Happily Ever After E-Book

Jae

• Herausgeber: Ylva Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 297

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Award-winning author Jae delivers a heartwarming collection of eight lesbian romance short stories that offer captivating glimpses into the lives of your favorite couples from her most popular novels. Revisit beloved characters as they share romantic moments, celebrate milestones, and fall in love all over again, proving that "happily ever after" is just the beginning. Includes the short stories: Impulse Buy A Great Catch Partners Lucky Yellow Shoes The Principal's Office The No-Romance Rule Worth the Wait A Place to Call Home

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Other Books by Jae

Impulse Buy

A Great Catch

Partners

Lucky Yellow Shoes

The Principal's Office

The No-Romance Rule

Worth the Wait

A Place to Call Home

Other Books from Ylva Publishing

About Jae

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www.ylva-publishing.com

Other Books by Jae

Happily Ever After

Standalone Romances:

Bachelorette Number Twelve

Just a Touch Away

The Roommate Arrangement

Paper Love

Just for Show

Falling Hard

Heart Trouble

Something in the Wine

Shaken to the Core

Fair Oaks Series:

Perfect Rhythm

Not the Marrying Kind

The Hollywood Series:

Departure from the Script

Damage Control

Just Physical

The Hollywood Collection (box set)

The Oregon Series:

Backwards to Oregon

Beyond the Trail

Hidden Truths

The Complete Oregon series (box set)

The Portland Police Bureau Series:

Conflict of Interest

Next of Kin

The Shape-Shifter Series:

Second Nature

Natural Family Disasters

Manhattan Moon

True Nature

The Vampire Diet Series:

Good Enough to Eat

Unexpected Love Series:

Under a Falling Star

Wrong Number, Right Woman

Chemistry Lessons

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, a heartfelt thank-you to my readers who keep buying my books, reading them enthusiastically, and reviewing or rating them. I literally couldn’t do this without you!

A big shout-out to all the members of my Facebook group for readers of sapphic books! The group is such a positive, safe place during a difficult time for so many.

Last but definitely not least, thank you to my editor, Claire Jarrett; my wonderful alpha reader, Trish; and my amazing beta readers—a great team of established veterans and new helpers. In alphabetical order: Anne-France, Chris Zett, Jonna, Kathy, Kelly, Mae, Melanie, Nicky, Pat, Rhapsody, and Stephanie.

Impulse Buy

by Jae

The only thing worse than flu season was the week of Valentine’s Day in the emergency department. Most of Regina’s colleagues would disagree, of course. For them, either the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve topped their list of most-hated holidays. But for Regina, no other day was as annoying. This year, her patients proved her right once again by taking “Love Is a Battlefield” a bit too literally.

Her shift wasn’t even halfway over, and she had already stitched up the bleeding eyebrow of a guy who had been struck by a popping champagne cork, ordered X-rays for a woman who had slipped and fallen on ice while proposing to her partner, and treated a couple with food poisoning from improperly stored tiramisu that had been left over from a candlelight dinner.

Just two more romantic mishaps and she’d have a bingo on her Valentine’s Day ED bingo card.

Feet aching, she sank onto a rolling stool at one of the computer workstations to update her patients’ digital charts.

Ellie walked over from the nurses’ station and leaned against the counter next to Regina. “Hey, doc. Busy shift, isn’t it?”

Her tone was friendly yet professional, which was the way they had agreed to handle their interactions in the ED, even now that the entire staff of Campbell Medical Center knew about their relationship. But somehow, Ellie managed to make “doc” sound like a term of endearment.

Regina decided she kind of liked it. Not that she would ever admit it. “You can say that again. I thought we already made it through the Valentine’s Day-related injuries, but here we are the day after, and we’re still treating allergic reactions to Valentine’s Day candy and burns from spilled candle wax.” She restrained herself from rolling her eyes—barely. “Love is definitely a health hazard.”

Ellie grinned, her big, brown eyes twinkling. “You’re such a romance grinch.” Her tone became a tad less professional and more affectionate.

