Page 16 of Almost Home
Something in me twisted at the simplicity and truth of that. “You’re probably right.”
CHAPTEREIGHT
Sarah
Iwas the third to arrive at Guac for our girls’ lunch, near giddy for the chance to tell everyone about… everything.
“Hey.” I slid into the booth next to Dahlia, who seemed to be dealing with a business thing, and across from Sadie who was beaming down at her phone and typing out a message.
“Hey. Sorry. One sec. Warrick was just—” She shut her eyes and ducked her head like something he’d said made her cringe and laugh at the same time. “He’s crazy.”
Joy for my friend filled me. I loved how happy he made her, and I knew she did the same for him. But more than that, more than a fleeting feeling that could change with the weather, they were deeply in love and so supportive of each other—basically the definition of relationship goals.
Calla slipped in next to Sadie and wrapped her arms around the small blonde. Calla’s height and long, dark hair provided a stark contrast to Sadie, but their cheeks smashed together as they both genuinely squeezed with the hug.
“I didn’t know you were going to make it!” Sadie said, so cheery and present. Sometimes I forgot she’d once practically run away from lunch with this same group.
Calla laughed. “I think this baby is addicted to Guac. I made sure we’d be back in time for this lunch and tomorrow’s family dinner. I think Jane was going to have a heart attack if she didn’t get to check on us in person soon.”
“You look fantastic,” I said, meaning it. She’d just started to show, the tiniest, most adorable little bump. She and Wyatt were Exhibit A on the happy couple loving each other well scale, right next to Sadie and Warrick.
Calla beamed, but then her gaze sharpened. “Youlook fantastic, actually.”
Quinn slipped into the seat at the head of the table since the booths were taken and scowled at Calla, jumping into the conversation as though she’d been there from the beginning. “Are you insinuating Sarah doesn’t always look fantastic?”
Calla chuckled. “Never. But you just seem… I don’t know. Less restless, maybe?”
My brows jumped in surprise that they could see it, even as satisfaction simmered in my belly at the idea it was visible.
“Oh. Thanks. I got that long-term temp job, and it’s paying really steady so that’s honestly been a huge relief.” And as nice as that was, it wasn’t even close to the biggest cause of my relief lately.
“Oh, that’s right. Your text said you had to tell us something about it. What’s the job?” Sadie handed Quinn a menu.
“I’m administrative assistant while the original admin is on bed rest.” My pulse spiked knowing what they’d ask next.
“Where?” Dahlia asked next to me, her focus still on her phone. She’d apologized as I settled in, mentioning a difficult client she was trying to wrap things up with.
Brodie brought baskets of chips and bowls of salsa for each of us. Everyone dug in and so I went for it, too.
“Saint Securities.” And then I popped a chip into my mouth.
Everyone stopped. Quinn’s and Calla’s heads jerked up from their menus and over to me. Sadie’s eyes widened.
“Saint Securities as inWilderSaint’s company?”
I nodded.
“His business is already open? Julian said he was motivated, but I didn’t realize they’d already gotten started. He’s been back for like ten seconds,” Quinn said, rolling her eyes and crunching down on a chip.
“Well, based on his two brothers, I’m sure he has a decent work ethic. Plus, his identity has been wrapped up in the military for decades. He probably has no idea what to do with himself if he’s not strapping on rifles and breaking down doors.”
Dahlia’s observation hit home. My heart kicked at the thought, stupid as it was. I’d never allowed myself to entertain thoughts about what Wilder had done in the military. I couldn’t take it, and apparently even now that he was home and safe, I couldn’t tolerate thinking about him in those situations.
“That’s probably an exaggeration. But entrepreneurship seems to be catching in the Saint family,” Sadie said with a fond smile.
“Aw. True. And considering Wyatt was the closest to a father figure they all had, it’s not a huge surprise they’d have their own businesses.” Calla took a giant scoop of the guacamole Brodie had just dropped and shoved the heaping chip into her mouth with an ecstatic groan.
Quinn shook her head furiously. “Um, no. No, thank you. You may be pregnant, but let’s reserve those sounds for your bad girl music videos and your husband.”
