cooking a late dinner or something, but instead Adam had his arms wrapped around a dark-haired woman and they were kissing. Seriously kissing.
Sage felt her mouth drop open. Adam was seeing someone? But he’d told her he wasn’t. Not that it mattered—he wasn’t anything to her, but still, he’d lied and she didn’t understand that. Adam had always told the truth.
But the proof was right there in front of her. As she watched, the woman shrugged out of her blouse and reached for the buttons on his shirt. He took care of them for her, then pulled her close again. His fingers fumbled with her bra.
Sage quickly retreated to her room. The blinds were already closed, so she didn’t have to worry about him seeing in. Not that he would be looking. Right about now, they would be doing the deed.
The thought was unsettling. Was the strange woman the reason she wasn’t seeing as much of Adam as she had been? She’d mentioned getting together for dinner, but he’d put her off, saying he was wrapping up a project. Foolishly she’d believed him, but now she wondered if the real reason was the brunette he was currently screwing.
A sense of loss settled in her stomach, along with annoyance and a weird feeling of betrayal. First Daisy and now Adam. Why was everyone making her feel like crap?
She curled up on her bed, closed her eyes tight and willed herself to be somewhere else. But when she opened her eyes a few minutes later, nothing had changed, least of all her.
ten
Daisy always assumed that using a cookie mix would cut down on the mess in her kitchen, but it never seemed to make a difference. Setting up her two children at opposite ends of the large island and helping them bake cookies was fun, but not tidy. A fine coating of flour and sugar covered the countertop and the front of their aprons. Sheba and Lucky lay on their oversize beds, watching eagerly for any happy accidents. Show tunes blared from the speakers in the ceiling and plenty of conversation and laughter added to the pleasure of the afternoon.
“Is the oven ready?” Ben asked, using the bottom of a juice glass to carefully press down on the three balls of dough to form the head of a teddy bear. When the cookies had baked, they would use chocolate chips for the eyes and the nose.
“It is,” Daisy told him, walking over to check on Krissa. Her daughter had chosen to make earth cookies—a simple variation of a sugar cookie. Half the dough was dyed blue and half green. Individual cookies were made with a bit of each. As they baked and flattened, the two colors created what looked like land and water.
“I’m doing good, Mom,” Krissa said with a smile.
Daisy touched her nose. “How did you get dough on your face?”
Her daughter grinned. “I’m magic.”
“You are.”
Daisy enjoyed kitchen time with her kids. The shared activity was fun and she’d learned that when they were focused on something they enjoyed, they often talked about things that didn’t come up in regular conversation. It was a lesson she’d learned from her father, who had insisted they make Sunday breakfast together a couple of times a month. A tradition he’d continued after he’d married Joanne.
While Sage had been invited to participate, she’d claimed she preferred to sleep late. Cassidy had joined in until she was seven. About then, she’d declared she wasn’t interested in Sunday brunch. That was when things had started going badly with Cassidy in every other way.
She recalled what Sage had mentioned—that Joanne might have a part in Cassidy’s unfriendly attitude. If so, the older woman had even more to answer for. Not that they were ever likely to have a confrontation.
When Ben and Krissa had each filled a cookie sheet, she put them in the oven and set the timer. The kids went to work on the second cookie sheets. “America” from West Side Story came on.
“That’s one of my favorites,” Cassidy said as she rolled herself into the kitchen.
“Cassidy!” Krissa climbed down from her step stool and hurried over to her aunt. “We’re making cookies. We do it on Saturday afternoons and it’s really fun. Mommy has great ideas for different cookies. I’m making ones that look like the earth. Come see!”
Daisy ignored the knee-jerk resentment that welled up inside of her. In her head she knew why her daughter would find Cassidy interesting and appealing but in her