What Happens Between Friends by Beth Andrews

realizing she was in a subtle tug-of-war, Rose let go of the bowl. “Like you said, it’s only a few weeks. And then you’ll be off again.”
    At least that thought seemed to cheer her up.
    Sadie hummed “Landslide”—now that it was stuck in her head, resistance was futile—and stared blindly out the window. Luckily, the storm had dissipated almost as quickly as it had formed. After the last of the rain, the clouds had shifted, blowing away to find some other poor town to soak. Best of all, only three people had called her Cyclone Sadie.
    One of them being her sister, so that didn’t even really count.
    Frank and Rose’s house sat back from the road on top of a small knoll. Frank’s father, Leo—or Big Leo as he was known to family and friends—occupied the small cottage on the corner of the property. James’s only sister, Maddie, lived with her daughter across the street. Even Eddie lived on the street, though a block away, while Leo had an apartment two streets over.
    Only James had separated himself from his family, choosing to build his house on the outskirts of town.
    As if conjuring him out of thin air, Sadie heard the familiar deep tone of his laugh moments before he stepped into the soft glow of the lanterns spread across each tier of the deck. Smiling—she’d always loved the sound of his laugh—she opened her mouth, ready to call out to him only to have the sound die in her throat when she realized the reason he was so jolly. He was with someone. A woman. An attractive woman in a deep blue wrap dress that showcased her curvaceous body and killer legs. A dress that made Sadie feel decidedly underdressed in her floor-length, multicolored skirt and black tank top.
    They stopped next to an SUV, one of the few vehicles that had circumvented the traffic jam in the driveway by parking in the yard near the back corner of the house. James said something that had the brunette smiling and swatting his arm, her hand lingering there longer than necessary.
    “Eddie’s heading home,” Frank said as he came into the kitchen. In khakis and a green polo, he was still as trim and fit as when Sadie had first met him as a child, the only signs of age a few lines around his brown eyes and a liberal sprinkling of gray in his short dark hair. “He’s going to drop Dad off on his way.”
    “Are Maddie and Bree still here?” Rose asked.
    “They’re saying good-night to Gerry and Carl. It was nice of you to invite them.”
    “They are almost family.”
    “Almost.” He came up behind his wife and kissed the side of her neck. “You outdid yourself, Rosie. As usual.”
    She tipped her head to the side so that it pressed against his. “Thank you. I think James enjoyed himself.”
    “He seems to be enjoying himself now,” Sadie murmured, wondering at the bite to her tone, the tightness in her chest.
    Rose and Frank both followed her gaze out the window. The brunette had her head close to James’s, said something as he typed on his phone.
    Putting her number into his contact list.
    Sadie cleared her throat. “I don’t recognize her. Is she a friend of Maddie’s?”
    “That’s Anne Forbes. She works for a local painting contractor,” Frank said, picking up a clean towel and drying the next dish. Raising his bushy eyebrows, he nudged Rose with his elbow. “You must be pretty pleased with yourself.”
    “You know I hate to brag,” Rose said. “But since you mention it, yes. Yes, I am.” She glanced at Sadie. “Very pleased.”
    “Is this one of those family secrets?” Sadie asked, forcing her tone to lighten, her lips to curve.
    “No secret. Rose here decided to take matters into her own hands and find our eldest a wife.”
    Sadie’s scalp prickled. Her hands tightened on the towel, twisting the fabric until her fingers went numb. “A wife?”
    “No one’s booked St. Theresa’s for a wedding mass yet,” Rose said drily. “I just thought he might be interested in meeting a lovely, intelligent