The file stared back from Sabrina’s computer screen, unpolished and unprofessional. The color scheme seemed all wrong now. So she went about painstakingly changing the background from green to pale blue. Then the font seemed flat and boring. Or did it?
Exhausted, Sabrina folded her arms on the table in front of her, leaned her head in the crook of her elbow, and closed her eyes. If she cleared her mind of everything for just a minute, maybe then it would all come together. All she needed was a quick break and the right answer would come to her.
But it didn’t.
When she closed her eyes, the only thing she saw was Brandy’s face from that morning, unmistakable pain in her eyes. All day long that same vision had been in her mind, just beneath the surface of anything else she tried to concentrate on. Sabrina, you’ve done all you could be expected to do for her. She’s not your problem. Somehow no matter how long she told herself that, she could never quite make herself believe it.
The chair beside her squeaked across the floor. “You’re looking like you could use a friend right about now.” By the time she looked up and realized what she was seeing, Koen had already taken the seat beside her, right elbow on table, leaning his right cheek against his hand. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed.”
“I’m thinking perhaps a nice dinner of oh . . . say . . . pizza and a salad, followed by a trip downtown to see whichever band it is that’s playing on the square tonight for Wednesday Night Lights ought to cheer you right up. What do you say, you game?”
Being this near to him, the desire to ignore all of the things on her to-do list and simply go enjoy herself for a while was almost overpowering. Almost, but not quite. “I can’t.”
He reached over and touched her cheek. “Sabrina, you look totally stressed and I don’t like seeing you this way. Just for an hour? A little time-out?” His voice, his face, everything about him was so appealing, it took everything she had this time.
“I really can’t.”
“I see. I’m only now beginning to realize how big of a challenge I accepted when I vowed to help you loosen up a bit. I’m thinking I may need some extra time to work on this. What do you say we spend the entire day Saturday together? We could drive up to Nashville for the day?”
“I can’t, and that’s one of the reasons I’m so overwhelmed. They moved my Grace Rose PR interview to this coming Monday. I’m leaving early Saturday to go to Atlanta and get ready.”
“And when will you be back?”
“Monday evening some time.”
“I don’t think I want to go that long before I see you again. Are you sure you don’t want to grab a quick pizza right now? I promise I’ll have you back and studying within the hour.”
“I wish I could, really I . . .” A stirring of movement at the counter drew Sabrina’s attention. Lindy Stewart and a group of her friends were all standing at the counter, laughing and talking as if they had no cares in the world as they ordered their usual round of chai lattes. One friend in particular had her eyes fixed on Koen, obviously watching and waiting. “I really shouldn’t, I mean I . . .” Wouldn’t just a little reprieve from all the stress be a good thing? After all, everyone needed to eat. Sabrina looked at her watch, then back at Koen, feeling better already. “Gotta eat sometime. Dinner sounds like a nice idea.”
“Exactly what I was saying.” He stood up and offered his hand, which she was more than happy to accept. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the group at the counter as she passed by, but she hoped Lindy Stewart would see them and decide to turn her attention elsewhere.
Fifteen minutes later, they were seated at Pizza Palace, simply enjoying being together. “I’m really glad you talked me into this. I think I needed it.”
He grinned and leaned a little closer. “I like it when a woman admits she needs me.”
Sabrina just laughed. It felt good to laugh for a while.
“So, tell me about this trip to Atlanta. Where are you staying?”
“Some friends of my father keep a high-rise condo in downtown Atlanta that they rarely use. They’re letting me stay for free, so I’m going a couple of days early. It’ll give me time to get some things ready, and to make certain I know how to navigate. I don’t want to be late to my interview because I’m lost.”
“Does it make you nervous, staying by yourself in a strange city?”
“Nah, I got used to it when I was . . .” Sabrina shook her head to remove the memories. “I used to travel a lot when I was younger.”
“I see.” His eyes narrowed. “Another clue to this mysterious past of yours.”
And just like that, with the mention of what used to be, the wall that Sabrina had built so carefully against all that was going on cracked, then burst. She felt tears stinging her eyes but blinked them back, hard. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Koen.
He put his hand on hers. “You okay?”
“Yes.” She tried to focus on the picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa hanging over their booth. She concentrated on the rows and rows of white columns, each joined together by an arch, and the difference in the size of the top floor. It was no use, although the distraction did at least help regain control over her outward display of her inward turmoil. At least she wasn’t going to cry. “I need to walk outside for a minute—there’s a phone call I forgot I was supposed to make.”
“O-kay.”
Sabrina hurried outside before she changed her mind, opened her list of contacts, and pressed the Call button. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that the call wasn’t answered. When it rolled over to voice mail, she started to hang up, but for some reason, she didn’t. “You know, I’ve been thinking. Maybe you coming to Atlanta isn’t such a bad idea after all. Be ready to go by eight o’clock Saturday morning.” She pushed the button, wondering if she hadn’t just made a huge mistake.
No matter. Brandy would probably refuse to go now anyway. Sabrina turned back toward the restaurant, wondering if she hoped that were true.