Regina lifted her finger and lowered her voice. “Recovering romance grinch. A very talented nurse found a cure.”

“Did she now?” Ellie’s voice turned raspy.

Okay, they were quickly leaving co-worker territory and approaching the realm of head-over-heels lovers. Regina cleared her throat. “So, what can I do for you? Is there a patient you’d like me to see?”

“No. Actually, I came over to do something for you. I thought you could use a little pick-me-up.” Ellie pulled something from the pocket of her scrub top and placed it next to Regina’s keyboard.

It was a Twinkie.

Regina couldn’t help smirking. Visions of the erotic things she had done to the creamy filling of the little sponge cake on their second auction-mandated date danced in front of her mind’s eye. “Is this supposed to be a pick-me-up for me or for you?”

A flush rose up Ellie’s throat, and she adjusted the V-neck of her scrub top as if she were suddenly in danger of overheating. “Me! I mean, you, of course! Sorry. I know it’s not exactly a work-appropriate snack, at least not when you are eating it, but it seems it’s been a tough shift for everyone at CMC, and this was the only thing the cafeteria had left.”

“It’s fine.” Regina slid it surreptitiously into her scrub top pocket as if hiding a pair of sexy panties. “How about we share it tonight? Dinner at my place?”

A beaming smile spread across Ellie’s face. “I’d love to.” She looked away to straighten a couple of pens in the penholder next to the keyboard. “So, any plans for your days off?”

Regina glanced left and right. Normally, she disliked discussing her private life at work, but none of their colleagues were within earshot. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether we’re planning a sleepover,” Regina said. “That’s why you’re asking, isn’t it?”

The lovely flush on Ellie’s face intensified. “Um, yes, that too, but I was actually just curious to see if you’re going to be home tomorrow morning or playing disc golf.”

Ellie had never asked about her plans in such detail while they were at work before—especially not while averting her gaze and straightening stationery that didn’t need to be straightened. Regina searched her face. “What’s going on?”

“I suck at keeping secrets, don’t I?” Ellie sighed.

Regina grinned. “You do.” Ellie didn’t have a poker face to save her life, and it was one of the things Regina loved about her. “So? What’s going on?”

“I’m having a surprise delivered to your place tomorrow at ten, and I need to confirm with the delivery people that you’ll be home.”

A surprise? Damn. Was this about the one-year anniversary of the Heart-to-Heart Auction, where Ellie had accidentally bid on her? Should she have bought Ellie a present too? Since they had exchanged little gifts for Valentine’s Day the day before, Regina hadn’t thought to get her anything. “Oh.”

Ellie lightly brushed her hand along Regina’s shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she said as if reading Regina’s mind. “It’s not an anniversary present. I promise. Just something I saw and couldn’t resist because it’s too perfect for your bedroom.”

“For my bedroom?” Regina raised both eyebrows.

If Ellie’s flush got any more pronounced, Regina might have to treat her for heatstroke. God, it was so much fun to tease her. Even after nearly a year of being together, Ellie’s reaction made her grin—and her heart beat faster. Too bad they were at work, where she had to rein herself in.

Movement from the corner of her eye made Regina switch back into professional mode.

When she turned her head in that direction, Jasmine stepped out of a nearby treatment room and walked over to them. “Could you take a look at Ms. Kim in exam one?” she asked, addressing Regina. “All the residents are tied up, and I think it’s a quick sign-out. She presented with nausea and abdominal pain. I’m pretty sure all she has is a case of chocolate overdose from too much Valentine’s Day candy.”

This time, Regina did roll her eyes. “I’ll check her out.” With a glance at Ellie, she added, “See? Health hazard.”

Ellie shook her head at her. “I think that talented nurse needs to perfect her cure. It clearly hasn’t fully worked yet.”

Jasmine looked back and forth between them. “Huh? Is there another patient that needs to be seen?”

Ellie patted her friend’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that particular patient.”

Regina gave her a stern nod, putting what Ellie called her doctor’s mask firmly into place. “Please make sure that you do.” She got up, slid the Twinkie more deeply into her scrub top pocket, and strode over to exam one.

