Few Hearts Survive (A Pink Bean Series Novella) by Harper Bliss

Author:Harper Bliss [Bliss, Harper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ladylit Publishing

Chapter Ten

Amber had taken Martha to her favorite vegan restaurant, which happened to be very close to where Martha lived. Since they’d sat down, Amber seemed lost in thought.

“You’re miles away,” Martha said. “It is the food or the company?” Second date nerves prevented her smile from stretching to its widest.

“I’m sorry,” Amber said. “This week is killing me. The contrast with my time in India is too big. A retreat like the one I was on is so valuable. I felt fully recharged when I got back, but I’ve had a lot on my mind since then.”

“I hope you’ve had some time left to think about me.” One look into Amber’s eyes, and Martha didn’t care that she was coming on a tad strong.

“I think thoughts of you may have taken up most of my emotional bandwidth,” Amber said.

Martha grinned. “Good. I think.”

Amber glanced at Martha’s still half-full plate.

“It’s not the food,” Martha quickly said. “I promise.” She was a really bad liar.

“I should have taken you to a more transitional place. I realize now this one might be a bit too hardcore.”

Martha shook her head. “When we were on our first date, I’d look at you and I’d sometimes think you were from another place and time.” She paused. “Don’t get me wrong. I think you are beautiful and kind and intelligent. Well, that was my first-date impression of you, anyway, but we’ve lead such different lives. I’m older, of course. Only by nine years, which at our age shouldn’t matter that much, I believe, but, god, Amber, I’m in awe of you when it comes to certain choices you’ve made. Especially the ones I was always afraid to make myself.”

“You mean you should have become a vegan years ago?” Amber quipped while a small blush crept up her cheeks.

“If you’re using the word vegan as a euphemism. Yes, then I guess that’s what I mean.” Martha chuckled. She didn’t care much about the food, because it simply felt good to sit here and talk about big and small things.

“It was never a choice for me.” Amber no longer had any trouble staring deeply into Martha’s eyes. “I only came out to my parents when I was twenty-five, but by then I’d known for a decade that I would never be with men. There’s a big difference between knowing and making the choice to be open about it.”

“Tell me about it.” Martha made another attempt at stabbing at her food, then put her cutlery down. “How did your parents take it?”

“Really well. Because they’d known for such a long time already and they were happy that I’d finally told them. That it was all out in the open. That I could finally become my true self and be happy.”

“And did you? Become happy?”

“As happy as a twenty-something junior marketing manager working for a big corporation, who was about to have her heart severely broken for the first time, could be.”

Martha nodded thoughtfully. “When I was twenty-five, I’d been a mother for a year.

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