If she had to guess, it was because when she got into the car, she’d expected to have dinner with her sister, her sister’s boyfriend and friends of her sister’s boyfriend.Now that she’d gotten out of it, the scene she was walking into was entirely different.She hadn’t prepared for not having a buffer that wasn’t just Jason.
Or more specifically, she hadn’t prepared for what felt like a setup.Or what kind of setup this was going to be.
The whole thing smelled funny in weird and strange ways.
Fishy.
And that was why Jason was knocking.
The door opened to reveal a dark-haired woman with bright brown eyes, thin-framed glasses and a huge smile.
Batya.
She’d met Batya in person once before when she’d come to serve as buffer for her sister at a party Batya and her husband had thrown.She also knew the woman’s day job was as host of a Meal Network TV show about the history and traditions of Jewish food, a show that Ida had spent hours complaining about.
Naomi herself enjoyed it.
And Batya too.
“Nice to see you, Naomi, Jason,” Batya said, moving to the side to let them in.
“Thank you so much for having us,” Naomi replied, letting go of Jason’s hand to lean in to the other woman’s embrace.
“Naomi,” Batya said as she stepped back.“Sorry to cut the chat short, but Abe wants to talk to you; he’s out back and dinner is at a delicate stage.”
Naomi nodded.“Thank you,” she said.
“Not a problem; I’ll show you the way.Jason?”
He looked up, smiling.“How can I help you?”
“A gentleman to the core,” Batya said with a smile.“Anyway, there are a few drinks on the kitchen table.Pour yourself one, and I’ll be right back to talk to you, okay?”
Naomi met Jason’s expression with her own, wondering what was going through his head as he nodded.“Okay,” he said.
At which point there was nothing else to do but follow her hostess through the house; hardwood and carpet floors, books—cookbooks, recipe books, textbooks, travel guides and novels everywhere—and pictures of smiling faces.
It was the house of foodies, of people who loved each other and their friends.
A home.
The kind of house she’d want, maybe, in the future?
“He’s through there,” Batya said, chasing the thoughts from Naomi’s mind.“He’s looking forward to talking with you.”
Once again, the only thing she could do was nod.“Thank you.”
Batya smiled.“You’re welcome.”
And as she walked through the sliding glass door to the backyard, Abe turned her way.“Hello,” he said as she crossed the grass, following what looked like a path that had been walked so often, it was almost permanent.“Welcome to my domain.”
Naomi laughed; she couldn’t help it.“Thank you for having me.”
“My pleasure,” he replied.“Actually, I have a few questions for you—some personal, some professional.That okay?”
Naomi nodded, ears perking.Yep.This was a setup of a sort.But all she said was: “Yes, absolutely.”
“What do you think of my best friend and your sister?You think they’re okay?”