* * *

Normally, Ellie was the laid-back, relaxed one between the two of them, while Regina had trouble getting her busy brain to slow down. But by ten o’clock the next morning, Ellie was buzzing around Regina’s apartment.

Regina shook her head as she watched Ellie impatiently check the time. “It’s not going to arrive any sooner just because you’re staring holes into the front door. Want me to provide a distraction?”

Ellie sank onto the couch next to her. “Hmm, what kind of distraction are we talking about?”

Regina slid closer until their bodies brushed all along their lengths. She moved her lips to Ellie’s ear and whispered, “I was thinking of doing something with our hands.”

A visible shiver went through Ellie. “Go on.” Her voice came out breathy. “Sounds promising so far.”

Regina gave her earlobe a nibble and grinned at the low moan it elicited. “Like emptying the dishwasher.”

“Tempting, but—”

The doorbell rang.

“Finally!” Ellie jumped up and rushed to the door, nearly slipping in her fluffy, rainbow-colored socks.

“Slow down,” Regina called after her, caught between being amused and being worried. She followed her at a less breakneck speed and pressed the button on the intercom panel. “Hello?”

“I’ve got three packages for apartment 702,” a man’s voice came through the intercom.

Regina buzzed him in, then turned toward Ellie and quirked her eyebrows at her. “Three? Didn’t you say you have one surprise?” Now she was really starting to feel as if she had missed something and should have gotten Ellie a gift for whatever they were celebrating. God, relationships were so complicated. They were the one thing in her life she had never excelled in. But now, for the very first time, she wanted to.

“I did,” Ellie said quickly. “It just consists of three parts; that’s all.”

Regina opened the apartment door.

Ellie squeezed into the doorway next to her, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

The corners of Regina’s mouth twitched up into an indulgent grin, even as she eyed her with suspicion. “You’re really excited about this. Did you order a lifetime supply of Twinkies or something?”

“No, it’s the world domination kit I know you have on your wish list,” Ellie replied and gave her a playful nudge with her hip.

Secretly, Regina loved that Ellie always gave as good as she got. She lifted her chin up high. “I don’t need a kit for that. If I want to take over the world, I’ll just do it.”

Ellie laughed, but before she could answer, the hum of the elevator announced the arrival of the delivery guy on their floor.

The doors slid apart, and the delivery man struggled to maneuver three flat but enormous packages through the opening.

Ellie rushed out to help him. “Careful, please. They’re fragile.”

“Dr. R. Novak?” he asked.

“That’s me,” Regina said. She grabbed her keys so she wouldn’t accidentally lock them out, stepped out of the apartment, and signed the delivery confirmation.

“Here you go.” He handed over the two packages Ellie hadn’t picked up. “Have a great day.”

“Thanks.” Carefully, Regina dragged the surprise gifts into her apartment. “These are huge!”

“It’s just the packaging,” Ellie said. More quietly, she added, “I hope.”

Regina leaned her packages against the side of the couch and studied them. What on earth had Ellie gotten her? “You know, if these are sex toys, they might be the weirdest ones I’ve ever seen.”

One of the blushes Regina loved to elicit rose up Ellie’s neck. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“You said it’s for my bedroom.”

“There are other things to do in the bedroom, you know?”

Regina grinned. “Hmm, yeah, I vaguely remember.”

Ellie waved her hand. “Come on. Open them!”

Regina cut through the tape with the small pocketknife on her key ring.

“Careful,” Ellie murmured behind her.

“I wield a scalpel for a living,” Regina answered. “I’ve got this.” She opened the flaps of the cardboard box, only to reveal another layer of protection. Bubble wrap cocooned the mystery hiding inside. She pulled out the large, flat item and unwrapped it.

Finally, she unveiled a framed print. Ellie had bought her art? Granted, Regina didn’t exactly have a knack for interior design, so her walls were pretty bare. She turned the print around so it was facing her, expecting to find a painting of a romantic sunset or something equally Ellie-like.

Instead, she encountered a white background adorned with just six words, written in an elegant font: Every dream begins with a wish.

