Page 60 of The Reluctant Roommate

“Yeah, not so different, especially at closing time: getting big beasts to where they don’t want to be.”

“I better go find Morgan.”

“Girlfriend?” Franco asked.

“Roommate.”

“Sorry, my bad. I thought you had girlfriend vibes.”

Heidi gave a small smile and picked up the glasses. “I better get back to her.” One part of her wanted to know more about those “girlfriend vibes.” But maybe Franco was just doing theopposite of what he thought. Sapphic couples were still often taken to be sisters or friends. Maybe he was making very sure he wasn’t presuming. Whatever. It was good to know Oscar’s Tavern was a welcoming place.

She glanced around, seeking Morgan. She wasn’t where she’d last seen her, nor was she at the shuffleboard or pool tables. Then she spotted her, talking with a dark-haired woman. The woman wore jeans and a ribbed Henley, but, despite the casual clothes, something set her apart. As if she had accidentally wandered into the bar and wasn’t sure what to do now that she was here. She toyed with an empty wineglass, but she was leaning forward to hear what Morgan was saying.

Heidi hesitated. Was Morgan flirting? Had she met a friend? Did she want to be rescued? Morgan was sitting on the barstool as if she were in a Zoom meeting, and there was a slight smile on her face. Professional smile. Then the woman turned, and Heidi saw her face. It was Morgan’s work colleague, Manuela, the one they’d bumped into in the Park Grille a few weeks back.

Heidi went across and set down the wine. “Hey, roomie. The wine’s for you from Franco.”

“Thanks.” Some of Morgan’s stiffness evaporated. So maybe she did need rescuing. “You remember Manuela?”

“I do,” Heidi said. “Heidi. I’m Morgan’s roommate.”

A flicker of a frown crossed Manuela’s forehead. “I didn’t know Morgan lived with anyone.”

“It suits both of us,” Heidi said. “Are you two talking work? I’ll leave you to it, if that’s the case.”

“No way.” Morgan’s laugh had a strained edge to it. “No office talk after hours, right, Manuela?”

Manuela nodded. “But since Heidi mentioned it, how is it going for you, Morgan? Have you found—”

Morgan surged to her feet. “Heidi, didn’t you say we had to be back for a video chat with your sister? We’ll need to hurry.”

Heidi gaped for a second. The excuse was patently a lie, even to Manuela, who was now staring at Morgan with eyebrows raised. What had she been about to say that Morgan didn’t want Heidi to hear? Some work secret-squirrel stuff? But theyusedto work together. And Morgan worked somewhere new now. Somewhere she could work from home. “Have you found,” Manuela had said. Have you found what? The pieces came together like a Jenga tower. And now Manuela had pulled out a foundation block, and Morgan’s tower was wobbling.

“You’re right,” she said smoothly. “I forgot about the chat with Fiona. She’s looking forward to meeting you.” She slung an arm around Morgan’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to the side of her forehead. “I think you’re on to us,” she said to Manuela. “We’re a bit more than roomies.”

Morgan leaned into Heidi’s side, and a slight tremor ran through her shoulders. Was she pissed that Heidi had said that?

Morgan drank a couple of mouthfuls of wine and stood. “It was nice seeing you again, Manuela. We still need to have that lunch. I’ll call you.”

From the way she’d said it, Heidi guessed there was no way she would. “Bye, Manuela. It was nice to see you again.”

“You too, Heidi. Bye, Morgan.” Her forehead wrinkled and her mouth opened, as if to ask a question.

Heidi dropped Morgan’s arm but grasped her hand and tugged her away. There was no way Morgan would want to answer questions. Together, they wended their way out to the quiet street. Lights from the bar illuminated the snowy scene. It had to have snowed again while they’d been inside, as fresh snow partially filled the footprints along the sidewalk. Only a couple of tire tracks marked the pristine snow on the road.

Heidi’s mind buzzed as pieces tumbled, rotated, and clicked into place.

She and Morgan had to talk.

Chapter 28

Spilling

“C’mon.” Heidi linked arms with Morgan. She waited until they were half a block away from Oscar’s Tavern before asking, “So what’s the deal with Manuela that you suddenly wanted to leave?”

“She’s a colleague,” Morgan said. “Who wants to talk shop outside of work?”

“But she’s someone you used to work with. That’s what you said when we bumped into her in the Park Grille.”