised by the calming effect of those simple words. She

wished the bookstore was closer so she could steal Angela from the florist. "Thanks."

"You take care of yourself, Melanie. And call me once in a while."

"I promise."

Melanie stared at the phone in her hand for several long minutes after hanging up. Everything

wil be fine...

She crossed to the television and plugged it in, content to put the packing off for a few more

hours. She flopped back onto the couch, unable to stop the growing smile that spread across

her face when the mesmerizing, blue eyes of the Warrior Princess appeared on the television

screen.

Chapter Twenty-six

THE NEXT FEW days were a blur for Melanie. Between the packing, situating things with the

movers, the drive back to Rochester, the bookstore, and her new apartment, she barely had

time to breathe, let alone think too deeply about the events of the previous weeks.

She was in the bookshop on Wednesday morning, waiting for the sign guy to come and hang the

new sign out front, when Lynda popped her head in the unlocked front door. Melanie smiled,

peeking around the doorjamb of the office and recognizing her visitor.

"Hey, there, stranger," Lynda called in greeting. "I was getting worried. Haven't seen you in a couple days."

"I went home," Melanie stated, dusting her hands on the legs of her gym shorts. "Had some loose ends to tie up."

Lynda looked around in appreciation. All the shelves were fully stocked. Melanie had pushed

the overstuffed chairs into a corner, where she had a display of periodicals, including the area

gay newspapers, creating a cozy and inviting spot to take a load off. The windows had been

washed. There were small, unobtrusive bowls of potpourri set out to give the place a warm,

charming aroma.

Lynda nodded. "This place looks terrific. Are you just about ready for Monday?"

"Almost," Melanie answered, leading the café owner to the chairs and taking a seat herself.

"I'm trying to get my computer hooked up in the office. I want to get the inventory on it... of course, most of it's here already. The sign guy is coming this morning to take care of that. I'm

only waiting for a couple more shipments of books, and I think we're there."

She sounded excited, Lynda was glad to note, although there was a glimmer of something in

the younger woman's eye that the café owner couldn't quite define.

"I saw your ad in The Empty Closet," Lynda commented, referring to Rochester's gay

newspaper. "Looks great."

"Yeah, I was happy with that."

"You nervous?"

"About the opening?" Melanie took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I mean, I don't expect that I'll get swamped with customers or anything. I'm not Barnes & Noble. I know that. Hell, I

may not get one customer. But..." She searched the air for the right words.

"This really means something to me, and I want to do it right. I want to make it work. You

know?"

Lynda smiled and nodded, completely understanding the anxiety of her companion. "Absolutely.

I felt exactly the same way when the day came to open the café for the first time. I had so

many butterflies in my stomach, I thought for sure I'd be sick. I was so excited, it was

terrifying."

"That's exactly it," Melanie cried, pointing to her friend. "That's how I feel. I'm so excited about this that I'm contemplating hiding under my desk for the duration. How silly is that?"

They laughed together like childhood friends, thinking how ridiculous human nature sometimes

was.

"How are things with Taylor?" Lynda asked.

Melanie's chuckles died away quickly and she swallowed.

"Uh oh." Lynda was concerned about her friend's sudden change in demeanor. "What

happened?"

"Long story," Melanie said simply, leaving her chair to brush a nonexistent spec of dust off a shelf.

"I've got plenty of time," Lynda said simply, sitting back in her chair, resting one ankle on the opposite knee.

After several minutes of silence, Melanie resigned herself to the fact that Lynda wasn't going

to change the subject, and she sighed in frustration. Suddenly, there was a rapping on the

glass of the front door. Melanie was relieved to see a smiling young man in ratty jeans and

work boots... Glen from the sign shop. Saved, she thought and let him in.

She spent a good twenty minutes with Glen, going over the details of where and how to put up

the large, wooden sign, before leaving him to his duty. When she returned to the corner, she

was dismayed to note that Lynda had not even shifted her position and was watching her

expectantly.

"God. You're relentless," Melanie complained.

"My middle name. Now spil it. I can tel it's bothering you."

"All right, all right. You win." She sighed in defeat and plopped into the opposite chair. She debated with herself for several minutes, before deciding to just be blunt and honest about

the situation. "I slept with Taylor."

Lynda clapped her hands in delight. "That's great." Seeing the look on Melanie's face, she furrowed her brow. "That's not great?"

"Oh, it was great," Melanie assured her, a blush creeping up her neck. "It was really, really great, as a matter of fact. The next morning's what wasn't so great. Sam showed up out of

the blue. She put two and two together pretty quickly."

"Now there's a surprise," Lynda joked. "Okay. So Sam found out. So what?"

"Wel , that on top of the whole bookstore thing left her in somewhat of a foul mood."

"I repeat: so what?"

Melanie sighed. "Not five minutes after Sam came home, Ben decided to drop by."

"Ben..." Lynda wrinkled her nose, trying to place the name. "Ben. You mean the flower dude Ben? As in Taylor's father? That Ben?"

"That Ben."

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah. Taylor and I were half-dressed."

"I bet that wasn't the least bit awkward."

"Oh, no. Not at all."

"A fun time was had by all, huh?"

"Uh huh. You bet. I somehow managed to have the best sex of my life, seriously piss off my

closest relative, and completely destroy a father-daughter relationship all in the course of a

twelve-hour period. That's got to be some sort of record, don't you think?"

The sarcasm was a weak attempt to lighten the mood, but Lynda could plainly see the pain in

her friend's eyes.

"So, what does Taylor have to say about all this?"

Melanie studied the floor carefully. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since."

"You what?"

The redhead winced. "I kind of...well...left for Chicago right after the shit hit the fan."