Um, okay. Regina wasn’t sure what to make of it. “This is…nice. Thank you.”

Ellie laughed. “It’ll make sense once you’ve opened the others.”

With Ellie watching her every move, Regina repeated the procedure and opened the second package.

This one didn’t have a quote on it. Instead, it showed dozens of fluffy seeds floating on the wind.

Oh. A lump lodged in Regina’s throat as she was starting to suspect where this was going. She labored to keep her hands steady and unpacked the third part of the surprise.

The framed print depicted two dandelions gently bending in the breeze, a few of its seeds taking flight and trailing to the right.

When Regina didn’t immediately say anything but just stood there, staring, Ellie stepped up to her. “It’s a triptych made up of three panels. You line them up like this.”

She leaned the three black-and-white prints next to each other against the couch, the one with the two dandelions on the left, the quote with its graceful font in the middle, and the wind-borne seeds on the right.

The resemblance to the delicate tattoo that graced Regina’s ankle was uncanny. Her skin tingled; she could almost feel Ellie blow on the inked dandelion, telling her to make a wish, the way she had done on the morning after they had first made love.

And even though she wasn’t into silly, sentimental superstitions, Regina had done as instructed and made a wish.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Do you like my surprise?” Ellie searched her eyes as if unsure of her reaction.

Regina had put on her impenetrable poker face, reflexively guarding her vulnerability. That hardly happened around Ellie anymore. She dropped the mask and gave her a tremulous smile. “I love it. Really.”

“But?” Ellie asked.

“Um…” Regina flicked her gaze toward her tiny bedroom, then back to the artwork consisting of three large panels. “I’m not sure it will fit in there. With the window along the longest side of the room, wall space is very limited.”

Ellie’s face fell. “Oh.”

Seeing Ellie’s disappointment was harder to take than losing a disc golf tournament. God, she had become such a softie, at least where Ellie was concerned.

“I guess I went a little overboard and forgot to check the dimensions,” Ellie said. “I admit it was an impulse buy. I saw it and just couldn’t resist. It was too perfect for you.”

“It really is.” Anyone else might prefer a picture of sunflowers or roses, but to Regina, dandelions would forever be special because of the tattoo she had gotten after her brother had died.

Ellie forced a smile. “You need a bigger bedroom.”

“First complaint I’m hearing from you about anything bedroom-related,” Regina quipped, trying to cheer her up.

Ellie didn’t laugh or answer with a joke of her own. She stared off into space, and a tiny wrinkle on her forehead revealed that her mind was going a mile a minute. “Well,” she said, “maybe we could find a place for it together.”

Regina nodded readily. “Sure. Let’s see if it’ll fit above the couch.”

She wasn’t keen on hanging the wall art in the living room, where it would be seen by any visitor. Not that she had many, but compared to a year ago, the number of people who had been to her apartment had practically exploded. The thought of someone asking her about the meaning of the dandelion caused a sunburned feeling, as if her skin was too sensitive…too thin…too transparent.

And yet she would put the triptych in the living room if only to make that disappointed look fade from Ellie’s face.

But Ellie shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.” She licked her lips as if they had gone dry. “I didn’t mean a place in your apartment.”

“Ah. Good idea. Let’s hang it in your house. I can look at it whenever I sleep over.”

Another shake of Ellie’s head. “I was thinking more like…constant sleepovers. I thought…maybe…” Her gaze darted to Regina, then away. “Maybe we could find a place of our own.”

Regina had graduated at the top of her class from Harvard Medical School, but now her brain needed half a minute to grasp a simple sentence. When it finally did, her breath caught. “Are you saying…you want us to move in together?”

“Um, yeah. I mean, we don’t have to. If I’m moving too fast and you’re not yet ready or you prefer to have your own space, that’s totally fine. Absolutely no pressure.”

Again, Regina’s brain needed a moment to catch up with Ellie’s nervous ramblings. She stared at her and had no idea what to say. Moving in together… It was a step she had never taken with any of her previous girlfriends. She had always valued her independence, her own space, and the freedom to come and go as she pleased.

