Spicy Sapphic Christmas

12. Bea

TWELVE

bea

The door to the rehearsal room opened sharply. Siena walked in, followed by a tall, thin, absolutely stunning woman. She looked like she could have walked right off the runway. Bea sucked in a sharp breath, straightening up. She wasn’t ready for this—whoever this was. She was in her grungy clothes, barely made up.

Bunny had told her they were going to work choreography that day, so she’d dressed down, needing to make sure she could move instead of look good. Bunny stood up immediately, walking over to Siena and the woman, shaking their hands and lingering with the gorgeous woman.

“Bea and Jo, this is Allegra Ilic.” Siena grinned.

Jo immediately bounced her way over to meet this woman, but Bea stayed behind, stomach queasy after what she’d just witnessed from Bunny. She didn’t like how Bunny was eyeing Allegra up and down. Bea was just about to move toward the crowd of people when Jo’s phone buzzed.

“Mandy?” Bea stared at it in confusion a split second before the anger hit. With one glance to her sister, she unlocked the phone and pulled up the text messages. Her stomach instantly churned with bile.

“Bea!” Jo called, a light in her eyes until she saw Bea on her phone.

Pursing her lips, Bea straightened her shoulders and walked directly toward the small group of people. She stood between Jo and Bunny and extended her hand to Allegra. “Hi. It’s good to meet you.”

“You as well,” Allegra said with a patented smile. “I was so happy when Siena shared that you both had agreed to join in our charity event.”

“We love giving back to our community,” Bunny chimed in, practically drooling over Allegra.

If they were alone, Bea would have some sharp words for Bunny. Something about not falling on her face on the way out. Bea clenched her jaw, knowing that her face didn’t match the calm, smiling ease that the others had managed.

Why was Mandy texting Jo again?

“That’s something Jo and I would love to do more of, so the opportunity was perfect.” It wasn’t much of a lie. They had talked about it. They just hadn’t planned on it happening yet. Jo slid Bea a curious look.

Was Jo looking to start up a relationship with Mandy again? Because that would be a bad idea. Hands down. The devastation Jo had experienced during their last breakup was enough for one lifetime.

“Perfect. Well, I thought I should tell you a bit more about the Holbrook Foundation so that you know exactly what we’re raising funds for.” Allegra looked at each of them, making eye contact.

Oh, she was good at this. Schmoozing. It was exactly why she was in the executive director position, wasn’t it? The muscles in Bea’s shoulders tightened even more. She didn’t like it. It felt so underhanded, and the way Bunny was all over Allegra in an instant really put Bea off of the whole situation.

Maybe Bea really was just another notch in Bunny’s belt.

Allegra gave the spiel. Bea only half listened, making eye contact with Siena and nodding toward the door. Siena raised an eyebrow at her and shook her head.

“We’re wanting to help the people who need it most. Research shows that a stable mother relationship with any child will propel that child forward on the right foot when they hit adulthood. So we try to help single mothers as best as we can to give them a hand up in finding their place and stability in this current culture.”

Bea stepped closer to Jo and touched her arm lightly. She hated that they were stuck here and couldn’t talk. She really needed to ask Jo what the hell was going on.

“They make such amazing waves for mothers,” Bunny jumped in, turning to Bea and Jo. “My mom was a single parent. It’s tough out there. Next to impossible to survive.”

Bea stilled. Bunny came from a broken home? She cringed. Why had she thought that? Some crass crap her father would say, and she hadn’t managed to break free of its grasp on her completely yet.

“We’re working with Holbrook on a different fundraiser next year.” Piper jumped into the conversation. “It’s for some work with soldiers.”

Bea was impressed. It seemed the Holbrook Foundation was doing a lot of work. But she still had a sense of unease in her belly, something she couldn’t shake that had absolutely nothing to do with Holbrook and everything to do with the gorgeous woman that Bunny couldn’t stop fawning over. And the fact that Mandy was texting, again.

What the hell did she want?

Bea hung to the back, letting Bunny and Allegra chat away. She eyed them carefully. Jo came to stand next to her, giving her a funky look.

“You look like you want to murder someone,” Jo muttered under her breath.

“Why are you texting Mandy?”

Jo sighed heavily. “I’m not texting. She’s texting.”

Bea turned and stared at her sister, her strong, hurt, and manipulated sister. Jo had fallen head over heels in love with Mandy, and she’d never managed to untangle herself from the woman despite their multiple breakups. Bea pushed her fingers through her hair.

