And that’s when Amanda gave a clearly sarcastic chuckle, tipped her head to one side, and said, “Trust me, Sawyer rarely knows what she wants.”
In that moment, a meme Jenna had seen a hundred times flashed through her mind. It was a picture of a lion, and it saidthe lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch,and it was a hundred percent perfect for this situation.She almost laughed but managed to keep her lips closed, trapping the words. This time. She watched in awe as Amanda went from a woman who looked sad and emotional to one who was cool and in control. The transformation happened in a split second, and it made Jenna realize that the sad and emotional act had been just that: an act. Amanda turned and headed down the stairs, then gave Jenna a quick wave.
“Have a good night.”
Jenna stood there, watching her walk across the lawn toward her Mercedes parked on the street. She was very attractive; Jenna couldn’t deny it. Dressed in clearly expensive clothes, business attire, as if she’d just come from work. Black slacks. Expensive heels. She left behind a cloud of a sweet-smelling perfume, and Jenna found herself exhaling, not wanting the scent getting into her. She waited until the Benz’s engine turned over and the car pulled out into the street before she corralled Arnold back inside and shut the door against the brisk fall air.
Back on the couch, she covered herself with her blanket, and Arnold hopped up to curl into a ball near her feet. Wallace decided to park himself directly on her chest, which made typing on her phone more difficult. Working around him, she tapped out a text to Sawyer—she didn’t want to bother her with Amanda’s visit but was also worried if she didn’t tell her now, she might forget altogether, which would not be cool, even if it was her preference.
With a sigh, she sent a text.
Hi there. Sorry to bother you. How’s Courtney? FYI, Amanda stopped by. Not sure why she didn’t call first, but she asked me to tell you she was here.
A few minutes went by before Sawyer’s text came back.I blocked her number, that’s why she didn’t call first. Courtney’s good. Doc says nothing to worry about. I’m taking her home soon.
“Oh, thank God,” Jenna muttered out loud, then typed,Fabulousnews. Give her a hug for me.She had nothing more she wanted to say about Amanda, so she left it. It wasn’t her business anyway.
And that was the thing, wasn’t it?
She grabbed Wallace’s little face in both hands and looked into his big, green eyes. “It’s not my business, right, buddy? Tell me it’s not my business.”
Wallace blinked at her in silence.
Sawyer had felt the adrenaline crash about an hour ago, and now, as she pulled her car into the driveway and killed the engine, she was finally starting to feel somewhat normal again. Crazy how you could go from hyperaware, to wanting to curl up and sleep, to back to being a human, all in the course of a few hours.
She trudged up the front steps, ready to veer to the right to her door, but Jenna’s lights were still on. It was a little after ten, and before she could think about it or second-guess the choice, she veered left instead and knocked lightly on the door.
When Jenna opened it, she knew she’d made the right decision because everything in her body settled, relaxed, eased up.
“Hi,” she said.
“Oh, my God. You’re back. Hi.” Jenna didn’t hesitate. She pushed the storm door open, reached out, and tugged Sawyer inside.
“Is this okay?” Sawyer asked, standing in the entryway. “I don’t want to interrupt anything or…” She shrugged as she took in Jenna—joggers, long-sleeve T-shirt, no bra, which was emphasized by the fact that Sawyer could see the outline of her nipples. Her hair was pulled back in a clip, and several locks had escaped and dangled around her face. The white socks on her feet were the final touch and screamed “adorably sexy” at her so loudly in her head, Sawyer was surprised Jenna couldn’t hear it.
“Are you kidding?” Jenna waved at the TV. “As you can see, I’m very absorbed in this show from thirty years ago.” She chuckled, then stepped closer and reached out. Hand on Sawyer’s arm, she looked her in the eye. “How are you? How’s Courtney? Do you need anything? Water? Wine? Whiskey?”
Sawyer smiled. Jenna was always trying to take care of her. “Courtney’s fine. And water would be great.”
“You got it.” Jenna disappeared into the kitchen while Sawyer slipped her coat off and squatted down to give Arnie some love.
“Here you go.” Jenna handed her a glass of water, and they continued to stand in the entryway as she added, “I hope it was okay that I texted you about Amanda. I was going to wait, ’cause I didn’t want to bother you when you had so much going on, but…” Her grimace was so cute, and Sawyer reached out, touched her face.
“No worries at all.”
“I wasn’t very nice to her.” Jenna’s wrinkled nose was even cuter than the grimace.
“No?”
Jenna shook her head, and there was something intense in her dark eyes as she darted them away. She was standing close, and all of a sudden, Sawyer could feel her body heat. It radiated off her. She inched closer.
“How come?” Sawyer asked, her voice soft.
“I don’t like her,” Jenna whispered.
“No?”
“No.”