But now that she thought about it… She hadn’t been doing that with Ellie anyway. They usually ended up going to Ellie’s place after work, and they spent most of their days off together too. She had barely even noticed it because Ellie fit into her life so seamlessly, even though they were total opposites in many regards. Ellie had opened her heart to the possibility of love in a way Regina had never thought possible. And she realized she wanted more of that—more shared moments.

Before she could tell her that, Ellie continued, “It wouldn’t be right away anyway since it would take some time to find a house we like, and we would have to give my sister plenty of time to find a new roommate too. So maybe you could think about it. Or not. We can just continue as we are. Nothing wrong with keeping separate places if that’s what you—”

Regina interrupted her with a stern shake of her head. “Stop doing that.”

Ellie’s stared, her eyes even bigger than usual. “Doing what?”

“Giving me an out,” Regina said. “You’ve been doing that from the start, and I admit I appreciated it at first. But I don’t need it any longer. I’m all in.”

Ellie went very still. Only her eyelashes fluttered. “You…you want to move in together?”

Regina shrugged. “Well, it’s a lot more efficient than keeping separate households. We could share expenses, split chores, and save time because we’re no longer going back and forth between our places.”

A beaming grin broke across Ellie’s face. “Right. You want to move in together because it’s more efficient. Not because you love having me around and want to share a home with me.”

Regina finally allowed the happiness bubbling up inside her to show on her face. “Well, there’s that too.”

Ellie threw her arms around Regina, making her stumble back a step.

They tumbled onto the couch with Ellie on top.

The panels of the wall art, still leaning against the couch, swayed dangerously.

Regina and Ellie froze, but thankfully, the framed prints didn’t topple over.

“Phew!” Ellie’s breath washed over Regina’s neck, sending goose bumps down her body. Then her lips—and more goose bumps—followed. “We’re moving in together,” she murmured against Regina’s skin. She lifted her head and gazed down at Regina with a look of wonder on her face. “I can’t believe it! It’s what I wished for, you know? When we blew on your tattoo and made a wish.”

Regina tilted her head back on the throw pillow to study her expression. “Me too.” It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but she was learning not to hold back when it came to Ellie.

“Wait, you wished we would move in together too?”

Regina gave her a sheepish grin. “Well, mostly, I wished I wouldn’t mess things up and drive you away by keeping work and us separate.”

“You didn’t,” Ellie said.

“No, but it was a close call.”

Ellie smiled down at her. “Oh, you know, as an ED nurse, I specialize in close calls and tough cases.”

“Mm, do you?”

“I do.” Ellie dipped her head and kissed her, making Regina’s thoughts of the past float away like dandelion seeds on the wind.

* * *

The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, they climbed into Regina’s SUV to head over to Ellie’s house so they could talk to her sister, who had the day off too.

They had been driving for five minutes, yet Ellie hadn’t said a word. Even as they reached Brookside, she remained oddly quiet.

Regina glanced over.

Ellie idly traced figure eights on her jeans, her gaze fixed on the neighborhood as if she had never seen it before…or was seeing it for the last time.

Regina took one hand off the wheel and covered Ellie’s fingers with her own. “You okay?”

“Hmm, yeah.” Ellie sounded wistful, though, almost sad. “I’m fine.”

Regina wasn’t convinced. “If you’ve changed your mind or would rather wait a bit before we tell Vickie…”

“No!” Ellie intertwined her fingers with Regina’s and squeezed. “If it were up to me, we’d find a house and move in together tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to living with you.”

By now, Regina knew her well enough to sense there was something she wasn’t saying. “But?” She parked the car in front of Ellie’s house, shut off the engine, and turned to look at her.

“But I feel a little guilty about moving out and leaving Vickie to find a roommate.”

“Your sister is a big girl,” Regina said. “She can handle it.”

“I know.” Ellie glanced down at their hands, then back up. “I’m also going to really miss this place.” She gestured at her charming two-story home, with its red front door and the wide, covered porch.