“I don’t like it,” Bea said.

“Well, neither do I, frankly.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to express my gratitude for your volunteering to work this event. It’ll help us raise the funds to meet our goal for the next year.” Allegra folded her hands in front of her. “But I know you have a lot of work to do, so I’ll let you get back to it.”

She said her goodbyes and walked out with Siena. Bea shot Jo a sharp look before following behind. She would take care of the Mandy problem if it was the last thing she did. She allowed the anger to surge into her, needing it to make clear to Siena how dangerous this woman could be.

Bea trailed Siena, waiting until she’d said goodbye to Allegra. Siena turned around, facing Bea with a confused and curious look on her face. “Did you need something?”

“Yes.” Bea bolstered herself. Jo was going to be so ticked off at her for doing this, but something had to be done. And it was Bea’s job to protect her little sister in every way possible. “There’s a woman, Mandy Obrist. She’s harassed Jo for years, and she’s popped back up recently. She has a way of… getting into places she shouldn’t be allowed.”

“Oh?” Siena stepped closer now, her entire body movement shifting into one of concern.

“I thought she was finally gone because she left the state, but Jo said she’s been texting again.” It wasn’t wholly the truth, but Siena didn’t need to know that. “I don’t want her at the event.”

“What kind of harassment has she been doing?” Siena flicked her gaze to something behind Bea.

The hairs on Bea’s neck stood up. Was Jo back there? Ready to pounce on her for spilling such personal information?

“Any and all.” Bea winced and turned around, finding Bunny standing right there.

Well, at least it wasn’t Jo.

“From text messages, to stalking tendencies of being at our gigs when she’s not welcome, to coming backstage. She’s very good at figuring out how to get close to Jo.”

“Who is this?” Bunny immediately stepped in closer, lowering her voice in a dangerous tone.

Was she just as protective as Bea was? A shiver of pleasure ran through Bea.

“No one of your concern.”

“Mandy Obrist,” Siena supplied. “Does the name ring a bell to you?”

Bunny shook her head and shoved her hands into her pockets, rolling up on her toes. “You said she’s stalking Jo?”

“Well, she was kind of. We’ve mainly called it harassment.”

“You haven’t filed police reports for stalking?”

“Jo won’t go for it.”

Bunny pressed her lips together hard, pushing them out. “Take care of it, Siena.”

“I’m planning on it already. Bea, I need you to send me what you have on her. Pictures, but also her birthday and any other information you have. Address, phone number, and any methods she’s used to get close to Jo.”

“Okay.” Relief flooded Bea’s chest. Were they really going to work on this together? She hadn’t imagined Bunny wanted anything to do with them beyond what was required.

“Do you think she’ll show up here? While you’re rehearsing?” Siena asked.

Bea was about to answer and then stopped. “I’m not sure. She’s never really shown up outside of shows. At least when Jo wasn’t letting her. But she’ll come to every show of ours she can find. She just wants to be in the spotlight from what I can tell. She craves that attention.”

“Then we definitely don’t want her at a charity event.” Siena nodded at Bunny. “I’ll start working on it, and I’ll see about posting security here just in case.”

“We’re off the beaten path,” Bea objected, wanting to keep this as low key as possible. She already knew Jo was going to be massively pissed off that she’d brought it up with Siena. Adding security into the mix was only going to make it worse. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem here.”

“It’s not your choice,” Siena answered. “I’ll have it arranged for tomorrow. Send me that information before the end of the day. I’ll talk to you later about what details I come up with.”

With that, Siena left. Bea stood awkwardly on the curb, Bunny next to her in silence. Siena waved at them as she drove off, and while a slight amount of the tension eased from Bea’s chest, there was another tension that she couldn’t get rid of.

“I want more details than Siena.” Bunny looked Bea over, down and then up. What Bea would give to fall into Bunny’s arms and be held. But that wasn’t anywhere near the relationship they had. Bunny was hard, stony, and the stare she was giving was one of disgust.

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“How dangerous is this woman?”

Bea pressed her lips together hard. “Well, she’s never attacked Jo or me.”

“Way to sidestep that. She’ll throw Jo off her game, massively, won’t she?”

“Yes.” Bea sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked around, half expecting Mandy to jump out at them.

“Then we can’t have that.” Bunny stepped in closer, reaching for Bea’s shoulder. “She’s one of us, now. And I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe.”

