“Hand me that knife?” she asks.
I pass it over. Our fingers brush. She doesn’t comment on it.
We work side by side—quiet, efficient. Cheese unwrapped. Crackers poured into a bowl. The music from above filters down faintly, muffled by wood and motion.
For a few minutes, it’s just that. Normal. Easy.
Then Sage pauses.
Not abruptly. Just enough that I notice.
She sets the knife down carefully, wipes her hands on a paper towel, and looks at me—not directly, not at first. At the counter. At the grapes. Anywhere but my face.
“I hate to ask you this,” she says.
My stomach tightens.
She finally meets my eyes. Her expression is almost apologetic. Almost.
“But if I were in your shoes,” she continues, “I think I’d want to know.”
I don’t answer. I wait.
“Has Ethan,” she says lightly, like she’s asking about the weather, “ever… hooked up with Kate or Kristen?”
The boat creaks softly, like it’s listening.
“You mentioned the ski house,” she adds. “And they’re very cute.”
I bite my lip.
Hard.
Girl code presses in on both sides of my ribs. Ethan’s voice in my head. The look he gave Tony earlier. The way he trusts me. But also—putting myself in her place. Sitting on a boat with your boyfriend and two women you don’t fully know, wondering if there’s history you’re the last to hear about.
I stall, reaching for the grapes, even though they’re already washed.
“I don’t want to betray Ethan,” I say finally.
Sage lifts one shoulder. “I get that.”
“But,” I add, quieter, “I’d feel weird if it were me. If there was something and no one told me.”
She doesn’t rush me. That’s what gets me.
“I think,” I say slowly, choosing my words like they might break, “maybe Ethan kissed Kate once. Like… a lifetime ago.”
Sage’s eyebrows lift just a fraction.
“They were both drunk,” I rush to add. “It meant nothing. Truly. It was before anything serious. And it never came up again.”
The words slip out faster than I mean them to, tumbling over each other now that they’re loose.
Sage studies my face for half a beat.
Then she laughs.
Not sharp. Not offended. Just… amused.