Regina had always dismissed confessions like that as overly sentimental. While she liked her apartment, she didn’t think she would give it a second thought once she moved out. But Ellie was different, and Regina vowed not to make her feel bad about it. “That’s to be expected, right? I mean, you’ve been living here for six years. I bet the house holds a lot of memories.”

Ellie folded her other hand around Regina’s. “Yes. Including a lot of memories I made with you.” She looked up at the tall tree next to the path leading toward the porch. “That’s where Vickie caught us with my hand down your shirt.”

The memory made heat spread up Regina’s back. “Hey, you make it sound like a public make-out session when it was totally innocent.”

“Yeah, but our first kiss in the upstairs bathroom wasn’t.”

Regina chuckled. “I know. Any time I wash my hands at the sink, I still get the sexiest flashbacks of pressing you against it and—”

Ellie freed one hand of Regina’s gentle grip to press a finger to her lips. “I really don’t need to be reminded of the details when we’re about to go in and talk to my sister.”

“Okay, okay. No more details. We’ll make new memories in the new house, all right?”

Ellie straightened, and the sadness faded from her expression. “You’re right. It’s just a house. My home is wherever you are.”

A part of Regina shuddered at how sappy that sounded, yet another, bigger part couldn’t help melting inside. Not that she would ever admit it.

Ellie laughed. “Stop making that face, Ms. Romance Grinch.”

“That’s Dr. Romance Grinch to you. Come on. Let’s go in before Vickie sees us and thinks we’re making more memories in the car.”

They got out and walked over to the house hand in hand.

Ellie unlocked the front door. “Vickie? Anyone home?”

Wally’s excited barking echoed through the house. The beagle/Yorkshire terrier mix came barreling out of the living room, whining with excitement. His paws skidded across the hardwood floor as he came to a stop in front of Ellie. He wagged his tail so hard that Regina thought he might topple over any second.

Once he had bestowed doggie kisses on Ellie, he turned toward Regina and greeted her with the same enthusiasm.

While she could have done without getting slobber all over her hands, she had to admit being greeted with such obvious joy was kind of nice. She might even miss it a bit once she stopped coming over almost every day.

Oh, damn. The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind so far. “What about him?” she whispered to Ellie. “Will we have to leave him with Vickie?”

Ellie knelt and buried her face in Wally’s wiry fur for a moment. “I would really, really miss him, but maybe it would be better for him. This is his home. He has a fenced-in backyard here, and he’s friends with the golden retriever next door.”

“Maybe you could—”

Before Regina could finish her sentence, Vickie walked over from the living room. “Hi, sis.” She gave Regina a nod. “Regina.”

“Vickie.” Regina nodded back.

While the situation between them was no longer tense, it was fun to act like it, and Vickie seemed to feel the same.

Ellie rolled her eyes at them and tugged Regina over to the living room. “Do you have a minute or two?” she asked her sister. “There’s something I…we’d like to talk to you about.”

Vickie followed willingly. “Yeah, sure. I actually wanted to talk to you too.” She flopped onto the couch and gave Ellie an expectant look.

“Oh, go ahead. What did you want to tell me?” Ellie seemed glad to have a reason to postpone opening this particular discussion.

“No, no, you go first.”

For a second, the sisters stared at each other as if they were about to embark on a back-and-forth round of “you go first” and “no, you.”

Finally, Ellie sank onto the couch next to Vickie, and since she was still holding Regina’s hand, Regina was forced to sit down too. “Um, you see… There’s something we’d like to talk to you about.”

“Yeah, that’s what you just said.” Vickie waved at her. “Just spit it out.”

Ellie fidgeted and rhythmically squeezed Regina’s hand.

Regina could only hope she remembered her fingers weren’t a stress ball. After all, she needed two fully functioning hands to work as an emergency physician. She pressed her lips together, resisting the urge to jump in and take over the conversation. This was something Ellie had to do.

“It’s, um, something we’ve been thinking about for a while,” Ellie said. “Well, I have been thinking about it for a while, but it turns out Regina was not as hesitant about the idea as I thought. In fact, she’s fully onboard, so I hope we’ll have your support too.”

