Susan's relief was tangible. "How long will she be in New York?" she asked, a hopeful note creeping into her voice. "I'd love to meet her."
"Hey, Suze...." Carson's voice emerged from the bed again. "The poor woman's probably swamped.... I know her daughter is.... I'm not giving her a chance to breathe... much less have time for herself.... Not with the rates she charges... Now let these two go to dinner.... Come over here and sit with me."
"Carson—it's okay," Sabrina broke in, referring to much more than the introduction. "I'm sure my mother would love to meet Susan." She gave Carson a gentle nod.
"Fine..." Comprehension flickered in his eyes, but he kept his face carefully expressionless. "The two of them can get together over lunch... but you'd better make it the weekend if you want to join them...."
Sabrina understood. Carson was keeping up the pretense, giving her a final chance to change her mind. He wasn't going to say a single word, not until and unless she gave him the go-ahead.
"Goodnight, you two." Firmly, he dismissed her and Dylan, holding her gaze as he let her off the hook. "Eat and drink hearty."
The ball was in her court.
She fielded it, with a lot more ease than she'd anticipated.
"We will—soon," she said, putting an end to the charade. "First I want to talk to Susan." She turned to do so. "Susan, the truth is, my mother's not in New York on business. And she didn't come to Mount Sinai to see me. She came to see Carson."
"To see..." Susan blinked, clearly bewildered. "I don't understand." Her fingers fluttered through the air in confusion. "Why would your mother visit Carson? And why wouldn't he tell me if she had?"
"Because he was protecting me."
"From what?"
"It's a long story. But it's time you heard it." A pause. "I want you to hear it—for your sake, and for Carson's." Sabrina angled around, assessing Carson's energy level. "Are you up for this? Or should I take Susan out to the lounge and talk to her there?"
"No way." He shook his head, and Sabrina could see he was grappling with a wealth of emotion. "I missed the original announcement.... You know, the one where they say, 'It's a girl'... There's not a chance I'm missing the second one… If you're telling... I'm listening."
"I'm glad," Sabrina said simply. She put her hand on Susan's arm, gestured toward a chair. "Have a seat. Whatever you're expecting, it's not this."
CHAPTER 20
8:45 P.M.
El Faro
The world looked a lot rosier after three glasses of sangria.
Then again, they were a necessary reprieve after the day Sabrina had just charged her way through.
Buffeted by waiters making their way through narrow aisles carrying covered dishes of food, lulled by the din of enthusiastic patrons and the tantalizing smells of Spanish cuisine, Sabrina felt cradled within a lovely sense of cocooned isolation. So this was the eye of the hurricane. Well, it was a great stopping point.
With the edge of her spoon, she toyed with an orange slice at the bottom of her glass. She wasn't drunk. But she wasn't sober either. Between the languid effects of the wine, the filling warmth of the food, and the sharp adrenaline drop that signified the end of a Guinness Book week, she felt exquisitely relaxed.
"A penny for your thoughts," Dylan said, watching her over the rim of his own glass.
She smiled. "I was just thinking that Carson was right. This is exactly what I needed. I think I was about to implode."
He nodded, refilling both their glasses. "Today was a day to write home about. The fact that you survived is a coup."
"I think you said that yesterday. And the day before."
"Probably. But today was in a class by itself." Dylan spooned more rice onto their plates, then added shrimp and drizzled green sauce over the top. "Eat. You need to recharge."
"Okay. But I've already had two portions. I think I'm restored." She stuck her fork into the food, then into her mouth, savoring the garlicky flavor of the green sauce. "I did a pretty good job of anticipating things at Ruisseau. But that chat with Susan was pretty unexpected. Not that I'm sorry. It needed to be had. It's just that I was a
lready reeling with stimuli...." She shook her head.
"Yeah. Just when you thought the day was over, you found yourself recapping the story of your conception yet again."