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hair was pulled up into a bun. Some tendrils, still wet from her bath, were sticking to her neck. “Sawyer said you had company. Are you seeing someone? Why didn’t you tell me? Who is it?”
    “It’s none of your business,” she said because she knew it would drive Stella crazy. She still hadn’t forgiven her for telling Sawyer about the cakes. And Julia thought it was rich for Stella to demand to know if Julia was seeing someone, when Stella had slept with Sawyer three years ago and had never told her.
    She closed the door, but as soon as she walked back into the living room, the knocking started again. Incessantly. Stella had a wild hair now. “She’s not going to stop until she meets you,” Julia said to Emily. “Do you mind?”
    Emily seemed game, and followed her into the hallway.
    As soon as Julia opened the door again, Stella said, “I’m not leaving until …” She stopped when Julia opened the door farther, revealing Emily standing beside her.
    “This is Vance Shelby’s granddaughter,” Julia said. “Emily, this is Stella Ferris.”
    Stella seemed incapable of speech.
    “Emily came by wanting to know what her mother was like when she lived here.”
    Stella recovered quickly. “Well, it’s so lovely to meet you, Emily! Sawyer and I were friends with your mother. Come downstairs and have pizza with us. I’ll pull out my yearbooks.”
    When Stella stepped to the side, Emily didn’t hesitate and bounded down the stairs. With the elegant lines of her face and her tall, willowy body, it was easy to forget how young she was, until she did something like that.
    Before Stella could follow, Julia grabbed the sleeve of her robe. “Don’t talk about what her mother did.”
    Stella looked insulted. “What’s the matter with you? I’m not an ogre.”
    Emily waited eagerly for them to come down. Once they did, Stella led the way to her kitchen, her robe billowing dramatically behind her.
    Sawyer had his back to them and was staring out the kitchen window, his hands in his pockets. He turned when he heard them enter. His brows shot up when he saw Emily.
    “Hello, who is this very lovely young lady?” He pronounced the word “very” Vera , like it was a proper noun, the name of a pretty woman who wore white gloves. There was something inherent in Stella’s and Sawyer’s manners around strangers, something that always gave away their breeding.
    “This is who Julia was entertaining, Sawyer, so you can stop pouting. This is Emily, Dulcie Shelby’s daughter ,” Stella said significantly.
    Sawyer didn’t miss a beat. “A pleasure.” Sawyer held out his hand and Emily shook it. She actually giggled a little, and Emily didn’t strike Julia as a giggler. “Let’s eat the pizza while it’s hot. Julia?” Sawyer walked over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair for her, not giving her much of a choice.
    Stella set out drinks and paper napkins, then they unceremoniously ate the vegetarian pizza out of the box. Julia tried to eat a slice quickly so she could leave. Sawyer was casual and relaxed, smiling at her like he knew what she was doing. Stella was as comfortable wearing a robe at the dinner table as she would have been in a Dior suit. And Emily was watching the three of them like they were unopened presents.
    “So, you two knew my mom?” Emily finally asked, as if she couldn’t wait any longer.
    “We knew her well,” Stella said. “Dulcie and I were in a close-knit group of friends.”
    “Sassafras?” Emily said.
    “Right. Sawyer dated a girl named Holly who was in the group, so he was one of our honorary boys.”
    “You weren’t friends with Julia?”
    “I wasn’t friends with anyone back then,” Julia said.
    Emily turned to her, curious. She had pizza sauce on her upper lip. Julia smiled and handed her a napkin. “Why not?” Emily said, wiping her mouth.
    “Being a teenager is tough. We all know that. Sassafras made it look easy. I looked like the truth.”
    “What did