Bea’s lips parted in surprise. It was her job to project Jo. It had always been her job. No one else had ever even tried to step into that role. Not any of their siblings. No one. So to have Bunny say it now was so odd. A calm washed through her in a way it never had before.

“Thank you, I think.”

“It’s not a problem.” Bunny raised her fingers to Bea’s chin, lifting it up so they could look into each other’s eyes. “You should have told me sooner.”

“I just found out.” Bea couldn’t stop looking into Bunny’s gaze. Who was this woman? One minute she was hot and sexy, the next she was all control and power as their non-chosen leader, so put together as if she could do anything. But right in this moment, she was soft, caring. Like she actually did want the best for them. “Bunny—”

Bunny shook her head. “It’s not a problem. I promise.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.” Bea clenched her jaw, still unable to find words to explain what was washing through her.

“Then what?” Bunny dropped her hand, putting space between them.

It was exactly what Bea had needed in order to find herself again. “I don’t get you.”

“I’m sorry?” Bunny jerked her head up, suddenly on the defensive.

“I just don’t. One minute you’re cold and aloof, the next you’re accusing me of having some kind of agenda. And now you want to be Jo’s savior?”

“I don’t want to be anyone’s savior.” Bunny narrowed her gaze. “I’m hardly a saint.”

“Well, that’s clear, isn’t it?” Bea clenched her jaw. “You make no sense.”

“Then I guess you know me pretty well.” Bunny stepped in closer, her voice dropping to dangerous levels, except this time, it was aimed at Bea instead of Mandy. “Because I’m absolutely not a saint. I’m no one to write home about.”

Bunny’s breath brushed along Bea’s shoulder and down her neck. If Bea closed her eyes, she could vividly imagine Bunny’s mouth on her skin. The press of those soft lips meant solely to incite pleasure. Bea pressed her thighs together, hating that her clit pulsed and her underwear was already damper than it had been.

“Fun fact,” Bea started, turning her chin to meet Bunny’s gaze. “Neither am I.”

Twisting on her toes, Bea walked back into the building. She didn’t stop until she reached the main rehearsal room. Piper and Jo were halfway through one of their duets, singing with grins on their faces as they spun around the room in the tango-esque dance that would be the choreography for that particular song.

Bea stayed on the edge, observing every move. If she hadn’t seen the texts, she never would have known that Jo was struggling. In fact, she couldn’t even bring herself to see it now that she was looking for it. Perhaps Mandy’s texts hadn’t been that bad. Maybe Mandy hadn’t wanted anything.

Who the hell was she kidding?

Mandy only ever wanted one thing—Jo. And she knew exactly how to get Jo in her clutches and rip her to shreds, again. Bea couldn’t watch that happen. It had taken months for Jo to even smile after the last time, and Jo deserved to enjoy life. Like she was right now.

“They look good together,” Bunny said, her voice quiet so as not to disturb the rehearsal going on.

Bea pursed her lips, glancing from her sister and Piper to Bunny. “They do.”

“I wouldn’t mind encouraging that relationship to flourish. Would you?”

“With Piper? Absolutely not.”

“But I come attached to Piper.” Bunny looked directly at Bea. “And that’s your hesitation?”

“You’ve not exactly been warm and welcoming.” Bea bit the inside of her cheeks.

“Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.”

Bea snorted.

“I thought we agreed to civility.” Bunny crossed her arms, looking back at the couple in the center of the room. “For their sake.”

“That was before.” Bea’s body wanted so badly to turn into Bunny and push her against the wall. Just like they’d done in the piano room. Fall to her knees and have Bunny come all over her again. It had been stunning to watch that unraveling.

“And what’s now?”

Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? Bea sucked in a sharp breath and rolled her shoulders. She had to give an answer. Bunny was fishing to figure out where they stood together. And the pressure to actually respond instead of just avoid was so strong. But she couldn’t make herself do it.

They might end up running in the same circles, but that didn’t mean they had to like each other.

“Now, we get ready for the event. That is why we’re here, isn’t it?” Bea kept her voice as level and even as possible. Despite what her heart told her, despite what her body insisted she felt, she couldn’t make her brain give up those clutches on her. Not just yet. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“That we do.” Bunny looked Bea over one last time before walking toward the piano and plopping her ass on the bench.

At least that was done. Now if Bea could only convince her body to catch up with her brain, she’d be golden. She just had to convince herself that this was the right decision. Not about Jo—that was absolutely the right choice. But about her and Bunny.

They needed to stop whatever dance they’d started.