Page 100 of Bitter Secrets

Sarai drew quite a few admiring glances, dressed in the same white parka Jasmine had seen her wear in Colorado. The fur-lined hood was up, framing her pretty face and large smile.

“Isn’t this placemagical?” Sarai gushed as she waved a half-eaten churro. “I just came from Tivoli Gardens! Have you been?”

“Yes, yesterday.”

“Did you ride…?”

Sarai’s voice died out when she spotted Roth. As her dark brown eyes bulged, Jasmine silently willed her not to say anything.

“You look…?” Sarai was apparently at a loss for words. She turned to Jasmine. “Did you…?” Her eyes fell on the bags she was holding. “There’s more? Let me see!”

She hid the bags behind her back. “No.”

“Christmas presents?”

She hesitated before she gave a reluctant, “Yes.”

She yelped when Mo snatched the bags from behind her.

“Wait! I’m not sure if—" she began, but Sarai linked their arms together and tugged her in the opposite direction.

“I never thought I’d see Roth in knit. I have to say, it suits him.”

“He wasn’t dressed appropriately,” she muttered.

“I offered to pick something up for him earlier, but he refused. It’s so cute that he let you dress him.”

Inwardly squirming, she glared at her. “He said you moved a meeting to tomorrow morning.”

Sarai patted her hand. “You’re welcome.”

She stopped and turned to face her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Johan and Roth following in their wake. Johan spoke rapidly. When he gestured toward her, she switched her attention back to Sarai.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Someone has to. You’re not getting divorced again, not on my watch.”

Her hand balled into a fist. “You can’t keep us together, Sarai.”

“I can try.”

“If I was a priority, he would make the time himself,” she hissed.

Sarai grasped her shoulder. “He’s been in one mode for so long, he doesn’t know anything else. He’s not used to making time for anything, not even himself. He just needs a little nudge here and there to remind him that he has other responsibilities now.”

“That’s not your place,” she said stiffly.

Sarai shrugged. “Maybe, but he could have reprimanded me or moved the meeting back to this evening. He didn’t. He just called Mo to find out where you were and left.” Sarai’s expression softened. “You two need this time together.”

She rejected that thought vehemently and looked away to hide her reaction. Unfortunately, her eyes fell on Roth, who was watching her.

“Give him time,” Sarai coached. “It’s going to take time for you to adjust to being together again. The more time he spends with you, the more he’ll realize that he doesn’t need to fill every waking hour with work, and he’ll start doing it himself. You’ll see.”

Sarai sounded so sure of herself… “And you know this from experience?”

Sarai blushed. “Well, no, but…” She gave Jasmine a sheepish smile. “It makes sense, right?”

“Real life doesn’t make sense, and it’s not a romance novel. Things don’t always work out for the greater good.”

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