Of course, both Thea and Kit had been around while Sarah was married to Abe, but back then, jealous and feeling like a fraud, Sarah had rebuffed what, in hindsight, she could see had been attempts to foster a friendship. Thankfully, neither woman was holding the past against her. And tonight all of them would help celebrate Molly’s impending wedding.
Smiling at the idea of the “girls’ night in” that Molly had chosen in lieu of a bachelorette party, she checked she’d gathered everything she needed to take to Molly’s. That didn’t include a wedding gift—as per Fox and Molly’s request, she’d made a donation to a small charitable foundation that helped children deal with the loss of one or both parents. Knowing what she did about Molly’s past, Sarah understood the charity must speak deeply to her, but what the other woman couldn’t know was how deeply it spoke to Sarah as well.
Perhaps if their friendship endured—and she so hoped it would, would work hard for it—she’d talk to Molly about it one day.
As it was, she’d made a far more substantial donation than could be expected of a wedding guest, and she intended to add them to the list of charities to which she donated regularly. All had to do with helping lost children. The safe arms of this charity would’ve been out of her reach even had they been around in her part of the country, but as long as it helped one child, it was worth it.
Shaking aside the memories of the ruins of her childhood, she took another look at the dress she intended to wear for the wedding. Knee length, with the fabric a deep shade of turquoise, it bared her arms but had a high neck. The interest came from the origami-style folding on the upper left, from her shoulder to the curve of her breast.
Elegant and pretty at the same time, the dress spoke to both parts of Sarah—the girl who loved sparkle and shine and prettiness, and the woman who knew the world treated you better if you appeared confident and wealthy, with no hint that you’d ever once worried about looking trashy.
On her head, she’d wear a fascinator that matched the dress except for some subtle accents in a vibrant citrine.
Sarah touched her fingers to the pretty confection of it before closing the hatbox in which it sat.
She adored it as much now as she had in the shop where Molly had taken her girlfriends so they could all get hats or other headgear for the wedding. Sarah would’ve never picked something like this on her own, would’ve thought it made her look foolish. It didn’t. As Kit had said, it made her look like one of those upper-class English people who went to “posh” country weddings.
Grinning, she checked a box that held a pair of simple black spike heels and an equally unadorned clutch. The heels, they were a gift from Abe. Not the shoes themselves but Sarah’s comfort in wearing them. Before Abe, she’d always worried about her height, aware she topped most men. Put her in heels and she topped the vast majority of men.
But with Abe…
“You’re perfect sized.” A sudden grin, his hand cupping her face. “I get to kiss you as much as I like without getting a crick in my neck.” He claimed her lips in a molten kiss to underscore his comment. “And in bed, we line up exactly right.”
Toes curling at the memory, Sarah realized her cheeks were flushed to the burning point. It didn’t help when she had to walk into the kitchen to retrieve her keys; her eyes went immediately to that counter, the one on which Abe had taken her so hard and deep, where he’d made her come until her thighs quivered.
“Breathe, Sarah,” she ordered herself even as her fingers trembled on the keys. She couldn’t go back down that road. She’d admitted long ago that Abe had the ability to hurt her more than any other man on the planet.
That was what she had to remember, not how good he made her feel when he put his hands on her.
Because he’d be there tomorrow afternoon at Molly and Fox’s “backyard wedding,” as Molly was calling it. She and Fox were determined to slide under the paparazzi’s noses and have a celebration unmarred by flyovers as the media fought to take photographs. As part of that, the guest list was strictly limited and everyone knew not to say a word to anyone who might purposefully—or accidentally—spill the beans.
All staff hired for the event had the same reputation as that which was the foundation of Sarah’s business: flawless discretion about clients.
Getting into her car after loading everything she’d need tonight and tomorrow, Sarah turned the vehicle’s air-conditioning to high, then drove out. Despite how friendly Molly had been, Sarah might have felt awkward about tonight, as if she were barging in, except that Molly had made it a special point to ask Sarah to come.