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Sabine had not moved at all in however much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? A week? What day was it?
“Hi,” she said to the woman standing beside Dave. She slid off the stool to her feet.
“This is Sabine. This is her place.” Dave draped an arm around the smaller woman and hugged her to his side.
Dave’s mom was somehow not what Sabine had pictured and yet made complete sense.
She was taller than Sabine but shorter than Dave. Her eyes were a lighter blue than Dave’s. She had brunette hair without a trace of gray that she wore in loose, beachy waves.
But it was the orange snakeskin bellbottoms that drew the eye. She had paired the bellbottoms with a white gauzy top and layers and layers of necklaces and huge silver moon earrings.
She looked too young to be Dave’s mom but that was probably the point.
“You can call me Cherry,” his mom replied with a brilliant smile. “I’m just in from Tulum and I didn’t bring anything for this weather. I love your loft.” She took a step back, her vision taking in all that was Sabine and Kara’s dwelling. “I love it when they convert old warehouses. Is that Leslie?”
“Cherry!” Leslie greeted, calling the woman toward the living room.
Sabine’s eyes bounced from Leslie to Max to Kara to André to Cherry but not to Dave.
The timer went off.
“Oh.” Sabine held up a finger. “I have to baste.”
“Hey, you okay?” Kara asked, voice hushed.
Sabine continued to baste and nodded. “Sure. Fine. It’s all fine.” She put the lid back on the roaster and leveled a look at Kara. “Remind me that it’s a bad idea to drink too much.”
Kara’s lips twitched. “I will do no such thing. You’re a blast when you’re wine drunk.”
“You’re no help.”
Kara shrugged. “Should I make it a holiday pour?”
“What are you two whispering about out here?” Max joined them, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows.
“You have Timothy Dalton eyebrows,” Sabine said, finally figuring out why he looked so familiar to her.
“I don’t know how I feel about that,” Max replied self-consciously.
“You should feel good about it,” Kara reassured him. Then to Sabine she said, “What happened?”
Sabine looked from her best friend to Dave’s best friend. “I can’t tell you,” she said slowly.
Kara’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she glanced at Max.
“What did he say? Did he say something mean?” Max asked, disappointment clouding his features.
“No.” Sabine shook her head. “Nothing like that.”
Should she tell them?Couldshe tell them?
Just the very idea of repeating the words made her face heat.
“Is it hot in here? Should I open a window?” She left the kitchen and went to the balcony off the dining room. She opened the door, stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
The cold wind cut through her clothes and her skin but she still couldn’t think clearly.
And now she was standing outside in freezing temperatures.
