Something in the Wine by Jae

trouble to—”
    “No trouble,” Drew said. “It was my pleasure.”
    One skeptical eyebrow arched up Annie’s forehead, but then she finally nodded.
    Drew gave herself a mental shove. Stop wasting your time with a straight woman. You’ve got work to do. Despite her admonishment, spending time with Annie didn’t feel like a waste of anything. She nodded at Annie. “Bye, then.”
    “Bye.”
    Whistling, Drew walked to her car. When she put on the seat belt, she glanced up to Annie’s apartment on the second floor, then shook her head at herself. “Back to work.” She started the car and pulled away from the curb.

Chapter 6
    “So,” Sarah closed the novel, “which book should we discuss next time?”
    A lively discussion broke out in Sarah’s living room, with Annie suggesting some of the mystery novels on her to-be-read pile.
    “How about Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips?” Mia asked.
    “Or one of Jennifer Crusie’s novels.” Tamara leaned forward on the couch, her dark eyes glowing with enthusiasm. “Her books are great.”
    Annie groaned at the usual suggestions. “Oh, come on. Not another romance novel. There are other books, you know?”
    Sarah poked her shoulder. “You mean other than accounting books.”
    “Very funny.” Annie was glad for the reddish lighting of Sarah’s lava lamps since they hid her blush. “At least I’m not the one who got caught reading a romance novel at work.”
    The other women laughed.
    “What do you want to read?” Sarah asked.
    “How about one of Sandra Scoppettone’s?” Annie said. She had tried for ages to get the others in the book club to read one of Scoppettone’s novels. “Her plots are captivating, and her novels have some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read.”
    “They’re also out of print and very hard to find,” Sarah said. She leaned back in her orange armchair and swung one of her slippers back and forth on her foot. “Hmm. How about Tana French? You said she’s good, right?”
    Annie nodded. “She is. Maybe Faithful Place ? I heard it’s her best, and I haven’t read it yet.”
    Mia and Tamara shrugged and scribbled it down.
    “All right.” Annie rose from another of the hideous armchairs. “I need to go. I’m driving to Fresno later and I promised my neighbor that I would look in on her before I go. She broke her ankle last week, but she’s too stubborn to stay in the hospital.”
    The three other women exchanged panicked glances.
    “Oh, no, you can’t go just yet.” Sarah pressed her down into the armchair. “Don’t let her leave, girls.” She rushed toward the kitchen while Mia and Tamara hovered over Annie as if they wanted to bodily keep her in the chair.
    Annie frowned. “What’s going on?”
    Sarah came back into the living room, carrying a cake covered in burning candles. They started singing Happy Birthday , making up for their lack of vocal talent with pure volume. With a smile that was almost brighter than the candles, Sarah stopped in front of Annie. “Surprise! You didn’t think we would let you leave without cake and presents, did you?”
    Tamara slid a heavy box that was wrapped in dotted paper onto Annie’s lap.
    “Uh. No,” Annie said, but it wasn’t true. When no one had congratulated her, she had thought the other book club members had forgotten about her birthday. She had been disappointed but had quickly gotten over it. After all, Tamara and Mia were more Sarah’s friends than hers, and Sarah was a busy woman.
    Sarah pushed the cake toward her, nearly singeing Annie’s hair in her enthusiasm. “Blow them out and make a wish.”
    Annie stared at the candles. What should she wish for? Health? Money? Love? She was almost never sick, didn’t lack for money, and had stopped believing that love was for her. Okay, then I wish that Jake will fall for our trick and believe that something he did drove me into the arms of a woman. With determination, she took a deep breath and blew out all the