Her Collateral Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance

phosphorescence or some other form of strange light.

Jenny nodded and gave Claire a smile that was different too.

A little bit shy, even. Something she hadn’t seen from Jenny

before. “Anytime you’re cooking, I’m up for eating.”

Chapter 20

Haley

August was the month that Haley had been most looking

forward to. Her one month of freedom. It seemed to stretch on

now, a whole month of endless days with nothing to do except

think about Claire. She was still living with her grandparents

and hadn’t quite patched things up with her dad. He hadn’t

offered. She hadn’t offered either. They were both poised

there, waiting for the other to make the first move. It was

awful. Her grandparents didn’t force her into forgiveness just

like they didn’t force her dad into saying he was sorry. He was

busy with work. With the restaurants. With everything Claire

had made possible. Twice.

“That’s it.”

Haley’s neck snapped up from the piano. She turned to find

her grandma studying her, hands on her hips, graying hair

piled into a tidy bun, yoga pants and a flowing top making her

look at least twenty years younger. She was pretty, still.

Astoundingly beautiful. And she made the best cookies known

to mankind. “What’s it?” Haley had been hunched over,

staring at the keys without playing. Her shoulders ached and

the muscles in her neck spasmed and clenched. She hadn’t

realized she’d been that way for so long. Minutes? Hours? She

was losing blocks and chunks of her life to being lost in

thought and memory. “Grandma? What’s it?”

“This is it,” her grandma huffed. “We’re going to go talk.