Page 103 of A Soldier's Return

She had never felt so small and petty.

Abigail would have been furious with her, would have given her a stern look out of those blue eyes and told her to put on her big girl panties and just deal.

“Would you...like to come in?” Anna asked at Sage’s continued silence. “I was about to have some tea and you’re welcome to share it. You don’t have to, of course.”

She was exhausted suddenly, emotionally and physically. Her day had been tumultuous from that first kiss in Eben’s beach house and she wanted nothing more than to climb into her bed and yank the quilt over her head and shut out the world.

But how could she rebuff such a clearcut overture of friendship?

“Sure. Okay.”

Anna looked surprised, then thrilled, which only added to Sage’s guilt level. The other woman led the way into her apartment, toward the little kitchen that still looked as it had the day Abigail died. Her gaze landed on the calendar still turned back to April and Abigail’s handwritten little notes in the date squares.

Conan, shots, 10:30.

Lunch with the girls.

Will’s birthday.

It was a snapshot of her life, busy and fulfilling. Why hadn’t Anna taken it down? Sage would have thought that to be one of the first things an efficient, orderly woman like Anna would make an effort to do when she moved her own things in.

Did she find some kind of comfort from this small reminder of Abigail and her life? Sage resolved to try harder to forge a connection with Anna.

“What kind of tea would you like? I think there’s every kind imaginable here.”

Chai was her favorite but she wasn’t sure she could drink it here in this kitchen out of Abigail’s favorite teacups, not with her emotions so close to the surface.

“It’s late. I don’t need more caffeine with my head already buzzing. I’d better go for chamomile.”

Anna smiled and found teabags in the cupboard, then pulled a burbling kettle off the stove and poured it over the bags.

Sage watched for a moment, awkward at the silence. “Thank you again for the doll thing,” she said. “It was a great idea. Chloe was thrilled.”

“She picked an angel doll and named her Brooke. Am I crazy or was there some deeper significance to that?”

“It was her mother’s name.”

Anna pursed her lips in distress. “That’s what I thought. Poor little thing.”

Anna studied her for a moment as if she wasn’t sure whether to ask the questions Sage could see forming in her eyes. “You do know that’s Eben Spencer, the CEO of Spencer Hotels, right?” she finally said.

“I hope so. If not, he’s doing a fairly credible job of masquerading as the man.”

“And do you realize he’s brilliant? I read about him inFortunea few months ago. The man has single-handedly rescued a small, floundering hotel company and turned it into a major player in the hospitality industry with small luxury properties around the globe.”

“Yippee for him.”

And she had fed him vegetarian lasagna and breadsticks at her dining table with the mismatched chairs. She wanted a do-over on the whole evening.

No, she corrected herself. She wouldn’t allow him to make her feel ashamed of her life or what she had worked hard to build for herself. After severing the last fragile ties with her father, she had started with nothing and had built a rich, fulfilling life here.

“While we were looking at the dolls, Chloe told me he’s looking to buy The Sea Urchin.”

“That’s what I understand.”

“It’s a perfect property for Spencer Hotels. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the place.”

“I like The Sea Urchin exactly the way it is,” she muttered.

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