A line formed between Vickie’s eyebrows. “I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me. Unless…” She raised both hands to her mouth and let out a little squeal. “Oh my God, you’re pregnant!”

“What? No!”

Vickie flicked her gaze toward Regina—or, more specifically, toward her belly.

Okay, enough was enough. Regina slashed her hand through the air, stopping the chaos. “Stop looking at me like that. No one is pregnant. What Ellie is trying to tell you is…” She paused and gestured at Ellie to go ahead.

Ellie took a big breath. “Regina and I would like to move in together,” she blurted out.

Vickie stared at her.

Ellie let go of Regina’s hand to grab a hold of her sister’s arm with both hands. “I know it’ll be a big change for both of us, but don’t worry. I won’t move out before you’ve found a roommate you—”

“Wait, wait, wait! You want to move out?” Vickie’s face contorted.

For a second, Regina thought she might start to cry.

Then Vickie burst out laughing. “I want to move out too!”

“What?”

Vickie could only nod repeatedly until she had calmed down enough to stop laughing. “Brandon just inherited a cute little house from his grandparents, and he asked me to move in with him. I said yes.”

“Brandon,” Regina muttered. “So you’re moving in with the guy who you insisted isn’t your boyfriend…as one does.”

“Pfft. That was eight months ago,” Vickie said. “Things change.”

Yes, they did. A year ago, Regina had thought Ellie was an overly sentimental, inefficient tattletale of a nurse who hated her guts.

Ellie bounced up and down on the couch. “Oh, that’s so wonderful, Vickie!”

They embraced each other, while Regina just sat there, waiting patiently for the hug fest to end.

“Oh!” Ellie abruptly pulled back. “If you are moving in with Brandon, does that mean I can stay here?” Her gaze darted to Regina. “Provided you want to live here too.”

Regina nodded. “Fine with me. I’m fond of the bathroom. And the kitchen.”

They grinned at each other.

“Eww.” Vickie pulled two throw pillows from behind her back and hurled them at Ellie and Regina. “I don’t want to know all the rooms you did it in, thank you very much.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Ellie said, but her cheeks reddened. “The kitchen was the place where I accidentally blurted out that I was in love with her for the first time.”

“Accidentally?” Vickie laughed. “Like you accidentally bid on her at the singles auction?”

“It was a fly,” Regina and Ellie said in unison. “A big one.”

When they finally stopped smiling at each other, Ellie gazed back at her sister and sobered. “What are we going to do about Wally?”

The dog lifted his head from where he had settled down on Ellie’s sneakers.

“I was hoping you’d agree to having shared custody,” Vickie said. “Between the four of us, we would probably have him covered, so he wouldn’t even have to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house anymore.”

The four of us? Regina raised her brows. It seemed she had just been promoted to pet co-parent.

Ellie turned toward Regina. Her big, brown eyes reminded Regina of Wally when he was begging for a bite of her food. “What do you think? Would you want to live with Wally part-time?”

Regina shrugged. “Since I have now developed an informed opinion on dogs, why not?”

Ellie threw her arms around her in an exuberant hug, then pulled back just as fast to give her sister an eager look. “So, when are we doing this?”

Vickie chuckled. “And to think I was nervous to tell you, and now you can’t wait to get rid of me.”

“It’s not that. I’m just—”

“Happy,” Vickie said. “I get it. How about March 1st?”

Regina’s mouth went as dry as the pages of a medical textbook. That was less than two weeks away! Things were getting real much faster than she had anticipated. Was she ready for that?

Ellie put her hand on Regina’s knee. “What do you think? Would you even be able to find someone who’d be interested in taking over the rest of your lease that fast?”

No more taking an out. Regina squared her shoulders. “Yeah, no problem. The Literary Apartments are so popular, I could probably find someone within the hour if I wanted. Finding a moving company on such short notice will be the bigger problem.”

“Moving company?” Ellie repeated as if she had never heard of the concept. “We don’t need one. I bet Jasmine, Beth, and Kayla would all be willing to help, and so would Dylan, Paige, Cait, and Mica.”

