Page 7 of Making Over Maris

But Sara couldn’t stop it. All the pain and sadness that had been building up over the past weeks and months came to the fore. The dam broke. Literally broke.

It was annoying because Sara wasn’t a weepy person. She never gave in to melancholy. She simply swallowed it and soldiered on.

Apparently she had swallowed too much.

It erupted and drizzled out on Kat’s shoulder.

And Kat—sweet, loving, tenderhearted person she was—held her as she wept and patted her hair and murmured sweet, loving, tenderhearted nonsense until the embarrassing weep-fest petered into mere sniveling.

“Are you okay?” Kat asked when Sara had gained some modicum of control.

“Yes.” Sniff. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

Kat pulled back and put her hands on Sara’s cheeks, tipping her head up so she could study her. “Are you sure, Sara? Because—”

The door opened.

They both turned to see who would interrupt such a private moment.

Naturally it was Jack. Kenny, Jack’s intern—the loyal pup always following at his heels—was with him.

“Hey, you guys.”

“Jack.” Sara frowned. “We’re in a meeting.”

“Really?” Kenny peered at them through chunky lenses that magnified his eyes and made him resemble a nearsighted owl. “’Cause it looked like you were about to kiss.”

Jack elbowed Kenny out of the doorframe. “Hey, Sara.”

Sara sighed. As annoyed as she was at the intrusion, she kind of needed it, this chance to collect herself. “Yes, Jack?”

“I was wondering if you’ve had time to, you know, think about…that thing we talked about you thinking about.”

“This isn’t a good time, Jack.”

He stared at her. Blinked. Glanced at Kat and then back at Sara again. “It isn’t?”

“No!” Sara and Kat bellowed in tandem.

“Oh. Okay. Um. I’ll check back later.”

“You do that.” Sara tried very hard not to snap.

“Um. Okay.” Still, he stood there in the doorway. As though he were part of the conversation or something.

“Go, Jack.” God bless Kat. She had a charming way of getting right to the point.

“Go?”

“Go. And close the door.”

He did but Sara heard Kenny say as the two made their way back down the hall, “Dude. Do you think they’re going to kiss?”

Kat blew out a breath and sat again in the companion chair. Sara dropped into her task chair as well.

It was unnerving, the way Kat studied her. Sara picked up a paper clip and toyed with it. Mangled it, maybe.

“So,” Kat said after a long pause. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”