Jill held up a hand. “No, you don’t need to apologize for that. You were right. I don’t think I was then, and I wasn’t as all in as you needed me to be. But I want you to know that I am now. I will prove to you that I am worth it. I didn’t know what it would be like to lose you. And now that I know, I never want that to happen again.”

“I don’t either. You calm me like no one else ever has, which I’ve desperately needed this past year. I’ve felt so adrift since I ended things. It was a horrible mistake and I’m sorry for everything.” Reagan sniffed and dabbed her eyes and nose with her napkin.

“So, you want to try again?” Jill whispered.

“I do. More than anything.”

Jill smiled widely as the tears fell. She squeezed Reagan’s hand and brought it to her mouth, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. The rapid beating of her heart slowed as she stared at the woman in front of her. The grumbling of Jill’s stomach pulled her out of the trance she found herself in. She cleared her throat. “Since I got you here under the pretense that you’d be getting food, and I know how important food is to you, did you want to order some lunch?” Please say no. Please say no.

Reagan intertwined her fingers with Jill’s. “Hell no. I really, really need to kiss you. And while I have no problem kissing you here, it’s what will happen afterward that I think will be highly inappropriate for a public place.”

“Thank god. Let’s get out of here.” Jill took a couple twenties out of her pocket and tossed them on the table. Even though they hadn’t ordered anything, they had taken up a table close to lunchtime and she didn’t want to be rude. Guess I can learn new things after all.

They walked outside hand in hand, and Jill steered them to her car parked a couple blocks away. But after a few steps, she pulled Reagan down a side street and gently pressed her back against a brick wall with an arm wrapped around her waist. She mapped Reagan’s features with her eyes. Her warm smile, the hint of freckles on the bridge of her nose, and the hazel eyes that held a mixture of emotions. Hope, wariness, passion, and maybe even love. She cupped Reagan’s face, caressing her bottom lip with her thumb. She leaned in slowly, savoring the way Reagan’s breath hitched as she moved closer.

“Please,” Reagan whispered as she reached up and tightly wrapped her fingers around Jill’s wrist.

Jill brought her lips to Reagan’s, whimpering at the initial contact. She had missed this so much. With Reagan, kissing her felt as important as breathing, something she needed to live.