Fresh Ice by Rachelle Vaughn Page B

the group.
    “You should stay off your feet.” Destiny pulled a chair over and guided Abigail into it.
    “Yeah and probably cut b ack on your baking,” Kim added.
    Abigail ignored the suggestions and dabbed at her eyes. “We’ve wanted to start a family for so long.”
    Once again, t he women in the circle around Abigail took turns hugging her and gushing over her. Sarah hung off to the side while they all talked about babies and everything that came along with them.
    After a few minutes of listening to their chatter, Sarah slipped outside to the balcony and thought about the possibilities of her own future. She was happy for Abigail and secretly hoped to have her own family one day. Someday .
    S arah didn’t want to push her luck though. She’d just now started her new life. But it sure would be nice to have all the things she’d always dreamed of. Not only a career, but a house and a husband and eventually a child, too.
    She shook her head in an effort to ground herself. One thing at a time. One day at a time.
    The night sky was dazzling and she looked up and breathed in the fresh air. The full moon had an orange glow to it and sat just above the tops of the trees. The man in the moon looked close enough to reach out and touch. It was hard to believe craters and rocks could form the face of a man.
    Crickets chirped , competing with the noise from the rambunctious party inside.
    The parties Dwight threw were not quite the same kind of gatherings as this one. They involved hookers, alcohol and copious amounts of drugs. And they always ended in one of three ways. With a blood-bursting fight, the cops being called and/or with Sarah huddled in a corner bruised and bloody.
    The sliding glass door separating her from the party slid open and closed with a whoosh , bringing Sarah back to the present. Nathan walked up and leaned on the balcony next to her. His arm rested just inches away from her hand. Sarah could smell his aftershave and something else clean and fresh.
    Fabric softener.
    Suddenly, the balcony seemed the size of a postage stamp and Sarah was compelled to put some distance between her and the man that gave her butterflies.
    She started to leave. It wasn’t that she was afraid to be alone with him. It was just that her body never failed to turn into a fluttering mess whenever he was around. Maybe she could make like Cinderella and slip away from the entire party without anyone noticing.
    When she started to walk away, her hand bumped against his. So much for a stealth escape. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just—“
    Nathan lifted his hand and briefly touched her arm. “Please, don’t leave. And don’t apologize.”
    Part of her still wanted to flee so she wouldn’t have to make conversation, but the part that wanted to stay on the balcony under the moonlight with him won out.
    They exchanged a smile and he looked up at the moon.
    Sarah leaned back in her spot against the railing and clamped her teeth together to keep them from chattering. What was she supposed to do now that they were alone?
    One of the heroines in Felicity Johns’ books would have grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him right there under the moon.
    Sarah didn’t do that. Instead, she sipped her drink , swallowed and tried to think of something intelligent to say.
    Nathan didn’t seem to be in a hurry to make conversation so she stood next to him in silence, looking at the stars.
    “Can I get you another drink?” he asked finally, even though her glass was still half full.
    “Oh, no thanks. ” She looked down at her glass and swirled the clear liquid. “It’s just 7up.” Why she felt the need to clarify she wasn’t drinking alcohol, she didn’t know.
    Nathan nodded and raised his glass. “Rum and coke, minus the rum.”
    She smiled. So, he wasn’t drinking either. After spending a lifetime around drunkards and crackheads that offered Sarah some small comfort.
    “ I hope TJ didn’t scare you away,” Nathan said. “He gets a