“Are you kidding?” Molly shook her head. “After seeing you two at Zenith, we all knew it was dead serious.” The other woman danced in the water. “I’m so happy for you both. An adorable little Abra baby! I’m going to buy tons of tiny New Zealand branded infant clothes. So many that your baby’s going to grow up thinking he or she is a Kiwi!”
The other woman’s joy was infectious.
Wait. “Abra?”
“Like abracadabra. Abe and Sarah equals Abra, get it?” Molly collapsed into laughter at Sarah’s no-doubt-dumbfounded expression, giggling when Sarah splashed her. “I didn’t come up with it, I swear. The fans on the message boards did.” She wiped her face. “You two have a small but devoted fan base that’s been hanging on, waiting for a reunion . Right now they might be the happiest people on the Internet.”
“Abra?” Sarah’s shoulders began to shake. “Abe’s going to love that.”
That set the tone for the day. She had the best time at the party. She was still more comfortable with the women, but when Noah sat down in the lounger next to hers a while later and started up a conversation, it felt normal, everyday. Just a woman speaking with one of her man’s closest friends.
“You and Kit look really happy together,” she dared say five minutes into their conversation.
“I’m fucking crazy about her.” Noah’s eyes followed his lover as she dived into the water to retrieve a colored ring from the bottom of the pool, she and David currently tied for most retrievals. “Head over heels.”
The blond male frowned without warning. “Give me a sec.”
Disappearing into the house, he returned not long afterward with an acoustic guitar and a notepad with a pen snugged to its side. “Can you write this down for me?”
“Sure.” Sarah put aside her pineapple juice, then listened as Noah began to play while quietly working out lyrics.
Abe wandered over a couple of minutes later, having just come from the pool. Grabbing a towel to wipe off his face, he took a seat on the end of Sarah’s lounger and listened in.
She had trouble concentrating with him all but naked so close to her, droplets of water dripping over his body. Telling herself she could pounce on him later, she managed to get her hormones under some kind of control and continued to take notes for Noah.
“You need a different chorus,” Abe said at one point.
Noah made a suggestion, Abe refined it, and the two of them kept going.
At some point, Abe took her foot and began to massage it absently while he and Noah worked on the song. Sarah had never felt as included in the group, in Abe’s musical family. Fox and Molly’s wedding had been a special event, but this was everyday life—and Sarah was very much a part of it.
Close to tears, she was glad Abe was focused on the music. It left her free to watch him and to enjoy this moment when she was truly Abe’s lover.
CHAPTER 30
LATE THE NEXT NIGHT, as Sarah lay sated and lazy in Abe’s arms, he said, “How about we make this permanent?”
“What?”
“Move in together.”
Memories smashed into her of the last time they’d lived together, of how she’d watched helplessly as Abe tumbled deeper and deeper into the abyss. “No,” she said on a crash of emotion, fear gripping her heart in a vise.
“Sarah, we’re spending every night together anyway.”
“So? Is it getting inconvenient to bring over a change of clothes?” She knew he’d forgotten today.
“That’s not it and you know it.” Abe leaned over her, glowered. “I hate not having you with me, not seeing your stuff all over the bathroom counter or your books on the nightstand.”
Sarah’s jaw set. “Too bad.” She poked at his chest. “I’m not ready to take that risk yet.”
Abe blew out a breath. His jaw worked. When he finally spoke, it was to say, “I’m pissed off.” He got out of bed, began to dress. “I need to go work it off.”
Blinking at the blunt statement, Sarah sat up in bed, pushing back her hair from her face. “What are you going to do?”
“Go hit the gym.”
“At this hour?”
“I have a twenty-four-hour membership.” Bending down, he curved his hand around her nape and smacked a hard kiss to her lips. “Since I only have workout gear in the car, I’ll have to go to my place to shower and change afterward, but I’ll be back later if you still want me to spend the night.”
Sarah nodded. “I’ll wait up.”
She wanted to call him back when he walked out, but part of her remained wary of Abe’s commitment to sobriety. She needed to know he could deal with it if they fought, that he wouldn’t turn to alcohol and drugs.