Half of the people she’d listed worked at the hospital. Having them all mixed up in her personal business made Regina’s skin itch.

But if it meant she would get to share her life with Ellie a little sooner, she would deal with it.

She gave them a determined nod. “Okay. March 1st it is.”

* * *

A few days later, Regina scrutinized the donuts in the break room. Was she desperate enough to eat one of the stale things, or was there time to get something from the cafeteria?

Before she could decide, footsteps sounded behind her.

Regina turned.

Kayla strode to the coffee machine like a starving woman rushing toward a buffet. Once she had shoved a mug beneath the nozzle and pressed the button, she faced Regina. “How are things going?”

Regina tilted her head. “They’re going.”

“I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter lately,” Kayla said over the noise of the coffee machine. “Want to know what it is?”

Regina wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks. You know how I feel about gossip.” She decided against braving the donuts, grabbed her mug, and turned to go.

“Oh, I have a feeling you’d be interested in this particular piece of gossip,” Kayla’s voice trailed after her. “It’s about your girlfriend.”

Regina white-knuckled her mug to stop herself from hurling it across the room. She turned back around to send Kayla a lethal glare. “I swear if those damn busybodies dare say a single word about Ellie, I’m going to grab a rectal speculum and—”

“Whoa, hold your horses! They’re not saying anything bad. Just that she’s nesting.” Kayla grinned widely, enjoying this too much for Regina’s liking.

“Nesting?” Regina frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kayla’s eyes widened. “Oh God! Please tell me you already know!”

“Know what?”

“Apparently, Ellie has been shopping for stuff during all her breaks this week. You know. Stuff to make her home more cozy.”

“So?” Ellie’s impulse-buying habits weren’t anyone else’s business. So what if she had gone a little overboard and had bought things like an oversized throw blanket, a colorful rug, and a new table lamp, even though Regina was bringing all of her household items.

“It’s got ‘preparing for the stork’s arrival’ written all over it.” Kayla walked over and gave her a hearty pat on the shoulder. “So congratulations, Mom!”

Coffee dribbled over the rim of Regina’s mug. “Why the hell does everyone keep thinking that?”

“Oh, so others have noticed too?”

“There is nothing to notice! You need to give your medical degree back, Vaughn! We’re lesbians, remember?” Regina gestured at her scrub pants. “No built-in baby-making equipment.”

Kayla snorted. “My lesbian friends managed to get pregnant without that equipment.”

“Yeah, but not by accident. Don’t you think we’d get married or at least buy a house before we even talked about starting a family?”

“So Ellie isn’t pregnant?” Kayla asked.

“No! Jesus! Do I have to put it in the staff newsletter for you to believe me?”

“Um, no, I believe you. But if it’s not that, what’s going on?”

Regina wanted to tell her it was none of her damn business. But Ellie planned to use their co-workers as moving helpers. In fact, Ellie had started to ask people days ago, but apparently, she hadn’t gotten to Kayla yet since their colleague usually worked nights. Regina clutched her coffee mug with both hands. “I’m moving in with Ellie next week.”

Kayla put her own mug down and stared at her.

She hadn’t been fazed by the thought of Ellie being pregnant. Why on earth did she look so shocked that they were moving in together? People made no sense sometimes.

“Wow,” Kayla finally said. “That’s a big step.”

Regina shrugged, playing it cool. “I guess.”

“Come on! It’s huge! Maybe not quite as huge as having a baby, but still… You went from hating her to nesting in less than a year!”

Regina scowled at her. “I’m not nesting. And I never hated her.”

“Ha! You nearly ripped her head off for hanging paper hearts in the ED last Valentine’s Day, and now you’re moving in together.”

Regina shrugged again. “It’s just more practical since it’s closer to the disc golf course where I play.”

Kayla didn’t even try to hide her grin. “Right. Practicality. That’s why you’re moving in with her.”

“That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it,” Regina said. “And speaking of practicalities… You know what else would be really practical? Having a few helpers on moving day.”