CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sarah tried to view her features objectively, but all she could see were too large eyes framed by long, red eyelashes, a straight nose that wasn't too big or too small, high cheekbones that sometimes made her face look gaunt when she was tired and lips that looked too big for her narrow oval face.

Nothing impressive-just an ordinary face that looked tired and strained at the moment, she pushed her long hair out of her eyes and was startled when Lorenzo’s reflection appeared in the mirror behind her.

"I'm going to visit Elisa," Sarah told him.

"Why?" he asked sharply, and Sarah shrugged, and said nothing.

"I thought..." Lorenzo hesitated and Sarah’s eyes snapped up to his face in surprise.

The hesitation was so unusual in her supremely confident husband.

"I thought that we could go out somewhere and have lunch together. We haven't done that in a while."

"Try never," Sarah half laughed incredulously. It was a laugh filled with misery and grief, and Lorenzo’s brows beetled slightly.

"Of course we have..." Lorenzo began.

"Once." Sarah nodded.

"About a month before we were married.

I remember that once quite vividly because I felt like a love interest in my own personal fairy tale. The giddy, foolish, and not quite so fair maiden having a meal with her dark, brooding, and oh-so-handsome prince. Some prince! You couldn't be bothered to string together two sentences the entire time and checked your watch every five minutes like you had someplace much more important to be. But of course, I didn't care, that was just the way you were and I 'loved"" —she said the word with a sneer-"you anyway. We never went out again after that."

"Of course we did." Despite his assertion, Sarah looked remarkably uncomfortable. She shifted her shoulders restlessly and shoved her hands into her jean pockets.

"Those other times were work-related dinners, the ones that you have to take your husband to." Lorenzo frowned even more but chose not to respond to her statement.

"Well, then, I'd say it's about time we went out together, don't you?" Lorenzo asked in an artificially cheerful voice, and Sarah slanted her head as she tried to read Lorenzo’s expression. As usual he was giving nothing away.

Sarah’s lips tilted slightly in a cynical and unamused smile.

"I don't think so, Lorenzo ." She shook her head. "I think I'll go to my cousin's place like I'd originally planned." Lorenzo nodded thoughtfully, swaying back and forth on his heels in an uncharacteristically restless manner.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged. "What time were you planning to leave?"

"Soon."

"Right." He shrugged again, looking strangely awkward. "See you later then." Sarah nodded and turned away and left without saying another word.

Luke and Elisa were doing nothing more productive than watching DVDs when Sarah came around.

Elisa, in her advanced state of pregnancy, couldn't do much else. They were both lounging in the sitting room, Luke looking devastatingly handsome in a snug, well-worn pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt that had definitely seen better days. Elisa, in the meantime, looked miserable in a huge blue and white-striped basketball jersey that Sarah knew had once belonged to Luke , who was a capable Sunday afternoon player, and a pair of blue leggings.

The pregnant omega was about the size of a baby whale. Sarah simply melted when she caught sight of her cranky elder cousin and once again resolved not to do anything to jeopardize her happiness and health.

Sarah dropped a kiss on Elisa’s cheek and one on the top of Luke’s head, to which the alpha fussed sheepishly, as Sarah passed behind the sofa on which they were sitting.

Luke grinned up at her.

"Nothing exciting planned for today, Sarah ," he informed cheerfully as Sarah sank down onto the other sofa.

"I'm afraid we're feeling a bit out of sorts today, a touch grumpy, if you will. So we're staying in, in the hopes that it will improve our temper...Ouch!" The last uttered as Elisa swatted him on the back of his head.

"Stop talking like that, you know it drives me crazy! I'm not a two year old throwing a tantrum, I'm the hormonal omega that you knocked up! It's your fault! So don't push me, buster."

Luke slanted a rueful gaze at his amused friend and mouthed a wisely silent "See?" Sarah grinned before kicking off her shoes and dragging her feet up under him.

Sarah was dressed casually too, wearing an old pair of jeans and a bright-blue T-shirt with a large, stylized butterfly printed on the front of it.

"What are we watching?"Sarah asked, leaning forward to help herself to a handful of the popcorn from a glass bowl on the coffee table.

"Some romantic thing that has Elisa dissolving into tears every two minutes or so." Luke shrugged dismissively, ignoring the way his mate was glaring at him over the top of her round little glasses.

"God, the sacrifices I make to keep my omega happy," he said with a groan, and Elisa gasped in outrage.

"Well, if you had your way, we'd be watching some macho jerk swear and punch his way through two hours of relentless explosions, car chases, and gunfire," Elisa retorted, and Luke grinned at her.

"Your point being?"

"Aaargh!" Elisa groaned again.

For the first time in a long time, Sarah felt a giggle bubbling up in her throat.

Luke suddenly grinned before dropping one arm around Elisa’s narrow shoulders to drag her closer. He placed his other hand protectively over Elisa’s stomach, and Elisa put up a token struggle before sighing

contentedly and dropping her head onto

Luke’s broad shoulder.

Sarah watched them enviously for a few moments before trying to focus on the movie. She had thought Luke was exaggerating about her cousin's response to the overly soppy film, but it was true;

Elisa sniffled on an average of every two minutes.

Sarah was just managing to get somewhat absorbed in the plot when the doorbell rang. Luke excused himself and jumped up to answer it.

Elisa watched him go with a slight smile on her. Elisa was quiet for a while before shaking her head in exasperation.

"You know, if I didn't love him so darned much, I would probably have killed him by now," Elisa admitted sourly, and Sarah surprised herself by laughing out loud in response to her cousin's disgruntled confession.

Sarah couldn't believe that her sense of humor was still intact after the events of the last forty-eight hours. Luke made his way back into the room, looking uncharacteristically grim the quiet anger visible on his face, and all the laughter and light drained from Sarah’s face when she saw who was standing behind Luke .

"What are you doing here?" Sarah managed to choke out after a moment of shocked silence.