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“As far as Mr. Poole goes, I’ve seen his wife the few times she’s come into the office, all prim and proper acting and who don’t look the type to do the
nasty
for fear of getting her hair messed up. Now he’s like a kid set free in a candy store. He intends to sample all the treats he’s been missing during his twenty years of marriage. Pretty soon he’ll develop a stomachache from overindulging and settle down with just one treat—or in his case, one woman. And if he’s as good in bed as the rumor mill claims, he won’t have a problem finding a woman with a robust sexual appetite to match his own.”
    Sage said nothing in response to Rose’s summation. She couldn’t help but wonder what Rose’s reaction would be if Mr. Poole were to hit on her. Had he already? Had Rose’s name been added tothe list of women who were enjoying whatever it was Stephen Poole was dishing out? A part of her wanted to ask but quickly decided it really wasn’t any of her business. Rose was twenty-eight, two years older than she was, and could definitely take care of herself.
    Besides, she had been friends with Rose long enough to know she had a thing against a committed relationship with a man. She enjoyed engaging in affairs, which was basically the very thing Mr. Poole was doing.
    She had once asked Rose what the advantages of affairs versus committed relationships were. Rose had been quick to tell her it was a sure way not to get hurt by love, and for someone who’d been severely burned twice, Rose had no intentions of letting her heart rule her mind again.
    When Sage got home later that evening and played back her messages, there was one from her mother asking her to call back as soon as she got in.
    “Mom, you wanted something?” she asked after placing the call. For years her mother had worked as a sales clerk for one of the major department stores and had recently gotten promoted to manager of her department. Her mother was a person who embraced life to the fullest and was quick to give a helping hand to others. Sage didn’t know of any other person with such a strong constitution who proved there was such a thing as super-woman. Sometimes she wondered where her mother got her energy.
    “Yes, sweetheart? How was your day?”
    “Busy as usual. Mr. Poole wants me to go out of town with him next week to Alaska.”
    “Alaska? This is rather sudden, isn’t it? And how long will you be gone?”
    “Yes, it’s unexpected, and I’ll probably be gone for at least a week.”
    “Well, we need to get together before you leave to start planning your wedding.”
    “Mom, this is September. The wedding takes place in June. By my calculations I have nine months,” Sage said. She could see it coming. She had told her parents that she wanted a small wedding, but knowing her mother, her words had gone in one ear and had come out the other. There was no doubt in Sage’s mind that Delores Dunbar intended to give her just the opposite of what she’d asked for. Her mother had waited a long time for her only child to finally decide to get married, and she planned to do it up in style whether she wanted her to or not.
    “Nine months will be here before you know it, Sage. If you don’t believe me, just ask any woman who’s had a baby recently.”
    Sage knew to argue with her mother would be pointless. In the end she would get her way regardless. Besides being superwoman, she was also super stubborn. Her father had told her long ago he had learned to just let her mother have her way and be through with it. “All right, Mom, how does your schedule look on Friday?” she asked, knowing although that was her mother’s day off from work, she probably had a zillion and one things lined up to do. “If you’re free, we can do lunch.”
    “Friday is a good day for me, and lunch sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe we can talk your father into joining us.”
    Sage chuckled. “I doubt Dad will want to sit through lunch while we make