Pure Connections

Chapter 1

      Bad ideas disguised as beautiful women were a thing of Lisa's past.

      At least, that's what she'd told herself six months ago as she'd paced the living room of her Malibu high-rise, at three-something in the morning no less, and booked an afternoon reservation at Gia, San Francisco. Now that she stood on the curb outside, scrutinizing the building's taupe siding and modest casement windows, she tried to remind herself of that—remind herself she was here because everything she'd read online echoed that this was the Mexican-Italian restaurant to know on the West Coast. Not that the four-month wait for a reservation hadn't been a dead giveaway.

      She could've been here two months sooner, seen Jennie sooner, but Lisa had had plans for Rio that would've been costly to cancel, and anyway, she wasn't in San Francisco for her. After a year of international travel, it was time to add more local experiences to her socials. San Francisco was Malibu's backyard. Well, not exactly. But close enough. And the Mission district seemed like the place to start—the streets constantly alive with art, music, and culture, not to mention the gorgeous weather.

      Behind her, a car door slammed shut, and an image of Maya climbing out of Lisa's Jeep after finally ending her fifteen-minute argument with her boyfriend cropped up in Lisa's mind. Her body hummed with something undefined—a restless energy she hadn't experienced since before she'd taken her first trip almost eight years ago. Her skin prickled with sweat. One hand tugged at the collar of her palm-print button up as she peered up at the sun, her eyes secure behind the shield of her sunglasses.

      "You okay?"

      The sound of Maya's voice drew Lisa's attention. "Yeah." Her lips quirked into a grimace. "It's just...It's hot, isn't it?"

      "No hotter than LA." Maya shrugged. "Besides, you're the one who rushed out of an air-conditioned car to stand around on the sidewalk."

      "Yeah, well, the environment was becoming a little hostile."

      "What? On a scale of tame to our worst arguments, that doesn't even rank."

      "I still don't get why you're with him when you two can't go a week without wanting to kill each other."

      "Because, Baby Sister..." Maya chuckled, bopping Lisa on the cheek with an index finger Lisa swatted away. "After we fight, the sex is fire."

      Lisa laughed, rolling her eyes—Maya calling her "baby sister" had always frustrated as much as endeared her. "Remind me how you're considered the more wholesome daughter."

      "That's an answer neither of us wants to dissect, so how about we go have some lunch? Unless you want to spend the next hour and a half wrangling a hangry Blake." Maya reached for the door.

      Lisa's tongue itched with a comeback. Something about how Maya had been the one who had kept their friend waiting, and if there was any wrangling to be done, it would be on her. Yet, she found her lips pursing as her eyes drifted to the building again, her feet grounded with apprehension. Regret? Because Gia may well be one of the premier restaurants this side of the country, but how does one simply show up at the workplace of a woman she'd kissed in an airport, thinking they'd never see each other again?

      A memory of the look on Jennie's face right before their lips touched pulsed in Lisa's mind. The questions in her eyes—their walnut shade deepened to something more spellbinding. The strands of copper brown hair—her gorgeous, tousled, fourteen-hour flight hair—beckoning for Lisa to reach up and brush them out of her face. Traces of strawberry ice cream on her lips. It was the gasp, though. The fucking gasp when Lisa had finally kissed her. An absurd, immaterial catch of breath. That's what had kept Lisa up at night. That, and the way Jennie's velvet smooth lips had moved beneath hers. With hers.