“No relationship is,” Savannah said. “But do you want it to work?”
“Yes,” Susan answered, then went on with conviction, “Sam Craig may never earn a million, but he makes me feel like a somebody. I don’t remember any man ever making me feel that way before. Yes, I want him.” She paused. “Like you want Jared?”
Without answering the question, Savannah said, “I wish I could give him more.”
“He doesn’t want more. Hasn’t he told you that?”
“Many times. Still, I wish I could give him more.”
“Has he mentioned marriage?” Megan asked.
“Oh yes.”
Susan scowled. “And you’re putting him off because you don’t think you can give him enough? Savannah, are you nuts? The man loves what youare,not what you’re not. He isn’t asking for superwoman; she wasn’t the one he fell in love with. And if you’re going to say that you wished you looked like me, save your breath. First thing in the morning, I look just as lousy as either of you.”
Savannah grunted, but softly, and didn’t speak.
“Sad, isn’t it?” Megan said at last.
“What?”
“That we judge ourselves in relation to each other. Why do we do that? We always have, and it’s a little sick when you think about it. You two may be twins, but you’re still individuals, and I don’t even have the same blood as you. So why can’t we accept ourselves for what we are?”
“I don’t know,” Savannah said. She sensed that some of the competitiveness between Susan and her could be traced to their father’s constant comparisons, but not all. They were adults. They should have wised up.
Susan frowned. She’d just realized that what she’d told Savannah moments earlier about looks could easily be turned around to apply to brains. She supposed that just because Savannah had decided to become a lawyer didn’t mean that she was any smarter, particularly since she was being so dumb about Jared. The question remained as to whether Susan was being any smarter about Sam.
“I’ll miss you two,” Megan murmured. There was something furtive about the way she said it, almost as though she didn’t think she had the right to claim a shared past.
Savannah thought about that past. They’d been friends for half their lives, and the friendship had been good. Regardless of present truths or untruths, that friendship deserved more than a cursory dismissal. “We’ll keep in touch.”
But the look on Megan’s face said that might not happen.
“We will,” Susan vowed. “We’ll compare our gray hairs, our liver spots, our sagging bottoms.”
Megan’s eyes were moist, but she rolled them anyway and grinned feebly at Savannah. “She’s all yours.”
“I’m not sure I want her.”
“I do,” Sam said, coming up from behind. He seized Susan in a playful stranglehold that clamped her head to his side. “We’re hungry. I thought we were going out for something to eat.”
Susan made a grotesque choking sound. The instant his arm loosened, she called him a name.
“Come join us,” Savannah said to Megan. “Just for a little while?”
But Megan shook her head.
“For old times’ sake?” Susan asked.
Megan gave a visible swallow. “I’d better not,” she said brokenly. “This is hard enough—” Her throat jammed.
Throwing an arm around her, Savannah hugged her hard. “Take care, Meggie,” she whispered, then stepped back to give Susan a turn.
“Be happy,” Susan whispered, as choked up as Megan. Turning away, she let Sam take her hand and lead her to the door, where Courtney waited.
Jared approached then, and Megan eyed him nervously. Coming up close, he took her hand and said so that only she could hear, “Sometimes we do all the wrong things for all the right reasons. We can be our own worst enemies. It takes a while to get over that.”
“I know,” she whispered.
