There was no answer to that. “Do you blame me for getting you involved in this?”

“Of course not! Why would I?”

“For playing with your feelings,” Bette shrugged. “For not listening to my heart.”

Barbara sighed. It seems the brunette was hell bent on taking a guilt trip. “The heart wants what the heart wants. Nobody can be blamed for that.”

“The trouble is, my heart doesn’t know what it wants.”

“Bullshit!” Barbara replied hotly. “You’re just too stubborn to listen to your heart.”

Bette watched as the woman sat on a lounger. She followed suit, taking a seat next to her. “We’ll always be friends.”

A strangled laugh escaped. Barbara had prepared herself for this day, this conversation. Too bad she had not anticipated the amount of sadness that would come with it. “No.”

She did a double take. “No?”

“We will never be ‘just friends,’ Bette,” Barbara clarified. “I will wait for you till the cows come home. All I need is a sign from you.”

“I don’t think that is wise.”

“Is it wise to try with Tina again?” Barbara gritted her teeth.

The woman looked away. “We owe it to ourselves to at least try.”

“Well, I owe it to myself to see this through.” Barbara sighed. “Remember our first meeting? By the time I had you back at my apartment, I knew, you’re the one I need.”

“I must say I’m surprised you’re taking this so well,” Bette remarked, her gaze shifting to Barbara every so often.

A gentle shake of her head followed Bette’s reply. “You and I both know that deep down, your reunion with Tina was inevitable.”

She frowned. “It seems everyone could see it coming but me.”

“You’re in love, it tends to cloud your vision,” Barbara offered slowly.

Her eyes cast downward. “I wish you wouldn’t try to make me feel better.”

“I’m not, Bette,” she assured the woman. “I came to LA with every intention of being with you. I told myself that I could live with Tina still being in your life. But then when I saw you together, in the same room, I knew.”