“She’s about as straight as I pretended to be at school. You’re like one of those historians who dig up passionate love letters between a same-sex couple and argue that was just the florid language of the day between two very good friends.”
“Oh please. Elena’s never dated any women! You might think you know her because you’re her best friend. But I’m the one who actually knows her best. I organized her work diaries. I knew her schedules. And I organized her secret little getaways with her husband. You have no proof except a sudden interest in her friend’s well-being when off the beaten track in Vietnam.”
“The photo on her desk,” Perry continued, ticking off his fingers as though Felicity had never spoken. “The fact that, while you were doing your hand-over month with Elena, the whole time—all of it—Maddie was staying with her.”
She was? “Well, friends do that.” Not that Felicity had a deep well of understanding on the topic.
“A month? I bet you couldn’t spend a week with a friend before wanting her gone.”
True. Except Cooper, but that was different. Felicity couldn’t get enough of her girlfriend these days, and it had been a whole lot longer than a month. Not to mention her mother had, as predicted, loved her; her sister kept making wedding jokes; and Felicity’s nieces and nephews had tried to sneak into the car to come home with them when they were leaving.
And then there’d been Nana Cooper. Felicity adored Cooper’s grandmother. The woman kept exclaiming that Felicity was a refined young woman Cooper could learn a lot from. Frankly, it was hilarious and surprising that Cooper hadn’t sprained her eyeballs from rolling them so hard. So really— Wait. What were they discussing?
“You’re doing it again,” Perry said. “Drifting off into the haze of new love. Is it a he or a she this time? Don’t think I didn’t work out that you and Larissa Andino had a fling. She wasn’t exactly subtle the way she was sniffing around you at that LA white ball.”
Felicity stared. How on earth had he noticed that? Even Felicity hadn’t noticed that!
“Never mind. Surprise me later with your mystery paramour,” Perry barreled on. “In the meantime, look: love’s absolutely everywhere.”
She followed his gaze.
Elena was at the end of the corridor, head bent, talking to Maddie softly. The media mogul suddenly stepped right inside Maddie’s personal space and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers.
Oh. My. God.
Maddie turned at Felicity and Perry’s approach, a smile washing across her face. “Hey! How are…” she began before fading out at Felicity’s doubtlessly startled expression.
Perry gave them a smug snort and a friendly wave.
Speechless, Felicity couldn’t tear her eyes away from those interlocked fingers, even after Perry nudged her in the ribs.
Elena and Maddie?
After a few murmured words and a tiny smile, Elena tugged Maddie into her arms and kissed her thoroughly. Extremely thoroughly.
So endeth any merry delusion they were just good friends.
Perry clasped his hands to his chest and looked about to weep with delight.
Felicity slumped against a nearby pillar. “Oh! Of bloody course! Longest winning streak ever!”
Cooper would be impossible after this. Perry, too. She pushed that out of her mind and regarded the couple with fresh eyes.
So much love. That’s definitely what it was. It was clear to anyone looking that Elena only had eyes for one person in the universe—and it was mutual.
“Come on,” Felicity said to Perry. “Let’s go get some booze into me so I can review how blind I’ve been under the forgiving haze of alcohol.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say no to that.” Perry chuckled and left with her.
* * *
By the end of the evening, Felicity was tired. She’d done some imbibing with Perry, sat through a sweet, self-deprecating speech from Maddie as the youngest winner of the Coleman Prize for Journalism that had earned enthusiastic applause, and decided it was now or never. Time to hunt down her boss.
She found Elena leaning into Maddie, whispering in her ear in a quiet corner, a small smile playing around her lips. It could have been about any topic, but now that Felicity knew the truth, it looked that much more intimate.
Approaching loudly—lest she interrupted anything that would traumatize her—she caught Elena’s eye first.
“You could have told me.” Felicity said, folding her arms.
“What, and ruin the moment you figured it out? Oh, I’d never deprive you,” Elena said, eyes bright with amusement.
“And you!” Felicity turned on Maddie. “Well, of course you won the queen.”
Maddie’s cheeks reddened, but she didn’t deny it. “Yeah. I did.”
“Hmm.” Felicity eyed them both and then relented. Maybe falling for Cooper had melted her defenses because she found herself saying seriously, “I’m really very happy for you both. I mean it.”
Maddie grinned and flung herself into a hug, which Felicity sighed and endured while Elena leaned back and just laughed.
Once they parted, Felicity gave Elena an aggrieved look. “All right, I’m going to borrow your—” She stopped and wondered what the right word was for their relationship. Girlfriend? Lover? She almost shuddered at the mental images. “—Australian for a few minutes.”
Maddie chuckled. “Sure.”
Elena gave a soft huff. “I’m quite certain you could come up with a better term than that.”
“Ex-assistant then?” Felicity asked mischievously. Then she paused and eyeballed Elena worriedly. “Oh God, please tell me you two weren’t going at it when you were Maddie’s boss? Were you defiling the desk whenever my back was turned?”
“Don’t be absurd, Felicity. Besides, desks are for work only.” Elena straightened. “I’ll leave you two to catch up. I have to talk to Perry about the fall lineups. Make sure he doesn’t get his head turned by fuchsia again. Once was enough.” She drifted away.
