Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss #4) - Nalini Singh Page 0,84

longer. “Thank you,” he said afterward, his voice hoarse. “Sarah needs a mom on her side.” And his mom was the best advocate anyone could ever have.

CHAPTER 28

SARAH WAS STILL SITTING around in sweatpants and a T-shirt even though Abe was supposed to pick her up in less than an hour. She’d woken early to take care of work matters so she’d have plenty of time to prepare, yet here she was. At least she’d showered and brushed her hair. She hadn’t done anything else however, and now she was rapidly running out of time to dry and straighten it. But her guts were twisted into a panic.

Abe’s mom was going to hate her for coming back into his life.

She swallowed, put a trembling hand to her forehead, dropped it a second later. “You can deal with this, Sarah.”

Only she wasn’t sure she could: it wasn’t just about Abe and their baby, it was about how much Sarah respected Diane Bellamy. To be rejected by her…

Buzz.

Sarah jerked at the sound of the gate buzzer and, jumping to her feet, ran to the window that overlooked the front of the house. Abe’s black SUV stood at the gate. Groaning, she found her keys and used the remote to open the gate for him before padding downstairs and opening the door to step out onto the stoop. Flossie zipped out in joyous, tail-wagging welcome.

“You’re early!” she called out to him as he opened his door. “I’m not ready.”

He threw her a gorgeous grin, gave Flossie a quick pat. “You look perfect.” Then he ran around to open the passenger door.

Sarah froze.

This was not how she’d planned to meet Abe’s mom for the first time since the divorce, with her hair barely brushed and wearing an old white tee over gray sweatpants that had a hole in one knee. She never wore them except when doing things like cleaning the garage or weeding.

The only reason she’d pulled them on today was so she wouldn’t be naked while she stared at her wardrobe and tried not to throw up in panic. And now the woman she desperately wanted to impress was walking toward her. Diane Bellamy was as elegantly dressed as always, her black hair in a neat bob and her face made up with exquisite perfection, her flawless skin a sunkissed brown.

“My dear Sarah.” The older woman drew her into an embrace scented with White Diamonds before Sarah could snap out of her frozen state. “It’s so good to see you.”

The words, the tone, they got through the ice. Trembling, she slid her own arms hesitantly around the petite form of Abe’s mom; she couldn’t speak, entirely too choked up. Abe’s eyes met hers over his mom’s shoulder, and in them was an intensity of emotion that stripped her raw.

Pulling back from the embrace when Diane Bellamy released her with a kiss on her cheek, Sarah made a gesture to welcome the other woman inside. She was bewildered by the warmth of Diane’s greeting, only found her words after swallowing hard twice. “I’m so sorry. I’m not dressed for g—”

Her former mother-in-law took her hand with a deep smile, squeezed. “I know what it’s like when guests barge in unexpectedly. Let’s go in so you can dress. Abe can take your adorable dog for a walk.”

“I guess I have my orders,” Abe said with a wry smile before whistling for Flossie. “Time for a walk, Floss.”

Sarah’s pet, ecstatic about an outing, ran off to get her leash, then joined Abe. That quickly, Sarah was alone with Mrs. Bellamy. “You like tea,” she said, remembering her manners. “Come in, let me make you a cup.”

She managed to do that without dropping anything or making a mess, and once Diane Bellamy had her cup in hand, the older woman urged her to head on up to dress. “I hate feeling unprepared myself,” she confided. “Abe’s father could never understand why I had to put on makeup to go to the corner store, but it just made me feel more confident.”

Climbing the stairs beside the other woman, Sarah felt a fragile hope. “Especially with people taking photos,” she said softly. “At least if I’m dressed nicely they have to work much harder to take ones that are unflattering.”

“I worry about you and Abe living in the spotlight,” Diane said with a frown. “You do what you need to do to handle it.” The tenured law professor took a seat on the small vanity stool Sarah had