“Have you been avoiding me?” Julia asks.

Caught, Harper freezes for a second before forcing out a scoff. “What? No.”  But her cheeks are burning at the lie, so she leans down and pretends to search for something to explain why she’d abruptly gone the opposite way when she’d seen Julia coming out of their favorite coffee shop. After a few seconds, she makes a triumphant sound, rising to her feet and flashing her key ring at Julia. “Can’t believe I dropped these.” 

Julia raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, and Harper swallows back the sinking feeling churning in her gut.

“Or that it took you so long to find them.” Julia’s voice is flat, devoid of her usual enthusiasm. She must have come here directly from the office because she’s wearing one of her sleek gray dresses and dark heels. Her long, wavy hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail.

Okay, so maybe Harper’s been avoiding Julia. But it’s only because she’s doing it again. That thing where she falls too hard, too fast. It’s better to keep Julia at a distance. It sucks not talking to her every day, but it works. This way, Julia can’t say she’s too much like everyone else has.

She knows she should apologize, but instead, she shoves her hands in her pockets and feels her shoulders creeping up to her ears. “What can I say? I always sucked at I Spy.” 

Julia folds her arms across her chest, and for a moment, the sounds of the city fill in the silence between them. 

“I got you something,” Julia finally says. “I’ve been trying to give it to you all week, but you keep avoiding me.”

Harper tilts her head. “It’s not my birthday.”

“Harper, I swear. It’s not because—” Julia shakes her head and draws in breath. “I got it because it reminded me of you.”

Harper’s trying to keep her expression neutral, but she can’t remember the last time she received a present when it wasn’t her birthday or a holiday. She’s normally the one buying spur-of-the-moment gifts. It feels strange to have the roles reversed.

Julia presses her lips together. “Besides, it’s probably not good anymore. I don’t even know how long cheese lasts.”

Harper grins so wide her face hurts. “You got me cheese?”

Julia’s cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink. “Yeah. But like I said”—she flicks her right hand dismissively—“It’s been a while, so…”

Harper takes a step closer. There’s no way any kind of cheese went bad in a week. Julia’s just being stubborn. But Harper can be stubborn, too. “What kind is it?”

She’s close enough now to see Julia’s blue eyes widen a fraction, then narrow. “That kind you talked about.” 

Harper pauses mid-step, her brow furrowing. When had she talked about cheese?

“Your friend’s party,” Julia says. She’s wearing her normal perfume, a mix of citrus and something sharp. “You said something about the World Cheese Awards.”

Harper’s heart lurches in her chest. That had been months ago, long enough now that she can’t remember how or why it had come up in conversation. But somehow Julia had remembered. 

“The Rogue River Blue?” Harper finally asks, taking her hands out of her pockets.

Julia’s eyes light up with recognition. “Yeah, that one.”

Harper lets out an incredulous laugh. “You found it?”

“I ordered some that night,” Julia says, her voice softening. “I was going to tell you sooner, but there was a waitlist, and then I realized how ridiculous I was acting. You didn’t even say you liked blue cheese. You were just doing that thing that you do—I swear you have an interesting fact about everything.”

“That’s…” Harper draws in a deep breath and tries to rein in her emotions. She wants to say that it’s too much. She knows how expensive the cheese is, and Julia got it for her. 

It’s something Harper would do.

Julia smiles, her eyes crinkling in the corners. “It’s ridiculous, I know.”

Harper shakes her head. “I wasn’t going to say that.” She reaches forward, her fingers skimming down Julia’s arm. The light touch sends sparks flying through her body. Julia sucks in a breath, and Harper wonders if she feels it too. “It was thoughtful.”

Julia’s eyes search hers. “It wasn’t too much?”

Harper swallows. “No way. I’m kind of an expert when it comes to going overboard. Trust me when I say this is actually really sweet. I love it.”

Hope surges through Harper. Maybe it could be different with Julia. She’s been holding herself back for weeks, trying to play it cool. But all she’s done is make herself miserable. If she’d known she was hurting Julia just as much as she was hurting herself, she would’ve stopped immediately.

Harper draws in a breath. “I’m sorry I was avoiding you.”

Julia’s lips twitch into something like a smile. “So, you admit it.”

Harper hesitates, trying to ignore her first instinct, which is to deflect and make a witty retort about how she lied before and she's actually being fantastic at I Spy. She’s never been great about taking responsibility for her mistakes, but Julia deserves better. “I got scared. I really like you, Julia, and I don’t want to mess this up. I won’t do it again.”

Julia eyes her for a moment, then nods. “I believe you.”

Harper blinks. “Just like that?”

Julia lifts her right shoulder in a half-shrug. “You can grovel more if you’d like to.”

“Um.” She doesn’t normally struggle for words, but Julia’s left her speechless.

“I’m joking. Mostly.” Julia’s tone shifts, her words growing softer. “If you pull this again…”

“Are you free tomorrow night?” Harper asks before she can talk herself out of it. “We should dig into that cheese before it goes bad. I’ll bring snacks. And wine.”

A smile spreads across Julia’s face. “As long as you’re not picking out the wine.”

Harper playfully rolls her eyes. “Some of us happen to like pink wine, okay?”  She feels lighter than she has in days. “But fine. I’ll ask an expert. Caroline owes me a favor.”

“Then I’ll see you at seven.” Julia reaches forward and gently squeezes Harper’s arm. She lets go and turns to leave. Midway down the block, she looks back. “Don’t be late!”

Harper nods, then grins. “I’ll be there.” She watches until Julia turns a corner and disappears from her line of sight.

Harper’s done hiding a big part of who she is. Julia likes her—all parts of her—and that’s more than enough.

Tomorrow it is.