Her Collateral Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance

the shadows, her heart racing. Her grandma had seemed so

sure that she’d know exactly what to say when the time came.

It would be a miracle if she could say anything at all. Her

mouth felt like paste.

Then the kitchen’s the best place for you. Get some water.

Claire’s there.

Good. Tell her the truth. All of it. Every bit.

Her legs still felt like lead by the time she pushed through

the kitchen door. It was closed, which was new. The noises

coming from behind the closed door were also new. Haley

stopped in shock and watched in awe as Claire moved around

the kitchen like a beautiful hurricane. She was nothing like her

father in the kitchen. Claire had a totally different pace, a

bright, easy grace that he lacked. As she flitted from dish to

dish, bowl to bowl, plate to plate, pile of ingredients to pile of

ingredients, her skill was apparent. She looked at home.

“Holy shit!” Claire dropped a bowl of shrimp. The stainless

steel clattered to the floor and shrimp flew all over the place.

Claire smacked her hand to her chest and grabbed the counter

with the other. “You scared me senseless.”

“I think I might have ruined the shrimp too.”

“Nonsense.” Claire bent to pick it up. She grinned when she

stood. “Although, given my track record, it’s probably best to

throw this out, not eat it myself.”

Haley startled. Had Claire just made a joke about that?

About the one thing that had hurt her for over a decade? What

was going on? Had Haley accidentally stepped through a

different dimension and into a different world? Was she

actually dreaming and none of this was real? She would be

damn disappointed if this wasn’t real, but she was sure dreams