Natalie had entertained more than one fantasy
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that involved seriously wrinkling those perfect clothes and tousling that expensive hairstyle. Furrowing her brow, she said,
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her in quite a while. I hope I didn’t piss her off with my comment to her that day.”
“About her hangover?”
“I didn’t actually use that word, you know.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t have to.”
“True.” She took a sip from her cup, then added, “I suppose maybe she’s found a better cup of coffee elsewhere.”
“Not possible.”
“It’s too bad, though. She was deÞ nitely fun to look at.”
“Amen to that.”
They returned to sitting silently, people-watching and enjoying one another’s presence, something they’d done ever since Natalie could remember. She didn’t really see any of the patrons after that, though. She found her thoughts strangely preoccupied by a tall, sexy business executive with dark hair, a designer suit, and legs to die for.
v
Sarah felt good and it surprised her, so much so that she almost lost that good feeling by worrying too much about why she was suddenly feeling good. She shook her head at herself, wondering how she had managed to survive the past year as such a freak, and took a slug of her Steinlager. It was okay as far as beers went, but she mentally decided she would switch to something else once the bottle was empty.
She’d found the little lesbian bar online, pleased that it was so close to the complex of suites in which she was staying. It made stopping by after a long day in the ofÞ ce easy, once she managed to dodge the almost daily dinner invitation from Patti Schmidt. She liked the woman well enough and felt bad turning her down as often as she did, but there were times when all Sarah
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needed was a little time to herself, and the last thing in the world she wanted to endure was Patti accompanying her to a gay bar.
God, I’d rather stick needles in my eyes , she thought as she took another sip. Though she didn’t keep her sexuality a huge secret at the ofÞ ce, she also didn’t walk around with a rainbow on her forehead. Being dragged to a gay bar by her boss seemed well beyond the requirements of Patti’s job description. At the same time, Sarah hadn’t wanted Patti to know she was going out on the town without her. They were both strangers in a strange land and Sarah felt a little guilty for leaving her to her own devices.
As she sipped her beer and let herself unwind, she wondered, not for the Þ rst time, if she was Þ nally beginning to come back to herself, and it was a pleasantly positive thought. The key, though, was going to be how far back. Until the whole Derek issue, the most common argument Sarah and Karen had had was about Sarah’s need for control, her need to have everything run on her clock, on her schedule, to her liking.
“When did you become so rigid? So predictable? Don’t you get bored with being in command of every single thing in your universe?”
When Karen had asked her that, she’d reeled back as if she’d been slapped, astounded by how much it stung. Was she that bad?
She knew now that she was, and Sarah was reasonably sure that after that particular argument, Karen had decided she wanted out. Derek had simply been another fun wrench tossed into the gears of Sarah’s neat and orderly life. After that, all semblance of control was ripped away and Sarah had felt like she’d been set adrift in a vast ocean of nothingness.
But now…now there was land in view and she could almost touch bottom with the tips of her toes. Taking this trip to the other side of the world, throwing herself into her work, exploring a new country, had been the smartest thing she’d done in ages, and she was immensely proud of herself. And while she was looking forward to Þ nding the old Sarah Buchanan again, the woman
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who was solid and