Page 46 of All She Wants

“Folded?”

“Well, if you consider balling it up and shoving it into the bin folded, then yes, folded.”

Claire laughed as she tucked in the sleeves and reduced the shirt to a tidy square. “I’m glad you have other strengths.”

Claire handed her the toiletry case instead, and Erin carried bottles from the bathroom while Claire transformed the scattered evidence of a week into neat layers inside the suitcase. Each item that vanished beneath the zipper tugged at Erin’s ribs. She kept moving before the approaching goodbye could take hold.

Near the bottom of the stack, Claire lifted the forest-green cable-knit and held it out. “This is going to stay with you.”

“Claire—”

“You wear it better. And I want to picture you in it when I’m sitting through conference calls.”

Erin pressed the sweater against her chest. The wool still carried Claire’s perfume. She set it beside her jeans and boots on the chair by the window.

The rental had begun to look as it must have before Claire arrived. The counters were clear, the pillows were squared, and her suitcase waited beside the bedroom door.

They lay facing each other long after the lights went out. Erin traced the curve of Claire’s shoulder and listened to her breathing slow, then quicken when Erin’s fingers drifted lower, then slow again as they settled into simply touching. Claire curled her hand around Erin’s hip and pulled her closer until their foreheads rested together.

“Stop thinking about the morning,” Claire murmured.

“I’m thinking about your next visit.”

Claire kissed her softly. “Liar.”

Erin smiled against her mouth and closed her eyes. Sleep came eventually, though neither woman rested deeply.

THEY CARRIED THE LAST bags out together. Claire placed her suitcase in the back of the SUV beside her handbag and laptop case. Erin set her duffel in her own car and closed the hatch.

The rental stood behind them, already reverting to someone else’s property.

Claire pulled her close. Erin wrapped both arms around her and held on.

Claire kissed her, and when they finally separated, Claire touched Erin’s cheek and smiled, though her eyes had grown glassy.

“Call me when you get home,” Erin said.

“I will.”

They walked to their cars and stood beside them for another moment, reluctant to open the doors. Claire finally climbed into her SUV. Erin waited until its engine started before getting into her own car and pulling out behind her.

They stayed together down the mountain road. At the junction, Claire signaled east toward Denver while Erin turned north toward the boutique. Claire lifted one hand behind the windshield as their roads separated.

The road carried Claire toward Denver. Erin was comforted knowing the date it would bring her back.

Epilogue

One Year Later

Claire pulled into the same gravel lot and turned off the engine. Snow drifted past the windshield in loose, unhurried flakes, nothing like the white wall that had swallowed the mountains last Christmas Eve. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and walked confidently through the front door of All She Wants without breaking stride. “Merry Christmas, Maren.”

Maren looked up from counting the register drawer and smiled. A playlist of acoustic holiday covers drifted from the speakers. “Merry Christmas, Claire. Erin’s with someone in the back.”

“I’ll wait right here.”

Claire set her bag beside the velvet chair near the wood stove and unbuttoned her coat. A year ago, she had perched on this same chair, gripping the armrest while Erin explained how different vibration patterns changed the sensation. Erin had spoken so comfortably that Claire’s throat remained flushed throughout the entire consultation. She had blamed the wood stove.

Erin’s voice carried from the consultation room. She was describing pressure settings to a woman who kept interrupting with nervous laughter, and Erin answered every stumbled question as though it were the most reasonable thing anyone had ever asked her. Claire settled back in the chair and listened.