Adley laughed softly through her nose.Maybe I’ll be there, too.
Feeling considerably lighter on her feet, she got in her car and headed toward her own ice cream shop. Sitting at a red light near Jefferson Square, she looked around and was surprised when her eyes landed on a familiar tall, dark-haired woman in a blazer and jeans. Her big sister, Brody, clearly laughing. The door was being held for her by a handsome red-haired man, and Adley was just about to honk her horn to get her attention when the man bent down and kissed Brody. Square on the mouth. The red-haired man who was not her husband.
“Oh my God,” she said aloud, her hand hovering in midair over her horn. Brody and the man went into the restaurant, the door closing behind them. A light honk sounded, the guy behind her letting her knowthe light had turned green. She swallowed hard and continued to the Scoop, wondering what the hell was going on.
* * *
The evening was chilly. Overcast. Not rainy, not yet, anyway. All of this meant that the parking area Sabrina had chosen to sit and watch the water while she ate her burger was empty, save for her car. And then Adley’s slid up alongside her on the right. Glancing at her through her driver’s side window, Adley smiled softly, waved at her, and everything in Sabrina just…settled.
And then she was there. Adley. Opened the car door and slid inside and, without preamble, leaned over and kissed Sabrina on the mouth. Then she grabbed a fry and popped it into hers. “Hi.”
“Taking your life into your hands there, stealing my fries,” she teased.
“You wanna make out with me later. I’m not worried.” Adley grinned at her.
Sabrina laughed and reached into the back seat. “You’re not wrong. Here.” She handed over a second bag containing a burger and fries. “As ordered. Lettuce, tomato, mustard, no pickles, you weirdo.”
“Listen, I love pickles.” Adley took the bag and hauled out her own fries. “Just not on my burger.”
“I’ll say it again—weirdo.” She gestured to the center console where two large sodas sat. “Drinks are here.”
Adley unwrapped her burger and took a bite, then hummed in what sounded like relief and fell back against the seat as she chewed. “Thank you so much for this. It’s perfect. I really needed it.”
“Bad day?”
Adley hesitated for a second or two, staring out the windshield at the water before answering. “Kinda? Not work stuff, though.” She turned her head against the headrest so she faced Sabrina. “Can I talk to you about it if it’s not work stuff?”
“Of course.” It was odd, their no work rule, right? But being near Adley, Sabrina just wanted to be somebody else. Somebody other than who she was from day to day. And right now? She wanted to hear all about whatever was causing that cute little divot of worry between Adley’s dark eyebrows.
“So, I’m sitting at a stoplight today on my way to work—which I’m not talking to you about.” She winked and popped a french fry into her mouth. “And I look toward this cute little restaurant and see my sister, Brody, laughing and clearly happy, heading into a restaurant, the door being held for her by some guy.”
Sabrina nodded. She was watching Adley’s mouth as she talked. She couldn’t help it. Those full lips…goddamn. She gave herself a mental shake. “Okay.”
“And I’m thinking she’s having lunch with a coworker. Or a client. She’s an architect.”
She nodded again, watching the passion and emotion build in Adley’s face. In her body, the way she moved her hands as she spoke.
“But then he kissed her. Like,kissed her-kissed her. On the mouth.” Adley’s gaze met hers. “But he wasn’t her husband.”
Sabrina flinched. “Oh. Wow. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Yeah, neither did I.”
“Yikes.” Sabrina took a sip of her soda. “Did she see you?”
Adley shook her head and held her finger and thumb scant millimeters apart. “I was this close to honking my horn at her, but when the guy kissed her, I just froze.”
“I bet.” Silence reigned in the car for a beat or two. “You gonna say something to her?”
Adley sighed, ate the last bite of her burger, then shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. Should I? I mean, I should, right?”
Sabrina inhaled and crumpled up the wrapper from her burger. She put it in the bag and held it open for Adley to deposit hers. “What’s her marriage like?”
“I mean…” Adley stopped and seemed to really think about the question. Outside, the sky grew grayer, impending rain approaching over the lake. “It’s not something I ever really thought about. Nathan—her husband—is nice enough. I wouldn’t call him warm and fuzzy, but he’s nice enough.”
“Look, I don’t know your sister or her husband. Or you, all that well.” She grinned and Adley gave a small chuckle. “But I do know that nobody really knows what goes on behind the closed doors of others. I can’t begin to understand the marriages of some people. My dad is the sweetest man on the planet. He loves everybody. He was a nurse. Now he volunteers at a hospital helping dying patients. He’s just the kindest,gentlest man I’ve ever known. My mother? The exact opposite. She’s the head of a large corporation, and she’s very successful. She’s also cold and driven, and I’m surprised she ever agreed to be a mother.”
“Wow,” Adley said, her eyes wide, and Sabrina realized she really should dial it back a bit.
